I hit the middle provo Monday and caught about 10 or 12 nice browns mainly on PMDs and a few on hoppers. The fish were actively rising for PMDs from about 4-5:30 or 6 it seemed. I also stopped off at the Lower for a half hour or so and got one on a PMD nymph. The water was still running high for this time and it was off colored. After visiting some Provo friends I decided to go back up and hit the middle close to midnight. I'd never fished that late but I'd always heard of people using mouse patterns or streamers late at night to catch big browns. Since it was close to a full moon I thought why not. Unfortunately no luck, I probably fishing 30-45 mins. Anyone have any advice for fishing mouse patterns late a night? Do you strip them at all? Throw them up or downstream? Are there certain times? Do the browns hit the mouse patterns at night or is that just legend? I guess I have the same questions for streamer fishing too.
[signature]
A few years ago my son-in-law and I fished the middle from just before dark until almost midnight with a full moon. It was fun because you could still see just what you were doing and see where every cast went. I was fishing an intermediate line with a black woolly bugger and he was fishing a dry line with the same thing. The fishing was steady and a lot of fun. We were catching fish faster then when we started and only quit because we figured the wives would like us to come home sometime. We had had a good time and learned that at least on that night with a full moon the fish were hitting our offerings. If I remember right it was this time of year as well. i caught only browns but he got one very nice rainbow to go with his browns. We started with emergers and duns but switched to the buggers when it was obvious they were producing.
On another night my son-in-law caught a really nice brown that was longer than the 22" marking on his rod in the same stretch also on the black bugger but that was only 10 o'clock or so.
[signature]
I have never really had much luck with the mouse patterns. Because, the conditions have to be just right, deep under cut bank, grass overhanging, then you slap the mouse down and drift it. Cast straight up stream, or up and across stream, and use a heavy tippet, 1x is best for me because you WILL get stuck in the grass and have to jerk it back out without wading into your fishing hole. I have used the technique on the Weber and Ogden. Never seems to produce a ton, but can be a fun way to mix it up.
For consistancy and numbers you are better off to use black/purple wooly buggers. Also a black naked mudler minnow works well too. I like to add a small amount of crystal flash in the tail and wing section of the muddler minnow. And wooly bugger gets some flash in the tail, then up around the head as well.
I then cast up and across stream, and swing/drag the fly all the way across the river. Be systematic, start at the head of a likely run, cast 5-6 times, take a step down stream then repeat the process, and so on. You will want to either have a moderate sink line, a detachable sink tip, or tie an overhand knot 14-18 inches above the streamer and put on 4-6 split shot. You want to feel the split shot dragging on the bottom, your non weighted fly will swing just inches above the bottom and hang on!! Cause when a fish hits it, they move like a freight train! The strangest thing I have caught using this method was suckers on the Weber river. They were hooked in the mouth, and took longer to drag in then the trout because they are a heavy dang fish.
Good luck, now is a great time for this method. Now through first of November.
[signature]