Trip Timing – Conditions & Hatches!
The most typical questions we hear from anglers wishing to plan a trip to southern Utah are "What is the best time of year to fish" and "What will the fishing be like then?"
It is difficult to answer the first question because any answer will end up being based on the angler's own preferences. If your tastes for angling are to use tiny dry flies, then late July is a great time for your visit. If you would like to try casting big grasshoppers, then wait until after June 1st and almost any time of the season could be good.
The second question is a little bit easier to answer and while the fishing can vary according to weather and other factors, we can make reasonable predictions based on our 20+ years of experience. The miles of fishable rivers, lakes, and springs provides exceptional fishing through the spring, summer and fall.
May: The first of May is the start of our prime fishing season, which begins with the prolific Midge and Baetis hatches in the afternoons. It is productive to fish nymphs during the morning hours in early May and dries in the afternoon. Streamers are productive all day long, but strikes will be less aggressive and retrieves should be a bit slower. If you visit in May you can expect good fishing conditions and active fish.
June – Early July: The lower Fremont River will have very clear water and lots of dry fly fishing opportunities. Multiple hatches will take place throughout the day. Baetis, Little Olive Stoneflies, Golden Stoneflies, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, Hoppers, Tricos and others will be prevalent during this period of the early summer. Fly-fishers with experience can expect to land good numbers of fish on dry flies all day long. Nymphs are not a must but will produce fish if used. Large pods of fish can be found cruising the back eddies and riffles in search of one of the many hatches that occur. Guides are requested well in advance for this time of year and weekdays will have very little fishing pressure.
Mid July – Late August: The Trico and Caddis hatches on the Fremont River are the most prolific of the year and will continue through early September. All Boulder and Fishlake Mountain streams can produce good numbers of fish for experienced fly-fishers. Browns and Rainbows will pod up on the surface to take spinners in the early morning hours. Don’t sleep in! Hopper fishing is superb throughout the day. Daytime temperatures will typically reach the upper 80’s and sometimes the 90’s, but evenings will cool off nicely. Watch for afternoon thunderstorms from the monsoon. The higher elevation lakes of the Boulders are best fished this time of year and you can beat the heat. This time of year offers the best variety of fishing opportunities, as all high and low elevation streams and lakes will be in full swing.
September – October: Hopper fishing along with other terrestrials will continue to produce nice fish. Blue Wing Olives will show up again as well as midges. Big Browns will pair up in the shallows and are aggressive to large streamers when presented correctly. The spawn will happen in late September to mid October on the lower Fremont River. Most other neighboring streams will experience spawning Browns in late October and into November. Morning and Evenings will cool off and afternoon thunderstorms will disappear. This time of year is best for streamer fishing as well as continued dry fly fishing.
November: Hatches on the lower Fremont River are gone, with exception of some Midges. The upper Fremont River will continue to fish good with dry-droppers, but anglers should look out for spawning beds and take particular care of handling and releasing fish. Boulder Mountain Lakes close November 1st and will re-open in April. If you are not a fair weather fly-fisher, there is good fishing with streamers. Days are short and the trout will be most active in the early afternoon.
December – March: Fishing is very limited, but the local spring creeks can produce giant browns and rainbows during these winter months. Hungry trout will take midges and big streamers on warmer days when afternoon temperatures reach the 40’s.
April: As temperatures rise and the days get longer, trout will start to get active in taking midges and Blue Wing Olives. Nymphs and streamers will catch fish as well. Fortunately, snows from the Boulder Mountains and Fishlake Mountains that feed the Fremont River drainage do not usually blow out the river for long. April is usually the month when our area rivers will rise for a short time from run-off water and they will usually clear in less than two weeks.
*Abnormal snow-pack (low or high), drought, flooding and other conditions may alter this report somewhat. Guides, customers and local fishing reports over the past 5 years have been taken into consideration for this seasons report.
