Three of my new streamer flies were untested for trout and I had no idea if they would work. In addition, a stationary dome of high pressure had moved into the area with sunny skies, and hot temperatures which are the worst possible conditions for trout fishing.
The last variable was the location. Sportsman's Paradise is a full-service sporting club located near the 1826 mountain man rendezvous. This proved to be an excellent choice.
Sportsman’s Paradise Club House – Located in Paradise Utah
On the first day of fishing, I caught a 15-inch Rainbow and a 14-inch Lightning Trout on my first two casts. Both were holding in a cut bank along the stream.
This was followed by a 16-inch Rainbow that jumped and a 16-inch Lightning Trout that I watched take the streamer.
Fishing shut down as temperatures climbed in the afternoon, but this was a great start. All the fish were in excellent condition and fought hard.
16-inch Lightning Trout
The next day the water level started to drop with a corresponding negative impact on the fishing. When the temperature reached 90°F we moved to a new location where cold spring water was pouring into the stream.
My friend is an accomplished dry fly angler and he quickly caught five fish, so I tried a dry fly and caught a couple, but they were small.
The trout were also taking nymphs, so I asked for “five more casts” and switched to a new pattern called the Atomic Worm. This is a big red fly with a pulsing action in the water.
There were no hits on my first cast and a couple of lookers on the second cast but still no hits.
As the fly was drifting through the water on the third cast the line stopped but there was not an obvious strike, so I set the hook anyway suspecting a fish had picked up the fly…. and the water exploded with a huge Rainbow Trout.
We quickly got the fish headed toward the net and my friend scooped it up…. for a second….before it jumped out of the net. In short order my friend netted it again, this time tail first.
The Rainbow Trout proved to be 27 inches in length and is the largest I have landed in a river or stream.
27-inch Rainbow Trout
The next day we were on the water at 7:30 AM. The fish were being picky and would only hit micro flies that were almost too small to see, much less tie on your line. This type of fishing is not for me, but my friend managed to catch eight trout over a five-hour period.
In search of cooler water, we headed back to the location with spring water. Two fish quickly took the new Magnum Midge but then shut off so I switched back to the Atomic Worm to see if yesterday's magic could be repeated.
Despite carefully working the entire pool there were no takers. The only place I had not tried was where the spring first entered the stream because the churning water made it difficult to detect a strike.
With nothing to lose I cast into the frothing water and instantly the fly was jerked the to the bottom of the stream; there was no mistaking this strike.
When the 20-inch Brown Trout was netted, the Atomic Worm was engulfed inside his mouth.
20-inch Brown Trout
Fishing remained slow in the afternoon, so I switched to the Green Ghost fly and added wire to the hook bend for weight.
A cast to the far cut bank in the next pool was rewarded with a heavy 18-inch Rainbow Trout.
18-inch Rainbow Trout
Fishing the next day continued to confirm the excellence of the most promising new streamer patterns:
Atomic Red Worm (weighted)
Swimming Silver Leach (weighted)
Green Ghost
Magnum Midge
Sportsman's paradise is a special place. I encourage you to book time it in the spring or fall for fantastic trout fishing.
To give you additional perspective on what is possible, following are pictures of additional trophy fish that my friends have caught at Sportsman’s Paradise.
Tiger Trout
Eight Pound Cutthroat
31-inch Cutthroat
The trip was a success because of perseverance in the face of extreme heat, cycling through different flies each day to identify what was working, and moving locations to find pods of fish and cooler water. This is known as “Breaking the Code” and is required for every successful fly-fishing trip.
The Bear River Tackle flies used on this trip are made in the United States by experienced fly tiers with premium materials.
They are also different from ALL other fishing flies and have been proven under actual fishing conditions which is not the case for most retail fishing flies.
If you would like to use these custom streamer patterns, they are available by placing an order in the Shop Tab using the “Your Design Base-Level” option. You can order a mix of the flies discussed above if you would like.
Please remember there is an extended lead time for these custom streamer flies so order well in advance of your trip.
Bear River Tackle is dedicated to helping everyone (novice or advanced), have an outstanding fly-fishing experience.
We do this by providing knowledge, fly fishing tips and exceptional streamer flies!
Glenn Personey
Founder and CEO
Bear River Tackle
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