Weber River

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Help to Keep Public Waters Accessible- Support USAC

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These guys have been fighting to keep our Utah waters open for everyone. Please take the time to learn more about their cause and show them your support at  http://utahstreamaccess.org [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9BDOhAyE6s]

Dog Sitting & Fishin

Last weekend while bent over flipping rocks looking for bugs this little guy snuck up on me and scared the crap out of me. We were on the Weber river in Oakley kind of far from any ranches. I felt this little guy was lost. Good thing he had tags. I called the owner and told them where we were fishing on a voice mail. An hour of so later we heard some dude yelling for his dog. Then the pup ran off. No thank you but our reward is knowing the dog made it back home. Im thinking this is the first time the pup has seen a fish. Kind of fun being a dog owner for a short time.  

 

2 Foot Long Rainbow

A few of us hit up the Weber River behind Bryan's house on Sunday. Right of the get go we were in to fish. It seamed like fish were everywhere. We couldn't have asked for a better fishing conditions. I was pretty stoked thinking I pulled off another " Utah Grand Slam" day of fishing. (Utah Grand Slam is when you catch 4 or more species of trout in one day) We were catching 14"-18" Cutts, Brooks, Bows and Browns with an occasional White Fish. Then I hooked in to this pig. It gave me one heck of a fight. I wasn't thinking I was going to get into fish this size so I only brought my 2wt with 6x tippet. After the first few runs I was thinking there's no way I'm going to be able to pull this guy in. It ran me up and down the river. I really regretted not having my net. After working her until there was no more fight in her I was able to scoop her up into my chest and hold on for life. I handed off my rod and removed the fly from its mouth and tried to keep a hold of this beast. She still had some fight left in her and didn't want to get her photo taken. We all had a good laugh and got some photos then put her back in the water. Within a couple of seconds of being placed back in the water she was gone. We fished for a few more hours, caught some more fish and finished off the day with some beers at the car. One of the best days fishing in my life!

Supermoon Flyfishing on Utah’s Weber River

May 5th was a special night in Utah, and across the globe, with a “Supermoon”  (the scientific term is a Perigee Moon) lighting up the night sky with a 30% increase in brightness over an average moon, topping out at brightest moon in the past 18 years.  A Perigee, or Supermoon occurs when a full or new moon’s timing lines up with a point when the moon is closest to earth on its imperfect, elliptical path around our planet.

The moon has a far greater influence on human, plant, and animal life than most would think, and as our society become more and more keyboard and pixel dependent, our disconnection to the elements of nature grows more and more.  The power of the moon is obvious, the effect of the moons gravity on earth is 2 and ½ times as powerful as that of the sun.  Tides over 53 feet occur in Nova Scotia, some scientists claim that the crust of the earth rises 4 – 12 inches as the moon rises above the horizon, and settles when the moon sets, and a similar effect is said to be had upon our atmosphere.  If the moon has such an effect on our planet, certainly it must have influence over every living thing on earth……

In the tropical rain forests of SE Asia and South America, hardwood trees are only harvested on waning moons. Why?  During a waxing or full moon the sap within the trees rises, and harvesting during this time would cause widespread sap bleeding, thus attracting millions of Deathwatch Beetles, which devastate crops and could cause millions of dollars in loss.

Humans are affected too.  Did you know that a study found that 82% of postoperative bleeding crises occurred nearer to the full moon then the new moon, even though most operations during this study were preformed during a new moon?  Murder, arson, drunk driving, and theft rates rise and fall with the moon, as a matter of science, but what did this mean for us?

It meant fishing.

Its also a known fact that trout will eat small mammals that venture into the river at night, thus with the aid of the brightest moon in 18 years, I set out with Parker Worthen and Brandon Colett to take advantage of some of the lowest flows the Weber River has ever seen.  Temps were low proving that summer still isn’t here, and it took less that 5 minutes for the guides on our rods to freeze, but that wasn’t stopping anybody, as the moon broke over the horizon, we tied up and headed for the river.  The fly of choice was the mouse.  Brandon and I both had commercially produced mouse patterns, but Parker stepped to the river with a few that he tied up himself, and ended up being the only guy to land a fish that night.  What a boss.

Flyfishing on any full moon is amazing but this night was even more raw.  If you are into fishing of any kind, you should absolutely plan something at your favorite fishing hole for the next full moon.

This Story and photos were submitted from our homie Sean Sullivan. Check out his website to see more of his photos and to learn more about the guy.  Website or Blog

Thanks Sean

Temporarily Unemployed Fishermen

I figure you can see that the Brighton Anglers have some spare time on their hands. With multiple blog posts of different crews hitting up separate rivers in the same day it looks like we don't have jobs. Its kind of true. With the ski season winding down and the resorts closing we all have a little R&R to catch up on. We of course chose to do it with fly rods in our hands. Here's some photos from a fly fishing trip to the Weber River the other day. Caught on to a nice little caddis hatch that got the fish all excited. Supper fun afternoon. Enjoy!