16 May Enough! Stop Melting or Just Melt Already – Utah Fly Fishing Report, May 16th

I remember 1983. For a kid obsessed with water and all that lives in it that year was full of wonder and awe. Water was everywhere and water was the topic of most conversations, at least most of those to which I paid attention. For those unaware of Utah’s hydrologic history, 1983 was an historically wet year.

State Street, a major road in Salt Lake City, was turned into a river to save local homes and businesses. Thistle Lake formed in just a few short months from a mud slide that completely blocked Spanish Fork Canyon and dammed the Spanish Fork River. The backed-up water buried the entire town of Thistle, Utah. Only a few bricks and foundations remain today. The Great Salt Lake began to rise to levels never seen. Over the next few years, salt water would flood the freshwater marshes around the lake, destroying waterfowl habitat and displacing millions of birds and other marshland creatures. It was epic.

Well, this year there is more snow in the mountains than there was at this point in 1983. The weather has stayed cool all Spring and snow has kept piling up. We haven’t even seen the start of big runoff and already the Weber, Ogden, and Blacksmith Fork Rivers have flooded. We are in for some wild water in the rivers.

Luckily, there are lakes to fish, right? Well, finally anyway. The ice off period was delayed. Strawberry Reservoir just opened up yesterday -weeks later than usual and only because another Spring storm brought with it some high winds that pushed ice off a good part of the large mountain lake. The high elevation lakes are still buried and winter mortality could become an issue in the highest lakes as snow blocks light penetration to the alpine waters. It’s nothing short of a weird year.

Ok, now the good news. Even though it looks like we’re in for some high water, several more weeks of waiting for a lot of Utah’s rivers to clear and come down to fishable levels, and probably some sandbagging, there’s a bright side. This Summer promises to be incredible! No worrying about low water, warm water, and skittish fish. The lush grass will make for more hoppers, beetles, and ants and big hefty rainbows, browns, and cutthroats. Big water will scour out the mud and silt creating habitat for more bugs for years to come. And great fishing should continue well into the Fall.

The other bright side – we have some incredible tailwaters to fish. The Provo is high but not flooding and it’s clear for the most part. The Green got a much needed flush of high water and remains fishable and a little lower for now. It will probably rise again but not to the levels we saw last week. The streamer fishing is great right now and the legendary cicadas hatch could be the best in decades with all the fish pushed up against the banks.

Nature is amazing. She sure is showing off this year. Let’s hope people are safe and be thankful that the fish have plenty of water. Now let’s get out and sling some big bugs and catch some of these fish!

Jake Ricks
Co-Owner/Guide
Utah Fly Guides