THE BROWN TROUT

When a fisherman thinks of fishing on the Provo River, he usually thinks of the excellent brown trout population that the stream contains. Indeed, the brown trout was and is as fine a fish as ever swam in the waters of the Provo. It is appreciated by most anglers for its cunning and elusive nature, as well as for its fight.

Whether its sophistication was gained through long experience with the sportsman's wiles, or whether it was simply a gift of nature is not known, but the brown trout's craftiness is known by those who have tried to catch this fine fish.

Browns were introduced into this country a little less than a century ago, and from that original introduction have spread all over America, and eventually were introduced into the Provo River where they grew to monstrous size. Every year some are caught that weigh from 10 to 15 pounds, but a good sized brown on the Provo River will weigh from 2 to 4 pounds. Bigger fish are there, but they are hard to catch.

Brown trout spawn in the fall, and this is an excellent time to catch a big one on large streamers. Large browns may be caught on comparatively small dry flies, but usually the only browns that will be feeding on the surface will be young browns. Occasionally a sustained hatch of May flies or caddis flies will bring three and four-year old browns to the surface, but mainly these large browns feed only under the cover of darkness. Most insect hatches occur at night during the summer, and this is an...