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 another reason these large browns feed at night.

To catch brown trout often means more than simply having the right fly or the right equipment. A combination of both factors plus a lot of knowledge, skill, and experience are necessary before very many browns will be found on the end of the angler's line. But whether you fish for large browns with big bucktails, or fish for smaller ones with dry flies and superfine equipment, the brown trout will certainly offer you some of the finest sport obtainable.

Many people have their own opinions of the way to catch brown trout. These ideas may involve superfine leaders, and the smallest of flies, but the truth is that no fisherman can catch all of the fish all of the time. This point was driven home by an experiment that the Utah Fish and Game Department conducted on the Provo River.

They decided to see just how well the brown trout population was holding out in a hard-fished section of the Provo, near Vivian Park. After several fishermen fished the pool with little results they shocked one of the poorer sections of the pool, and were amazed to find such a great number of browns present. Some of these browns weighed over four pounds. Certainly of all the trout that have ever lived, if the brown trout is not the one that is immune to the temptations offered by the angler, at least he seems to be. All fishermen who have fished for the elusive brown trout have had trouble catching him, and this is probably the reason we love to fish for browns on the Provo River or wherever they are found.