When the owner of Graff Public Relations, Christa Graff extended an opportunity to travel and fly fish, I was excited. I have visited Utah for years to fly fish. This trip would be to Park City, more specifically the Chateaux in Deer Valley. I joined a group of wonderful people, some with international origins, for a glorious press trip. My main intention was to tempt a few of the prevalent brown trout found in the Provo River with a fly rod.
My itinerary included two days of fly fishing on the Provo River with a guide from Jans. My excitement doubled. Vail Valley Anglers is under the same umbrella as Jans. My paycheck comes from Jans. I immediately reached out to Jans to tell them who I was and to see who my guide might be? The name given to me was Danger Dave.
Guide Danger Dave Mihalik picked me up shortly after arrival for an afternoon session on the Middle Provo River. We tested the effects of early autumn with a white streamer fly. The action was slow. We switched tactics.
Fish were eating nymphs presented using a Provo-Rig. This is a modified drop shot nymph rig. Two nymphs are tied off of tag ends extending from the leader and the weights are placed at the end of the leader on the very bottom of all of it. A strike indicator is set pretty high up on the leader. The two flies swing freely off the main leader during the drift with an untethered appearance. A slow presentation and free-floating look are two of the benefits of using a Provo nymph rig.
The flies were small, sizes 20-24, tailwater flies. We went through a bunch of little nymphs trying to find one that would deliver repeated success. Danger Dave plucked one out of my box of tiny flies that produced quite a few bites.
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After seeing a few splashy rises, Danger tied on a big, bushy, CDC dry fly he uses to imitate large October caddis. We worked at skittering the fly by using the tip to wiggle an erratic presentation across the surface. The appearance was irresistible and the largest trout of the day came to hand on a dry fly. Good way to end the first outing.
Danger Dave reported a 39-degree temperature at his place the next morning. We parked at the bridge below the dam that begins the Middle Provo section. We were into fish immediately, midges galore. Small crane flies were popping up periodically. Early morning passed rapidly.
It was key to keep the sunlight behind us from casting shadows across the water. Even in busy water, your shadow penetrates to the bottom of the river. Shadows will spook fish, even deep fish. We repositioned downstream. Five fish later, I slid back out of the deep water and we checked out another location.
Our time was getting short. We fished a run just above the bridge where we parked. I had Dave fish for a bit, something guides don’t get to do often on paid trips.
He hooked a couple of nice fish at the new location in short order. I picked one up and then we moved upstream a bit.
The Provo-Rig was performing as designed. As long as the fly fisher pays careful attention to proper casting, the complex rig delivers results.
Leaves were starting to change into fall colors. The fly fishing was a pleasure. Danger Dave had a way of feeling like an old fly fishing buddy as soon as we hit the water. Now it might be the fact that we both are guides and can “feel” a trip and how it is going. But more than likely it is just Danger Dave and he just feels right to be out on the water with.
Danger Dave dropped me off at the Dendric winery after our morning of fly fishing to meet my group. The fly fishing was as sweet as the dry mountain cider we experienced during a tour of the property.
Dinners were next level with the Michelin-recommended Nelson Cottage meal a highlight. Scotty House and Dan Howard with Park City Chamber of Commerce were standouts. The fly fishing time Christa Graff crafted for me was a spectacular delight. Getting to connect and fish in another state with specialized fly fishing techniques and have it be a fellow Jans employee made it a double delight.
Michael Salomone has lived in the Eagle River valley since 1992. He started his professional guiding career in 2002 and currently guides for Vail Valley Anglers. He lives on the bank of the Eagle River with his wife, Lori, his youngest daughter, Ella and a yellow Labrador named Poppy. His published writing has appeared in Southwest Fly Fishing, Fly Rod & Reel, Eastern Fly Fishing, On the Fly, FlyLords, the Pointing Dog Journal, Upland Almanac, TROUT, American Fly Fishing, USA Today Hunt & Fish and Fly Fisherman magazines.