Brown Trout Can Read

On a recent fly fishing outing I worked upstream on a beautiful stretch of the middle Provo. It was a spectacular fall day and I was eager to find trout rising. I had no interest in anything other than dry flies this day. As I turned a corner I could see a fish actively working the surface. As I got closer I realized it was rising on the other side of a barbed wire fence. On the fence hung the following sign:

"With apologies to the many, and because of the actions of the few, no trespassing" (taken at some distance using my cell phone camera).

Apparently I was watching a fish that could read because it was safely feeding on the opposite side of the fence. I reluctantly turned around and found another stretch of water (below - again with camera phone) where, I am happy to report, I found many fish who could NOT read. They were anxious to rise to my #18 Parachute Adams. It turned into a wonderful fall day of catching and releasing beautiful brown trout with golden falling leaves on the river banks all around me.















So what if the river that runs through you also runs through private land as this did? My attitude has always been "there's plenty of water out there so I'll go find another stretch" as I did on this day. While I believe most serious fly fishers are respectful of private property, it only takes a few bad apples to spoil the whole bunch, which apparently was the reason for this sign.

The Utah Supreme Court issued an opinion on July 18, 2008 which recognized that the public has a recreational right to walk the privately owned bed of state waters while participating in legal recreational activities within the waters. The opinion reaffirmed its earlier rulings that the public can utilize the surface of state waters for recreational purposes.

I found an interesting article on the topic which reported "there was some confusion about what constitutes a privately owned riverbed. According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the easement allows the public to walk on the privately owned bed while engaging in recreational activities that utilize the water. However, the court did not define what a privately owned river bed was in its opinion.

Victor Nelson, co-owner of RoundRocks Fly Fishing in Logan, who was interviewed for the article (and represents another of the great independent fly shops in Utah) said “we’re interpreting it as ‘stay in the water.’ That wasn’t how it was defined, but that’s what we’re advising,” Nelson said.

Sound advice from a responsible fly fisherman. Stay in the water...and look for fish that can't read.