Species: Rainbow, brown, cutthroat and whitefish. A 30-plus-pound brown was once discovered during an electroshocking of the river by the state's division of wildlife resources.
Tackle: 7½- to 9-foot rods with 36 weight line. Hip or chest waders if you wade but in the summer, you can get by with wading boots and neoprene socks.
Flies: Baetis, pale morning duns, caddis, stonefly. Try Pale Morning Duns in the afternoon and Caddis patterns in the late afternoons and evenings. You'll see caddis come off all day on cloudy days. Terrestrials play an important part of fly selection. The tops are Hoppers such as Dave's Hopper or Parachute Hoppers (#8#10). Ants are effective as well. Local favorites for nymph dropper patterns include the Copper Bead Z-wing Caddis, Flashback Caddis Pupa in Olive or Tan, BH Caddis Larvae, or Peaking Caddis (#14#16). For attractors, try Royal Wulffs and Humpies.
Regulations: The Blacksmith Fork has split regulations above and below the dam so check the regs book.
Fly shops: Spinner Fly Shop, Salt Lake City, (801) 583-2602; Western Rivers Flyfisher, Salt Lake City, (801) 521-6424; Anglers Inn, Salt Lake City, (801) 466-3927.
Directions: Blacksmith Fork River runs along Highway 101 east of Hyrum toward Hardware Ranch about eight miles southeast of Logan.
Lodging: Plenty of public camping along the river. Anglers will also find nice accommodations in Logan. Some of the favorite digs include Beaver Creek Lodge, (800) 946-4485, Alta Manor Suites, (801) 752-0808, Zanavoo Lodge, (801) 752-0084, and Best Western Weston Inn, (801) 752-5700. In Salt Lake City, you can stay in any of a hundred hotels, motels, lodges, and bed & breakfasts. You can find exactly what you want by calling one of these: Utah Reservation Service, (800) 557-8824, Utah Travel Council, (801) 538-1030, Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau and Information Center, (800) 222-UTAH.
Suggested Reading: Utah Fishing Guide, by Steve Cook (Utah Outdoors); Hunting and Fishing Utah, by Hartt Wixom (Wasatch Publishing).
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