We fished the East Fork of the Sevier River in Black Canyon over Memorial Day Weekend and found good action. Most of the fish we caught were browns running 10-12 inches. We also caught a couple cutts and one rainbow. We saw larger fish but didn't catch any of them.

The water was clear and was low for this time of year.

We also fished Antimony Creek and had great fun catching small brook trout. Both streams are friendly to new fly fishermen. They both flow through rugged canyons and are overgrown, but when you get a fly onto the water the fish are willing.

Conditions should be similar on most other Utah streams. Streams in the Uinta Mountains are still high and may have difficult conditions but they will settle down quickly now.

Smallmouth bass are now providing very good fishing in Deer Creek, Jordanelle, Flaming Gorge and other northern Utah waters.

The East Fork of the Sevier flows south from the Bryce Canyon area. Hwy 22 follows the stream for many miles through Black Canyon, south of the town of Antimony, south of Otter Creek Reservoir. DWR has been working to improve habitat and fisherman access in Black Canyon. That section is restricted to artificial flies and lures only - no natural bait.

There are many deep holes with slow moving water in the canyon and the fish often hold deep. To catch them consistently you need to get your flies or lures down near the bottom, and that can be difficult.

On this trip we slept in and then fished the canyon during the middle of the day and we could only entice small fisher to bite. On previous trips I've done well during the later evening, when larger fish become more active. The stream often produces browns and cutts around 18 inches, with an occasional larger fish.

We then drove up Antimony Creek, way up the creek. From the south side of the town of Antimony, a paved road follows the stream up into the National Forest. As the road enters the forest it becomes dirt and becomes very rugged. The stream is small, clear and cold and supports a high number of fish per mile. In the lower section of the forest, the stream produces many fish around 12 inches, and a few larger.

We drove farther upstream. The road eventually crosses the steam and then, essentially, becomes an ATV trail. We were in my brother's Jeep and we drove up the narrow road, across obstacles that would turn back most vehicles. We were exploring new country and found fast action. Up that high, most of the fish were brook trout and were small - under 10 inches. Still, it was fun to catch them.

We drove as far as we dared in the Jeep. Now we want to go back with dirt bikes and explore further up the canyon.

- Dave Webb

Oh, our photo shows rattle snake rattles we found in Black Canyon. No snakes, just the rattles. In previous trips we are seen a few of the snakes.