Just rented a cabin near beavers bend state park below the lake for next weekend and I would like to take my father in law that has never fly fished out and get on some trout. I was reading a little bit about the four mile trophy area but I would like to keep a few fish to cook for him too. Anyone got and good pointer to help my success out. Not asking for locations but fly ideas for this time of year. I’ve got a nice 3wt that I used up in Colorado and was gonna buy him a package rod reel setup.

As for fly’s you can’t go wrong with Carey Thorn’s near deer in olive. Be sure to wear felt boots the rocks are beyond slick.

From the spillway to zone2 you may keep 3 rainbows each with only one being over 25”. Brown trout are catch and release (well rules are actually can keep one over 30”).The whole area is barbless hooks only now.

I fished a couple of weeks ago. Very small mayfly emergers, like an RS2 in an 18 or 20, something like that, were working for me. You might try something like that behind an egg pattern as an anchor. You might try that below the Evening Hole bridge , what we call Hickory as the Hickory Campground is right there. Further upstream in Evening Hole that stuff might be good, as well. If EH area is too crowded you might try Cardiac Hill, the trails down to the river at the kiosk/parking area just down the road from the Spillway Dam. Fish Pats Rubberlegs, egg patterns, or caddis larvae patterns deep in the pockets. Tight lines! Hay, Bill!

Tried the area below Evening Hole bridge weekend before last. It was super cold (down to 17 at night). Only caught one fish all weekend but it was a healthy one. Caught on an olive green caddis nymph.

Will be headed back up there the weekend of 2/18 with both my boys to give it another go.

It’s not overly complicated, they’re just stocker trout. An egg pattern or bright San Juan worm as the first pattern, tie a piece of 5X fluoro to the shaft of that hook and trail a a wooly bugger, midge, nymph, scud, pretty much whatever you want that’s on the smaller side, smaller minnows or crawfish imitations are great too. If you bottom fly isn’t something a little heavier like a Small streamer put a small split shot about 6-8” up from the attractor pattern. In the deeper runs put a streamer on and strip it for some bigger fish. I recommend felt with studs.

May give that a shot this weekend. Taking both boys with so should be fun.

I will be there tomorrow. As jonbo mentioned above, my last couple trips have had decent success on 18-20 natural presentations. It seems like the stockers either get caught out or get educated pretty quick. I've not had many bites on attractors. I've just been using them for the weight to get the small unweighted patterns down fast.

If you see a big guy euro nymphing, stop and say hi.