A couple of hours drive east of Park City, along Highway 40 to Duchesne and up Highway 87 to Mountain Home lies some amazing fishing. The Duchesne River, Rock Creek, the Lake Fork, the Yellowstone and the Uinta rivers flow south through Indian Lands.
A Hidden Gem of Fly Fishing
About the size of the more well-known Weber or Provo Rivers, some sections of these rivers are on public lands, but the bulk of the good fly fishing is on the Uinta and Ouray Indian Reservations, which comprise thousands of acres of the south slope of the Uinta mountain range. This vast mountain range is the only major range in the western U.S. that runs east to west. All of the other mountain ranges of the Pacific and the Rockies run north and south.
What You Can Expect
We’ve had some incredible days fishing these Indian lands. Larry Culley, who runs the guiding operation for Jans, caught a 26-inch brown trout on the Duchesne River, south of Tabiona. I had a day on Rock Creek above the Farm Creek bridge where I caught a brown trout, rainbow, cutthroat, and brook trout, all in the same pool. One day on the Lake Fork, I witnessed one of our party catch a 23-inch brown trout.
The best part of fishing these special waters is there are no people! You’ll rarely see anyone else. It’s certainly not like the Middle Provo where you almost have to stand in line some days to fish.
Because of the travel time, I often make the journey to Indian Lands a two day affair. I’ll stay in a motel in the small towns of Duchesne or Roosevelt. There are a few decent restaurants in these communities as well.
Buy Your Permit at Jans
You can buy an Indian Lands permit at Jans flagship store on Park Avenue, in Park City. When you come in for your permit, our experts will be happy to help you plan your own trip to the Indian Lands. As long as you promise to tell us all about it when you return.
*Please note, Jans does not offer any guided services in these areas
Jan Peterson
