The fish turned, and I stripped backing and line into the water. He stopped in calm water to gather strength, and then charged upriver again.

Wet frozen fingers are a poor excuse for a drag with a fish this large, and I applied little pressure, waiting to get back on the reel.

The line slipped through my fingers, and the drag took over. I began to reel and felt him moving reluctantly downstream, toward my net.

Then I saw him, as he swam sideways across the river. He was an enormous brown, still with plenty of fight. He spotted the net and made a swift short run -- twice, three times. Then he came to the steady pull of the line, and I slid the net beneath him.

* * *

The Weber River traverses 125 miles of northwestern Utah from its headwaters in the western Uinta Mountains.

The river cuts directly through the Wasatch Mountains before being consumed by the foul-smelling, cloudy brines of the Great Salt Lake.

Along the way, its flow is interrupted by Rockport and Echo reservoirs. They create miles of open tailwater. Below the reservoirs, the river winds through cattle country, encroached upon by sprawling development of the Salt Lake Valley.

The river could be divided into three segments:

• Headwaters above Rockport Reservoir,

• Blue Ribbon tailwater between Rockport Reservoir and Echo Reservoir, and

• Lower tailwater, below Echo Reservoir.

HEADWATERS
The headwaters are the prettiest part of the river, as the stream carves its way through the subalpine vegetation on the western end of the Uinta Mountains. Unfortunately, most of the easily accessible headwaters area is private property, with few access points. There's one small stretch of open land that offers good access above Rockport Reservoir, and another near Weber Canyon.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources plants triploid rainbows in Smith Morehouse Reservoir.

TAILWATERS
But that Blue Ribbon tailwater between Rockport and Echo reservoirs offers the finest fishing on the river.

Craig Schaugaard of the UDWR attributes its high quality to a guaranteed minimum-flow rate from Rockport Reservoir. This flow, between 175 and 225 cubic feet per second, ensures a healthy habitat for fish, as well as a reliable insect population.