18 
Forest and Stream 
Vol. LXXXII. May 2, 1914 No. 
Blacksmith Fork Canyon, Utah 
A Little-known Fisherman’s Paradise 
By W. J. Sloan. 
Photo by Henry H. Peterson. 
ur* OME up and spend a day or two with me 
1 ^. on Blacksmith Fork; bring a friend or 
two if you wish.” This was the invita¬ 
tion received by the writer several months ago 
from Henry H. Peterson, deputy game warden of 
Cache county, Utah, and one of the best fisher¬ 
men in the state. The invitation to join me on the 
trip was extended to a well 
known railroad man, with the 
request that he take a day or 
two off from business and en¬ 
joy himself out in the moun¬ 
tains. 
“Well, where in the world is 
Blacksmith Fork? What is it, 
and what do you do when you 
get there?” he asked. 
If I had not heard that ques¬ 
tion time and time again I 
should have been tempted to 
be disgusted with my railroad 
friend and leave him to his 
ignorance. 
Before going further, it may 
be well to say that the railroad 
man accepted the invitation, 
after much persuasion; that 
within two hours after we had 
entered the canyon he had 
given orders to the driver not 
to come for us until two days 
after I had intended returning 
home, and that when he left the canyon it was 
with the resolution that two weeks would be all 
too short for him to spend there another year. 
“Where and what is Blacksmith Fork canyon?” 
This question has been asked the writer hundreds 
of times during the last ten or twelve years, dur¬ 
ing which he has made many trips to the canyon 
in company with the late William Langstroff, 
James H. Hill, both old time fishermen, and 
Henry H. Peterson; also a number of trips with 
friends who he has invited to spend a day or two 
in the canyon. 
For over fifty miles the main canyon and its 
branches offer ever-changing scenery beyond the 
power of any artist. The varicolored buttes, 
hundreds of feet high, in artistic and fantastic 
shapes that raise their heads for the first few 
miles on either side of the canyon; the stately 
pine and cedar high on the sides of the moun¬ 
tains as you proceed farther up; the eddies and 
rapids—for this is a fisherman's paradise, few bet¬ 
ter in the State of Utah—-with hundreds of vari¬ 
eties of trees and brush, now completely hiding 
the stream from view, now opening to reveal 
some ideal spot for a cast; the small but quiet 
meadows which one finds from time to time dur¬ 
ing a trip through the canyon; and, then, away 
up to the head of one of the many forks; up 
where the snow lies the year round, where the 
clear cold water, the purest in the world, comes 
from the rock-springs which make one disdain 
the offer of a cup or glass to drink from, but 
where you want to—oh, well, every fellow that 
has ever drank at such a spring knows just how 
to lie down and drink his fill, and then just re¬ 
cline in the shade for a spell and listen to the 
water as it gurgles over the rocks, the rustling 
of the pines overhead and the notes of scores of 
birds floating through the pure air. On a summer 
or autumn night there is the blue vault of heaven, 
with the stars so close that you feel that all you 
need to do would be to reach out your hand to 
touch them; or a full moon coming up from be¬ 
hind the nearest hill shedding a magic beauty 
over all, first on a high point of an opposite hill, 
then on the tops of the pine trees, and later on 
the rippling water of the stream as it rushes past 
your camp. Then, just to add another touch of 
nature, you will likely hear the howl of a coyote, 
or the call of a fawn for its mother. And again, 
perhaps, if you are high up in the mountains, you 
will hear, close to your camp, a growl that will 
make you reach for your rifle; for it comes from 
one of those shaggy fellows that are fast disap¬ 
pearing from the West—a bear. 
There are four seasons in 
which the lover of nature may 
visit Blacksmith Fork canyon— 
spring, summer, autumn and 
winter. For in each the canyon 
offers new and different beau¬ 
ties. And after you have visit¬ 
ed it once you will want to go 
again, and again. Each time 
some grandeur that you missed 
before will come to you, until 
you wish that you could spend 
the rest of your days right 
among the wonders and beau¬ 
ties of this canyon; that is, if 
you are a nature lover. 
The mouth of Blacksmith 
Fork canyon is a little over 
eight miles south of Logan, the 
county seat of Cache county, 
Utah, and about two miles east 
of Hyrum, the second largest 
city in the county. From the 
north mountains water flows 
into the Blacksmith Fork on one side and into 
the Logan river on the other side. From the 
south mountains the waters flow into the Black¬ 
smith, Ogden and Weber rivers, all to mingle 
later in the Great Salt Lake. Near the mouth of 
the canyon is a small electric power plant which 
furnishes Hyrum with light and power. A short 
distance up the canyon is a large privately owned 
plant. About four miles up the canyon is the dam 
of this latter plant, and a large artificial lake. 
Two or three miles further up the canyon your 
guide will likely inform you that “you may start 
fishing now.” 
You will find plenty of pools and eddies as you 
go up stream from this point. A favorite plan 
with many parties is what is known as “driving 
and tieing.” This means that one of the party 
leaves the rig and commences to fish. A mile or 
so further along another will leave and commence 
to cast, and so it goes until the driver is the last 
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