To me, stories of the struggles and hardships of the Mormon
Pioneers are always inspiring, heartbreaking, and captivating. Those of us who
live in the Western United States share the legacy of their courage and faith,
no matter our direct lineage or religious affiliation. In one way or another we are beneficiaries of
the blessings that resulted from their sacrifice and labor. I know what you are thinking, “How does this relate
to fishing?”
I was raised in the Bridger Valley in Southwest Wyoming, an
area rich in historical significance as pertaining to the old west. Among other
things, Fort Bridger was a vital resupply point for handcart companies and
wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trails. In 1847,
a man named Wilford Woodruff, a Mormon Pioneer, recorded in his journals
accounts of fishing throughout the trek including fly fishing on the Blacks Fork of the
Green River. The house that I was raised
in is literally just above the flood plain of the Blacks Fork River. I have spent countless hours fishing and
swimming in that river. I can recall
multiple occasions of catching large brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout just a
few miles downstream of Fort Bridger. How I wish I could have fished next to Wilford back in those days!
The following is an excerpt from a wonderful article which documents the deep connection that Wilford Woodruff had to the art of angling. He is honored here for his dedication and his
mark on western fishing as we know it today. I must note that there is so much more to
this great man than fishing. He left his mark on the world as a powerful
missionary, teacher, and as a prophet of God.
"Fortunately, Western annals leave a stronger clue and point
directly to a Utahn--no less a figure than Wilford Woodruff, fourth
president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a
totally committed angler. Woodruff made the trek west as a member of the
LDS Council of Twelve Apostles and traveled in the vanguard of pioneer
Mormons to reach and settle the Great Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. He
also was one of the most diligent and important diarists among the
Mormons, keeping note of everything he did for more than a half-century.
And when he fulfilled a church mission to England in 1841, he brought
back a fly rod and an assortment of artificial flies.
Because of his fondness for angling, he became a sort of
clearing house for matters piscatorial. Woodruff always remembered to
inquire of trappers and traders on the prairie where the best fishing
was. And when someone had some luck, they passed the word to Woodruff.
..........
Bridger's trading post of crude log houses on Blacks Fork
of the Green River was a place emigrants could stay a day or so to rest
and feed their livestock, repair wagons and generally gird for the final
push to the Great Salt Lake Valley or points west. And here Woodruff
made his mark. In his own words, and colorful spelling: "As soon as I
got my breakfast, I rigged up my trout rod that I had brought with me
from Liverpool, fixed my reel, line & artificial fly & went to
one of the brooks close by Camp to try my luck catching trout."
Fresh meat: "The men at the fort said there were but very
few trout in the streams. And a good many of the brethren were already
at the creeks with their Rods & lines trying their skill baiting
with fresh meat and grasshoppers, but no one seemed to ketch anything.
I went & flung my fly onto the [water]. And it being
the first time I ever tried the Artificial fly in America, or ever saw
it tried, I watched as it floated upon the water with as much intense
interest As Franklin did his kite when he tried to draw lightning from
the skies. And as Franklin received great joy when he saw electricity or
lightning descend on his kite string in like manner was I highly
gratified when I saw the nimble trout dart [at] my fly, hook himself
& run away with the line, but I soon worried him out & drew him
to shore. I fished two or three hours including morning & evening
& I cought twelve in all. And abought one half of them would weigh
about--3/4 of a pound each while all the rest of the camp did not ketch
during the day 3 lbs of trout in all, which was proof positive to me
that the Artificial fly is far the best thing now known to fish [for]
trout with."
Wilford Woodruff went on to fish the Bear River (not with
an artificial fly, however) on horseback in the middle of the stream,
casting baited hooks into eddies. Like anglers of today, he discovered
that fish are fickle. "Some of the time I would fish half an hour &
could not start a fish. Then I would find an eddy with 3 or 4 trout in
it & they would jump at the hooks as though there was a bushel of
trout in the hole. And in one instance I caught two at a time.""
"To go fishing is the chance to wash one's soul with pure air, with the rush of the brook, or with the shimmer of sun on blue water. It brings meekness and inspiration from the decency of nature, charity towards tackle-makers, patience toward fish, a mockery of profits and egos, a quieting of hate, a rejoicing that you do not have to decide a darned thing until next week. And it is discipline in the equality of men-for all men are equal before fish." 
