Hello darbs29,

It's clear you're enjoying Utah and want to show your Dad a good time. Utah is one of my favorite places to visit, too. Here are just a few comments and observations which will hopefully help you along in your planning process:

The Green River immediately below Flaming Gorge Dam is as trout-filled as any place on Earth. Guided trips in dorys or on rafts are the way to experience the Green. Quite a number of outfitters/guides can be found working out of Dutch John, UT. The guided trips I'm familiar with, however, are all for fly-fishermen. I imagine trips can be arranged for spin-casters, but it's likely the casting is restricted to barbless, single-hook artificial lures, and catch and release is likely enforced. The take-outs below the dam are spaced at half-day and full-day distances from the dam.

Much of the remainder of the Green's long traverse of central UT is not trout water (where the waters within, say, 20 or 30 or so miles from the dam remain cold enough for trout). Also, below approximately the town of Green River, UT, on I-70, the Green enters a series of very remote canyons where access points are few, far between, and involve literally dozens and dozens of miles of slow 4WD vehicle travel. Ultimately the Green enters the Colorado at The Confluence within Canyonlands National Park, and from The Confluence to Lake Powell is the Cataract Canyon. Access to the Green below the town of Green River and to the Cataract Canyon involves days-long guided/outfitted raft trips.

But, Lake Powell is known for its striped bass fishing and I'd suggest arranging a guided trip would be your best bet. Similarly, Flaming Gorge Reservoir back up towards the Green's headwaters at Dutch John and Manila, UT offers terrific lake fishing. At Flaming Gorge, deep trolling for HUGE lake trout is very popular. There again, a guided trip is what I'd look for.

Closer to Salt Lake City, the Provo River between Heber City and Provo, within Provo Canyon, offers many easily-accessed spots inasmuch as the main highway runs along the river. You'd need to check local regulations concerning lures, catch & release, etc, as I haven't a clue what the current rules are.

Other cool places not too far away from your starting place would be the Alpine Loop, Timpanogos Cave (Caverns?) along the Alpine Loop, a drive over Guardsman's Pass at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon,and Robert Redford's Sundance Resort along the Alpine Loop. The entire Unita Range, from Flaming Gorge on west towards Park City represents a good 100 miles of forested, snowcapped mountains studded with alpine lakes and mountain streams, so surely some trout-fishing of most any sort can be found in the Unitas.

Lastly, I think some searching specifically for Utah fishing websites and forums is in order. That's what I did prior to booking a trip to the Green below Flaming Gorge some 3 years ago.

Have fun planning and taking your RoadTrip!

Foy