Our Provo River Fly Fishing Guides
Our crew of Provo River fly fishing guides are experienced, professional, friendly and most importantly, passionate about fly fishing! Trout Bum 2 owner Chad Jaques , personally hires only guides that he feels will give you an unforgettable experience on your Provo River guide trip. Chad is a Utah native who grew up here and has spent a lifetime fishing and guiding on the Provo River himself, and as a result is well qualified to find the best Provo River guides around. Simply put, our Provo River fly fishing guides are some of the best guides on the Provo River! You don’t have to take our word for it, take a look at our ratings and read some of our reviews.
Trout Bum 2 guides are Provo River veterans that know the river like the back of their hands, live to fish and spend time on the water every chance they get. If you want to fish the Provo with the guys who know the river better than anyone else and will work hard to ensure that your guide trip is an unforgettable experience, you can be assured that you have come to the right place.
Fly Fishing The Provo River
Utah’s Provo River is a phenomenal blue ribbon self-sustaining brown trout fishery with all brown trout naturally reproducing in the river without stocking. In addition you will find Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout and even Brook Trout in the upper reaches.
The Provo offers a large variety of water types and offers great fly fishing options throughout the entire season including the middle of winter. The Provo River originates on the western flanks of the Uinta Mountain range east of our shop here in Park City, Utah. As it leaves the Uinta Mountains, the Provo makes its way through two major reservoirs, Jordanelle Reservoir and Deer Creek Reservoir, and a major population center in the lower reaches before ultimately ending the journey as it empties into Utah Lake.
For ease of description, it is divided into three sections; the upper Provo River (the river above Jordanelle reservoir upstream to the headwaters), the middle Provo River (the river below Jordanelle Reservoir downstream to Deer Creek Reservoir), and the lower Provo River (the river below Deer Creek Reservoir downstream.) Our fly fishing guides are experienced in fishing all three sections but specialize on and spend the majority of their time on the middle Provo River and the lower Provo River.
Provo River Sections & Local Waters
Middle Provo River
The middle Provo river is a convenient and short 15 mile drive east of Park City, Utah. Because of the proximity, middle Provo River guide trips are our most popular trips. The middle Provo is located just off of highway 40 in the Heber valley and our guides know all of the best holes, riffles and runs and can show you where that trophy brown trout lives.
A guide trip on the middle Provo River is a memorable experience regardless of the fact that the river is a great fishery. You will be immersed in a beautiful, wild natural setting with dramatic scenery and wildlife.
One of the reasons that the middle Provo is such a spectacular fishery is the result of it being a tail water below Jordanelle Reservoir. This results in fairly stable water temperatures and flows throughout the year as opposed to a freestone river that fluctuates highly in flow and temperature. The temperature remains colder in the summer and warmer in the winter making the trout and the insects much more active.
The middle Provo is composed of a cobblestone bottom with good hatches of mayflies, caddis, stoneflies and midges. Because of this, good dry fly fishing is a possibility throughout the year on your middle Provo guide trip.
The middle Provo had a full-scale stream restoration completed on it which added approximately four miles of river meanders, and much needed in-stream structure. For more information on current conditions and how the fishing has been lately check out our Middle Provo River Fishing Reports The middle section of the Provo River ends as the river flows into Deer Creek Reservoir.
Latest Middle Provo Fishing Reports
Lower Provo River
The Lower Provo River is a slightly longer drive from Park city than the Middle Provo, around 30 minutes southeast of our fly shop. However, the added distance can definitely be worth it at the right time!
The Lower Provo River flows from Deer Creek Reservoir and enters a steep walled, limestone canyon as it passes by Sundance ski resort. This section is also a tailwater formed by Deer Creek Reservoir so can also provide consistent year round fishing for your guided trip.
This section of the Provo is much different than the middle Provo being a a long established tail water with prolific populations of sow bugs, scuds and midges producing a big population of trout that are larger on average than the Middle Provo trout. Our guides love fishing this section because of the chance at one of the true trophy Rainbow trout that live here. The Lower Provo maintains a healthy population of wild brown trout, with populations of rainbow trout (some very big ones) and a few cutthroat trout as well.
In addition to the sow bugs, scuds and midges, there are also prolific mayfly populations and the river has an excellent blue winged olive hatch in the spring and pale morning dun hatch in the summer so guide trips on this section frequently have chances at dry fly fishing. Numerous Caddis and Little Yellow Sally Stoneflies round out the menu during summer months.
The lower Provo river runs parallel to highway 189 in Provo canyon so is not as far removed from civilization as other stretches of the Provo but it still offers beautiful scenery in a mountain setting. In the summer months, the lower Provo can be dominated by the “tube hatch” with recreational floaters and tubers a major part of the scene. If you don’t mind dodging the rafts, the browns and rainbows on the lower Provo are well accustomed to the traffic and fishing can be very good.
The high quality managed section of the lower Provo ends at the lower end of Provo canyon at the Olmstead diversion. There is good fishing on the Provo well below here into town, but water levels and access become more of an issue so the guides usually don’t spend much time below this section.
Latest Lower Provo Fishing Reports
Upper Provo River
The Upper Provo river includes the entire river from where it enters Jordanelle Reservoir upstream to the headwaters in the Uinta Mountains. The fishable sections begin about 30 minutes east of Park City, Utah.
The upper Provo River for the most part is free flowing with high spring flows and low fall and winter flows. There is also a lot of private water on this section, so our guides usually only do trips here in the early season in the section above the reservoir or much higher up in the summer months. The lower reach has some larger brown trout with a few rainbows and cutthroat around while the upper reaches are dominated by small brook and cutthroat that eagerly take the fly. Winter snow makes access difficult on the upper Provo, and spring runoff makes it unfishable until early summer.
The lower portion of the upper Provo, near the small towns of Francis and Woodland can provide good fly fishing with more Brown and Rainbow Trout, but access is difficult due to private land. Access to the river on the upper reaches is easy on National Forest land along the Mirror Lake highway (SR 150). The Upper Provo River ends as it flows into Jordanelle Reservoir near Heber City.
The Weber River
In addition to the Provo River, the Weber River is only 20 minutes from the shop and it is an excellent wild brown trout fishery in it’s own right. There are times when the “Weeb” outfishes the Provo when conditions are right and our guides love to fish it when this is the case.
The Weber is a prolific caddis stream and because of this fishes best when these insects are hatching. There is an early season “Mother’s Day Caddis” and another caddis hatch later in the summertime that make up the majority of the dry fly fishing. It is also a productive nymph fishery any time and is a good option as an alternative to the Provo that is close by. For current conditions on the most recent fishing and more information read our current Weber River Fishing Reports
Latest WEber Provo Reports
SMALL STREAMS & SECRET WATERS
In addition to our home waters of the Provo and Weber, there are various other smaller rivers and “secret streams” that are a little more off the beaten path within an hour or two of our shop. Because of the longer distance, these destinations require more driving time and logistics and we only offer full day trips on these waters. If you want to get away from crowds, and have a serious day of fishing these other waters are an excellent option.
Timing is critical on a lot of these waters since water levels and hatch activity can vary. Get in touch with us at the shop and we can let you know if any of these lesser known waters may be fishing good at the time you are planning on heading out. There are numerous options all within a few hours of our fly shop in Park City.
Local Guide Trip Rates
1/2 Day Local Guide Trips
**Includes expert guided instruction, fly rods, reels, lines, waders and boots, terminal tackle, all flies needed, non-alcoholic beverages, snacks**
**Not Included: Utah State sales tax, all necessary Utah fishing licenses.**
(2 People max. Per Guide)
Full Day Local Guide Trips
**Includes expert guided instruction, fly rods, reels, lines, waders and boots, terminal tackle, all flies needed, non-alcoholic beverages, snacks, shore lunch**
**Not Included: Utah State sales tax, all necessary Utah fishing licenses.**
(2 People max. Per Guide)
Utah “Blue Ribbon Sampler”
1 Day Provo River Wade Fishing
**Includes 2 days expert guided instruction, fly rods, reels, lines, waders & boots, shore lunch, non-alcoholic beverages, flies and terminal tackle.**
**Lodging not included, but can be arranged.**
**Not Included: Utah State sales tax, all necessary Utah fishing licenses.**
Utah “Grand Slam”
1 Day Provo River Wade Fishing
1 Day Small Streams or Provo
**Includes 3 days expert guided instruction, fly rods, reels, lines, waders & boots, shore lunch, non-alcoholic beverages, flies and terminal tackle.**
**Lodging not included, but can be arranged.**
**Not Included: Utah State sales tax, all necessary Utah fishing licenses.**