Location
Middle Provo River
Overview
UPDATE: As of 10/1 the flows have decreased to 150 CFS
The Middle Provo has finally receded for the fall and winter flow. The pressure from both guides and public anglers has drastically decreased so its a bit easier to find good water. That being said, some of the other outfitters in town have a few more large groups going out this month so keep that in mind. Usually the bigger trips get to the water around 9 and are off by 1 o’clock.
Now that the flows are down keep an eye out for spawning fish. We are at the beginning of the brown trout spawn, and so far they haven’t really started digging, but bear in mind that redds will be forming over the coming weeks. Please do you best to avoid trampling the redds and fishing to spawning fish.
As autumn has arrived so have some new hatches. We love that when the foliage begins to move from green to orange, the caddis react similarly. The monster olive caddis from Septmeber have petered out and now fat orange October Caddis’ are beginning to pop up and skitter clumsily across the surface attempting to take flight. The trout generally find this action irresistible and will regularly take a swung or skittered caddis pattern. The October caddis is one of the larger insects in the Caddis family so don’t shy away from using size 12-14 patterns. We have also been noticing a good quantity of smaller olive and tan caddis laying their eggs on the water in the mornings and evenings. Having some X-Caddis patterns is a good idea.
In addition to the caddis hatches the autumnal Baetis or Blue Winged Olive (BWO) and midges are hatching with good consistency. The BWO’s hatching are typically very small-in the #22-#26 range. We have been having success fishing a tandem dry fly rig for these smaller bugs. A #18-#22 Parachute Adams trailed by an emerging midge or baetis has been proven fruitful.
If you are having trouble catching fish on the surface, the nymphing has been decent as well. Try using small #22-#26 midge patterns, #22-24 baetis patterns as well as caddis larvae and San Juan worms. When it comes to nymphing this time of year, think small and light weight-focusing attention on the seams and riffles. Once the fish really get busy egg patterns should produce as well. Keep in mind it is terrible juju to fish an egg on a redd or to target actively spawning fish. It is tempting, but for the health of the river please avoid this temptation. The angling community thanks you.
As if the fishing couldn’t get any more interesting, the streamer bite is ON! We have been having a blast stripping streamers all over the middle provo and have been putting some quality fish in the net as well. Best colors right now are white, ginger, gold and silver type streamers. However, based on what we have been seeing just about any color should illicit a response from an aggressive fish.
Latest Flows
At the dam: 150 CFS
River Road: 131 CFS
Charleston: 135 CFS
Fishing
Good
Current Hatches
October Caddis, Caddis, Baetis and Midges
Best Patterns
-Dry Flies
- Baetis:(#20-26) Sparkle Dun, Comparadun, Harroups Last Chance Cripple, Parachute Adams, Hackle Stacker Dun, Juju Baetis emerger, Mole Fly
- Caddis:(#12-#18) October caddis patterns, Orange Stimi’s, Lawsons E-Z caddis, X-Caddis
- Midges:(#22-26) Muther Shucker, Morgans midge, Silvey’s midge, CDC midge, Trailing shuck midge, Mole Fly
-Nymphs
- Baetis:(#22-#26) Barr’s emerger, Juju baetis, Juju emerger, RS2, WD-40’s, Passages Magic Fly
- Caddis:(#14-#20) Chartreuse larvae, birds nest, Translucent pupae, buckskin caddis, October Caddis pupae
- Midges:(#22-26) Bling midge (tan, brown and cream), Tailwater tiny, zebra midge, juju midge (grey, tan, blue and olive) Cardinal midge, disco midge, mayhem midge
- Other: (#16-#22) Burgundy San Juan worms, Brown San Juans, Ray Charles (Grey,Tan) Fire bead ray charles, Rainbow sow, agees sow
-Streamers
- Zonkers, white dungeon, Platte River spider, sculpzilla, thin mint bugger, slump buster
Best Time Of Day
9 AM – 6 PM The nymphing is consistent throughout the day, as is the streamer fishing. The dry fly fishing seems to pick up mid afternoon, but you should see some risers throughout the morning as well