Utah Fly Fishing Reports

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

View archived provo river fishing reports here.

Location

Middle Provo River

Overview

UPDATE: As of 8/1 the flows have decreased to 400 CFS

Fishing on the Middle Provo has been consistent with lots of angling pressure. The flows have been steady at 500 cfs for a couple weeks now, making crossing the river actually possible in some spots. However, still use extreme caution as this is still somewhat of a high flow for the middle. It is easy to incorrectly judge the depth and speed of the water and find yourself in a sticky situation. There has been lots of angling pressure recently, but this should start to decrease during the month of August.

Not much has changed in terms of bugs. PMD’s, caddis, midges, and sow bugs have all be producing fish while nymphing. The fish aren’t really keying in on one or the other so make sure to always be changing your flies, depth, and weights.

If you’re looking to fish dry flies, a drag-free drift is the most important thing when casting to rising trout on the middle. Most of the rising fish are eating dead or crippled flies. Dead flies don’t swim… Make sure that your flies are not dragging across the water in your presentation. I believe that this is more important than fly choice and I think that holds true for most rivers around the west. Obviously you should try to “match the hatch” as much as possible, but make sure that fly you’ve chosen isn’t skating on the water when casting to risers. Look for the best dry fly fishing during mid-morning and evening times. There is a solid PMD spinner fall in the evenings.

With the recent amount of angling pressure, remember that is is extremely important to have common courtesy and respect for other anglers on the river. Be conscious of where other people are and how you might affect their fishing. Remember that we’re all out there for the same reasons and want to enjoy our time on the river equally. As always, have fun!

Latest Flows

At the dam: 404 CFS

River Road: 255 CFS

Charleston: 303 CFS

Fishing

Good

Current Hatches

PMD, Caddis, Midges

Best Techniques

Dry Flies: Size 16-22

CDC midges,

PMDs – Galloup’s Compara Spinner, Last Chance Cripple, Film Critic Cripple, Rusty Spinner, Sparkle Dun

Caddis – EZ caddis, henry’s fork caddis, Goddard Caddis

Nymphs: Size 18-22

Sow bugs, bling midge, disco midge, KF flasher, juju midge, silver wire zebra midge, barrs PMD emerger, magic fly, mayhem pmd, green caddis, birds nest

Streamers: small, natural colors

Best Time Of Day

9 AM – 6 PM

View archived provo river fishing reports here.