Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah

Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 15, Issue 1
Friday, October 23, 2009
Lower Provo River, ‘just below the trailer park’

I drove to the Lower Provo to the trailer park parking area off the freeway at about 10 am. The water was very low and I conditions looked ideal. I fished at the ‘bend in the river’ pool for over an hour, then tried nymphing above it and waded across the stream trying below it. No luck. While fishing the big pool I saw what has to be one of the most unusual sights in Mother Nature. A, what appeared to be a ~16-17–inch brown, jumped three successive times all in a row across the entire pool. It jumped out then in, out then in, and out then in, every time coming about 2-3 feet out of the water. I stood there quite amazed at the spectacle. Later, across the pool a very large rainbow (estimated to be >20”) rolled out of the water and back in. Its side was a distinct and beautiful pink/salmon color.

So, having fished for about 4 hours with no luck, I began to wonder why these very active fish were not biting. Just as I was preparing to leave I noticed some fish activity beginning to pick up across the pool in the calm water. I switched to a streamer (black size 6 leech pattern) with no luck. I then tried a Carrie Special streamer (size 6, brown body, with a few long brown hackle strands along its length) on a sinking tip line. I then caught a fat 10” rainbow with few spots, and then a 12” brown trout. Fish were starting to jump across the pool so I switched to a size 8 parachute hopper—dry on top. A ~16-inch brown took the fly after a few teasing casts. I later had several fish bite at the hopper but missed hooking any of them. I left about 4:15 pm.

Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:

1. It is interesting that, like what we found in Yellowstone in July, the fish seem to really decrease activity from about 11am to 3:30 pm. Then they can really come alive as evening approaches. This may have something to do with bug activity below the surface, i. e., hatches, etc., it is hard to say. I will add to the list to my “why” list that seems to be growing.
2. It was recently stated from a study that the Provo River has about 3,000 fish per mile. That means there would be on-average about 30 fish for every 20 lineal yards of stream. In other words for a fisherman standing on the edge of the stream who can cast 10 yards upstream or 10 yards downstream would have access to about 30 fish across the water.
3. Non-resident Utah fishing license for 2009 is $12, $32, or $70 for a 1-day, 7-day or 1-year license, respectively. The annual license is good for the 365 days subsequent to the day it is purchased.