Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah

Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 18, Issue 1
April 10-22, 2010
Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah

DAY 1, Saturday, April 10, 2010-- Tyson, Jason and I arrived at the Lower Provo River at about 2 pm about one mile below the Deer Creek Reservoir just below the trailer park. Where we parked there must have been about 15 other vehicles. None the less we did not have much trouble finding good places to fish. It was a warm day (about 60 F) and the water was very low. (It was easy to wade across the stream below the trailers). I fished the ‘bend in the river’ pool for about 2 hours nymphing and with a streamer casting to the other side of the stream. No luck. I moved downstream and at about 5:30 pm I caught an 18” brown on a size 18 ‘mating midge’ fly (nymphing with a strike indicator). Just before catching this brown, I had a similar size fish on at the same place with the same fly but lost it in the current (broke the line). Tyson caught two brown below, one about 18". Jason had no luck. It seems to becoming a pattern that there is no activity relative to fish signs or strikes in the early afternoon, but it almost magically picks up about 4-5 pm. We had to leave at 5:45 pm.

DAY 2, Monday, April 19, 2010-- Tyson, Steve and I left Provo at 6 am and arrived at the Lower Provo River just below the trailer park. The weather is sunny but cold (29 F) and the water is low. Tyson and I went upstream about ¼ mile. I caught an 10” rainbow on the size 18 ‘mating midge’ (nymphing with a strike indicator). Tyson had a couple of strikes fishing with a black streamer he tied. We worked our way downstream then crossed the stream just below the trailers. I had to occasionally dip the pole into the water to get the ice off the line and ferrule. About 8:30 am I hooked a large fish on a the size 18 ‘mating midge” (nymphing with a strike indicator) but lost him in the current. Steve had a strike or two, but none we got in. We left about 11 am.

DAY 3, Wednesday, April 21, 2010-- I left Provo at 11 am and arrived at the Lower Provo River just below the train trestle. The weather is cloudy and cool and the water is low. I hiked below the trestle on the north side of the stream to ‘half moon bay’. I fished there for about 1 hour with no strikes. I tried a number of nymph flies and streamers but no luck. I moved down to “Jason run” and immediately hooked a large fish on the size 18 ‘mating midge’ (nymphing with a strike indicator). He was on for about 2-3 minutes then I lost him. (He bent the hook out to about 90 degrees!) By this time the weather was turning cold and windy making casting difficult. It then began to rain. I then drove to just below the Deer Creek Reservoir Dam that feeds the Lower Provo. The rain ceased. I fished just below the bridge (about ¾ mile below the dam) and caught a 14” brown on a size 18 flash back midge out in the rapid water. I left about 5 pm.

DAY 4 Thursday, April 22, 2010-- I left Provo at 2:30 pm and arrived at the Lower Provo River just below the trailers. The weather was sunny and warm and the water is low. I fished the ‘bend’ of the river and hooked a large fish at the end of a nymphing cast (the fly was almost still in a pool about 6-7’ deep) on the size 18 ‘mating midge’ (broke the line right at the fly.) I then crossed the stream below the trailers and worked down the river. Half way down the ¼-mile run just behind a slight obstruction in the stream (swirling water). I hooked what turned out to be a 19” rainbow on the size 18 ‘mating midge’ pattern fly nymphing. The fish got into the middle of the stream and moved steadily downstream until I was able to get him in about 100 yards below. It was a beautiful fish. I took a picture and let him go. I left about 5 pm.

Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:

1. Non-resident Utah fishing license for 2010 is $70 for a 1-year license. The annual license is good for the 365 days subsequent to the day it is purchased.
2. Apparently the Utah Legislature just passed a law in March 2010 that will restrict fishermens’ use of streams in the state if the streams run through private property. This may impact negatively impact fishing along some parts of the Lower Provo.

Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah (APRIL 2010)

Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 22, Issue 1
May 13, 2010

Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah

Thursday, May 13, 2010-- Tyson, Jason and I arrived at the Lower Provo River at about 2:30 pm at the railroad ‘trestle’ about 5 miles below the Deer Creek Reservoir. The weather was overcast, windy and cold. We first hiked upstream about ½ mile to start. Here just after a bend in the river is a place with several boulders and a slower moving water area in the middle of the stream. In this middle area I caught a 13” brown and a 12” rainbow on a size ~18 ‘mating midge’ fly (nymphing with a strike indicator). Tyson caught an 18” brown on a size 14 sow bug he tied (nymphing with a strike indicator). Jason had no luck.

We moved downstream below the trestle down to ‘Jason’s Run’. I tried the mating midge here with no luck so I switched to a size 14 ‘shiny purple’ sow bug (Tyson tied) and immediately caught 4 browns from 12” to 15” long. I lost another bigger fish (broke the line in the fast current.)

We left about 5:15 pm.

Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. Weather was overcast, windy and cold, i.e., rather miserable.

2. Non-resident Utah fishing license for 2010 is $70 for a 1-year license. The annual license is good for the 365 days subsequent to the day it is purchased.

3. Apparently the Utah Legislature just passed a law in March 2010 that will restrict fishermens’ use of streams in the state if the streams run through private property. This may impact negatively impact fishing along some parts of the Lower Provo.