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Utah's Provo River: Take Long Weekend And Try A New River
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How many new rivers have you experienced in the past five years? Sure, it’s nice to go to a river you know, fish the same holes and possibly catch the same fish each year. Okay, maybe the fish has gotten bigger, but wouldn’t it be fun to pick one new regional river to try your luck on every year? We’ll, Denver-based anglers could leave for Utah’s Provo River in the early morning hours and be ready to fish the evening hatch by 5 p.m.
“The Lower Provo is a producer with tons of trout,” said Mark Forslund, owner of Four Seasons Fly Fishers in Heber. “Each section offers a different experience, but the Lower Provo is the top producer.”
The lower stretch has long been recognized as one of the top ten trout streams in the nation. Home to wild brown trout and some real bruiser rainbows, catches average 14 to 18 inches. Year round fishing is good, but you’ll want to fish mid-day in the winter. As with any river in winter, calm days see blue winged olives and any day with temperatures above freezing and some sun is a good day.
“This tailwater below Deer Creek is the popular spot where the river lives up to the hype with the best seasons being spring and early summer, then again in fall,” says Forslund. “You’ll find some of the best blue winged olive fishing from mid-march until summer flows in late May,” adds Forslund. “Summer flows are typically higher due to water demands. Flows to 550 cfs are handled very well by the Provo. Flows are consistent on the lower stretch.”
For those who nymph the river, sow patterns are a must. Try size 16 in the spring, scaling down in size as the year moves on, suggests Forslund. A proven rig on the Lower Provo has always been a beadhead Prince paired with an RS2 emerger. For winter fishing, try a couple size 20s. It doesn’t matter so much the pattern, as long as you have some kind of midge, emerger, scud or egg.
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