Fly Fishing Provo River Utah
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Two Tailwaters and Freestone
Stream
Species (depends on section)
Brown Trout (wild and stocked)
Rainbow Trout (wild and stocked)
Cutthroat Trout (native, wild and
stocked)
Whitefish
Size
Medium
Location
Central Utah
Nearest Towns
Provo
Herber City
Season
Year-round
Access:
Good
Special Regulations
Yes, you should review the current
regulations which are subject to
change each year.
Non-Resident License
State of Utah
Seasons:
You can fish the river year-round.
Winter:
The fishing can be good in the tailwaters
during the Winter since the water stays near a constant temperature.
Spring:
Springtime is an excellent time to fish the
Provo River but it can be high and off color during the runoff.
Summer:
Fly fishing the Provo River during the
Summer is good in the tailwater sections,
and freestone section except during the
hottest days of Summer.
Fall:
The autumn season is an excellent time
for fly fishing the Provo River because its
brown trout spawn during the Fall.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Provo River, Utah Fishing Report – November 17, 2024 Conditions remain very good. The stream is flowing near a normal level and clear. Good late season hatches are still taking place. We are getting good reports from customers. We update the Provo River fishing report weekly, so check back often.
Stream Conditions:
Rate: 134 cfs
Level: .83 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 52
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data At River Rd Bridge
7 Day Weather Forecast: Click the link below to see detailed weather information
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Cream and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Scuds/sowbugs, size 14/16
Spotted Sedge Caddis: 16, larva, pupa and adults
Mahogany Duns, size 18, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
October Caddis, size 6, larva, pupa and adults
Perfect Flies are designed and tied to to imitate and behave like the natural foods the trout rely on to survive as much as possible. The more your fly looks like and moves through and on the surface of the water like the real things, the higher your odds of success.
Fly Fishing On The Provo River In Utah: The Provo River is one of the nation’s best trout streams. It is located near Salt Lake City Utah. It consist of three separate sections – the Upper Section, Middle Section and Lower Section. The Upper Section of the Provo River begins in the Uinta Mountains and flows down to the Jordanelle Reservoir. The Middle Section of the Provo River lies between Joradanelle Dam and Deer Creek Reservoir. This tailwater flows through Herber Valley and is a great wild brown trout fishery. The Lower Section of the Provo River flows from Deer Creek Dam and is considered the best section by some anglers. It contains mostly wild brown trout. Fly fishing the Provo River at the right time can be excellent in either of these sections. All three sections contain plenty of trout. Although most of the trout are probably brown trout, the river contains some rainbows and cutthroat. There are as many as 3000 trout per mile is some section with twenty-five miles of river that’s accessible by the public. Fly fishing the Provo River can be a wonderful fly fishing experience.The upper section is a freestone stream that depends on the snow pack in the Uinta Mountains for most of its water. It’s rather small and flows mostly through private property. There’s some access but it’s limited. The trout are mostly browns with some cutthroats. As with any tailwater, the flows from the middle and lower sections are controlled by the dams. Normally, the middle section can be easily waded just about its entire length. It has plenty of pull offs to park and access the river. Trout are commonly caught up to and over twenty inches. This section has rainbows, browns and cutthroats. The stream meanders through a beautiful valley of ranches and farms. This section is fairly close to Herber City. Access is from the bridges and other designated areas. There’s a lot of private property in this section of the river. The river in the middle and lower section consist of some beautiful runs, riffles and pools. The Lower Provo can be accessed from Highway 189 from the mouth of Provo Canyon not far from Provo. It has all three species and is considered the blue-ribbon stretch by many with a lot of very large brown trout taken regularly. The very scenic canyon also adds much to the value of fishing this section. The lower section of the Provo River flows into Utah Lake at Provo.The Provo River has a great supply of aquatic insects, crustaceans and marine species. There are plenty of caddisflies, stoneflies and mayflies. During the colder months of the year, midges are a prime food for the trout. During the summer months, terrestrial insects such as grasshoppers, ants and beetles make up part of the trout’s diet. The Provo River has a reputation of being one of the best western trout streams. Fly fishing Provo River is a real treat. It has beautiful scenery and big trout, so make sure you have a camera ready.
Provo River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Provo River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726. The hatches vary some depending on the section of the river (freestone and tailwater) but the insects listed below are plentiful throughout most of the stream from its headwaters to its lower section. During the early season, before runoff, the main hatches consist of Western March Browns and Blue-winged Olives. The BWOs can start as early as March but April usually is the most consistent time for the hatch to begin. There’s also a Fall hatch of the BWOs. It usually takes place from late September and throughout most of the month of October.Of course, midges will work well anytime the water is too cold for most other insects. There’s also plenty of small black winter stoneflies that hatch in the early season, even when there’s snow on the ground. Golden Stoneflies can hatch from May through July. Some are usually caught up in the runoff. Little Yellow Stoneflies are fairly plentiful in some areas from June through August. Scuds and sowbugs are present in some sections of the Provo River. Trout eat them year-round. The first caddisflies to hatch are the Little Black Caddis, called the Mothers Day hatch in most places in the West. This hatch starts in the lower section of the river in late April and last about a month. In late June and early July, there’s plenty of Spotted Sedges that begin to hatch. These are the most plentiful of the caddisflies and the different species hatch throughout most of the Summer and Fall. The next most important caddisfly hatch are the Green Sedges. They hatch from May through August, depending on the species. Imitations of the Green Rock Worms, or their larvae, work year-round. In June, usually before the runoff ends, Pale Morning Duns will start hatching. This is usually a good hatch that last through August. There are a few Green Drakes that hatch but the numbers are usually fairly low. They hatch from about the middle of June through the middle of August. There are also some Flavs, or Small Western Green Drakes, but the numbers of them are relatively low. In some areas of the fast water you will find some Pink Ladies that hatch in late August and September. Late Summer, in August and September, terrestrials will play an important role in the trout’s diet. Don’t forget imitations of grasshopper, ants and beetles.