Fishing Report

Early Summer Fly Fishing 6/12/16

Jeff Harwin — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 02:55:52 +0000

The Middle Provo continues to fish well, and everyone is awaiting the Green Drake hatch. The most productive fly fishing on the Middle Provo has been from the Bunny Farm up to the dam. The dry fly fishing has turned off but the nymph fishing continues to be great. It’s good to get an early start on the river. The fish have been actively feeding from 7:00 – 11:30 AM with a strong midge hatch, and the bite has slowed down in the afternoon. The most productive flies have been a pale midge in a size 18-22, as your point fly, and dropping a size 22-24 chocolate or brown thread midge below. We have also had success on size 24 grey thread midges.

The fly fishing has not changed much in the past couple of weeks on the Lower Provo. They are still keyed into the sow bugs but are getting a little wary with the increase of angling pressure. As of late, I have had more success by fishing really small sows bugs, as small as a size 22. I am always amazed at how they can pick up such a small sow bug in even the fastest water. I suspect they are going to raise the water on Lower Provo within the next week for the June Sucker spawn. Once the water comes down, we should really start seeing a good PMD hatch.

The Upper Green has come up to 4,500 CFS in the past couple of days and I have a feeling it might hit around 8,000 CFS before run off is done. It is still fishable at these flows, just remember the fish are going to be tight to the bank. I don’t anticipate the PMD,s and Yellow Sallies to really start hatching before the beginning of July. I think the prime fishing is going to be July 1st to July 14th.

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Utah Fly Fishing Report 5/01/16

Jeff Harwin — Sun, 01 May 2016 14:34:04 +0000

Utah Fly Fishing Report : This past week brought some nasty weather to northern Utah but, it didn’t effect the fishing at all. Next week looks to bring warmer weather and sunny skies. With excellent fishing and beautiful weather, getting on the river should be a real treat. The Middle Provo is flowing at 205 CFS which is a really nice flow to walk and wade the river. The fishing on the Middle Provo hasn’t changed much in the last week. We are still seeing a nice Blue Winged Olive hatch in the afternoon. The hatch has been strongest up by the dam. I am having best luck nymph fishing in the morning. Try a Blue Winged Olive emerger, like a Barr’s Emerger, Juju Baetis and a Two Bit Hooker in a size 22-24 as your point fly and drop a variety of thread midges, size 24-26, behind it. In the afternoon, look for rising fish on Blue Winged Olives around 12:00-1:00 depending on the weather.

The Lower Provo is flowing at 163 CFS which hasn’t changed from last week. The rainbows are spawning on the Lower Provo, so please be careful not to walk on there spawning beds. As far as fishing- when it’s not broken don’t fix it. The fish on the Lower Provo are still suckers for a sow bug rig. As for a nymph set up, we are still fishing a double sow bug rig with a big sow as our point fly in a size 14-16 and a small sow bug in a size 20-22 as our dropper.

At 85 CFS the Weber River has come up to a nice fishable flow in the last couple of weeks. I got a chance to fish the Weber River the other day and the fish are healthier than I have ever seen. Just like the Lower Provo, as the water comes up, the fish get pretty fixated on sow bugs. When I fished it the other day, it didn’t seem to matter what size of sow bug pattern you were using. Having said that, I caught most of my fish on a size 18 sow bug. The fish seem to be concentrated in the deeper runs, where the water is flowing a little slower. I did catch a couple fish in the more shallow riffles where the water is a little quicker. In the next week or two, the Mother’s Day Caddis hatch should start and bring some amazing dry fly fishing.

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Park City Fly Fishing Report 4/14/16

Jeff Harwin — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 23:10:24 +0000

If you are visiting Park City, Utah and looking for an outdoor activity, it might be a surprise to you that the ski resorts are already closed. Not to worry, spring provides some of the best fly fishing Park City has to offer. The Middle Provo River is still flowing around 150 CFS ( cubic feet per second). The flows on the Middle Provo River should start to increase in flow the next few weeks as we get ready for spring run-off. The best fishing on the Middle Provo River has been in the afternoon. The Blue Winged Olive hatch starts around noon and goes for 2-4 hours depending on the day. For nymphing, Park City Fly Fishing Company guides are having the best success on a 4-6 foot rig with 6x tippet. We are using a Blue Winged Olive nymph like a Barr’s emerger in size 20-22 as our point fly and 22-24 thread midge trailed behind it. The best dry fly fishing is on overcast days. Keep in mind that the hatch usually takes a little longer in the day to get going when it’s not sunny out.

The flows on the Lower Provo River have come up about 60 CFS in the last week. The increase in flows have made fish become more active, feeding on sow bugs and other crustaceans. The flows have also opened up more water to fish as well. With the increased water flows, we are spending more time on the Lower Provo River than anywhere else simply because it has made the fishing the best around. The dry fly fishing has suffered a little bit with the water flow increasing, but the nymph fishing has more than made up for it. We are fishing a double sow bug rig with a size 14-16 sow bug as our point fly and a size 20-22 sow bug trailed behind it. The fishing in the shallows has been excellent. If you shorten your nymph rig and stay close to the bank, you should have an excellent day fly fishing.

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Provo River Fishing Report 4/01/16

Jeff Harwin — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 14:52:38 +0000

In the last Couple of weeks, the fishing on the Middle Provo River has been good to great. The Buffalo midges on the Middle Provo river hit their peak a couple of weeks ago and the hatch is starting to slow down. Not to worry, the Blue Winged Olive hatch on the Middle Provo River is just getting started and should make for some excellent fly fishing in the coming weeks. In the morning, we are still nymphing with a light weight bounce or in-line rig. For nymph fishing, our best flies for the Middle Provo River are size 22-24 thread midge in colors: red, black, grey, brown, and olive. In the afternoon, as the Buffalo midge hatch and the Blue Winged Olive hatch get going, I am switching over from nymph patterns to some bigger offerings. Best nymph patterns in the afternoon on the Middle Provo River have been a size 16-18 black Zebra Midge, 18-20 Grey RS2 and 18-20 black WD-40. The dry fly fishing on the Middle Provo River is excellent in the afternoon. I have had the most success fishing an 11 foot leader with 6-7x tippet. My most productive fly combination is a size 18, black or brown, Mother Shucker dry fly with a size 20 Noseeum Blue Winged Olive or comparadun trailed behind it.

The Lower Provo River is in excellent condition for any of you anglers looking to take a break from the Middle Provo River. You’ll have a chance at catching a fish in the 20-inch range or better. The morning bite has been very consistent with an excellent midge hatch. The last couple of guide trips I have had on the Lower Provo River has been all dry fly fishing. The rig I have had the most success with has been a 12 foot leader with a size 18 cluster midge pattern, with a size 18 comparadun Blue Winged Olive trailed behind it. Anyone looking to just nymph fish, try to find some deeper pools. The fish seem to be very spooky with such low water flows. The best patterns for nymph fishing have been a size 16-18 sow bug as your point fly and a Blue Winged Olive nymph trailing behind it.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Allen

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Spring Fishing Is Here 3/20/16

Jeff — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 15:31:08 +0000

It has been a long winter in the Park City, Utah area, but in the last couple of weeks it seems like spring is getting the bestof winter. This is great news for any fisherman that might be out here for a ski trip and is looking for another activity. The Middle Provo river flowing below Jordanell Reservoir is at winter flows, which is about 150 CFS (cubic feet a second). The midge fishing has finally started to get active in the past week, and there has also been a spotting of some buffalo midge. Nymph fishing has been most productive in the morning. The best rig for nymphing has been a light nymph rig with black or gray Zebra Midge as your point fly and small size 24-26 thread midge (best colors: red, black, olive and tan). You can look for some good dry fly fishing to start around noon.

This time of year it is really important to have a longer leader and lighter tippet. Typically, we have been using a 12 foot leader and 6-7 x tippet. The flows below Deer Creek Reservoir (the lower Provo River) have also continued to flow at their winter flows which is about 100 CFS. There has been consistent dry fly fishing in the morning with midge clustering on the surface. For the morning dry fly fishing, I have been fishing a tandem rig using a Quiggly Hackle Stacker as my point fly and small size 22 Mother Sucker trailing about 18 inches behind the hackle stacker. Once the sun hits the water, the dry fly fishing in the morning slows down. Not to worry the nymph fishing continues to be solid for the rest of the day. With the low flows, I have continued to have success with that lighter, in-line rig. This year they seem to prefer a larger sow bug in a size 14-16, with a small olive midge emerger size 24-22 trailing behind it.

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