Upper Provo River Fishing Report: June 24-26: The Hatch, a Husband's Revenge, Brooks, Browns, and a once in a lifetime Cuttbow

First, I cheated on the blog. Last week, I fished the Middle from 7 am until just before dusk. In terms of action from start to finish, it was some of the best I have experienced on the Middle--was hoping to see the hatch. I also had the pleasure of meeting Jim and his son, Chris, who are both out-of-towners from San Diego. Jim informed me that even though they do not live near any rivers, his son surfs the web, soaking up information on trout and fly-fishing and even practices catching sponges in their backyard pool. After rigging up Chris's fly-rod and moving up river, a brown took his baetis nymph and I helped him land his first fish on the fly--was good times all-around. Chris proceeded to catch several more browns, not including the few that broke free.

A Tree's Days Are Numbered

Upper Provo Report: Backlog

Four years ago, around a campfire, high in the Uintahs, I asked my wife to marry me. Prior to the engagement, we had planned on camping for 3 days, but my popping the question on the first night resulted in a short trip--young bucks take note. The next morning I packed up all of our gear and started the drive back to Kamas. Having heard the Upper Provo's murmur from our off the beat campsite, the combination of water and angling on my brain was too much to withstand. Seeing a dirt road in the Upper Provo's direction, I pulled the car off and told my new fiancé, that I really needed to check something out. As I bounded down the hill with Temple Fork Lefty Kreh--a rod that would soon be snapped by a summer steelie during my bachelor fishing/survival trip in Washington, and my cherished American-made, Pfleuger medalist reel--inherited from my grandfather...mustn't forget to tighten those screws, my newly fiancé shouted something, and I replied assuredly, "ok, babe."   

If You Camp Near Here, Please Keep It Pristine! 

Fast-forward 4 years and two rods later, I convinced my wife that we should camp at the base of the hill, near that same section of the Upper that I had spent a good half an hour on. Minus packing all of our gear down and the even more treacherous task of hauling everything back up--harder when you are dodging items that your wife is dropping, the "spot" is as good as it gets if you enjoy off the trail camping. In many ways, sections of the Upper remind me of one of my childhood favorite fishing destinations: The Muddy River, which flows into the Upper Lewis River, above Washington State's Swift Reservoir. Unfortunately for the Muddy, significant residential developments--"cabin communities," were recently built in close proximity  and I suspect that the fishery has been affected by the increased pressure. 

Upper Provo Fishing Report:

One of the reasons that I enjoy fishing the Upper, is the diversity of trout species that it holds. Unlike the Middle and Lower, where browns reign king, anglers are likely to catch Brooks, Cutthroat, Rainbows, Cuttbows, and Browns. In the three days that I logged in on the Upper, I managed two Browns, while the majority of fish were Brooks and Cutties--two of my personal favorites! As you can see from some of the photos, fallen trees and underbanks provide excellent trout cover and habitat to support impressive trout and insect populations.

While this undercut features very shallow water, look for undercuts that feature deeper water and you'll find the Browns

The Salmonfly--one of my favorite insects of all-time!

Nymphing baetis nymphs, hare's ear, UFOs, and rainbow warriors was successful in the morning and day and dropped off noticeably towards the evening, or when the sunlight is off the water.

Dry-fly fishing was superb. June 25, from 6:45 pm until 8:30 pm, the mayfly hatch was in full effect. I couldn't help but sit on the bank and just observe the frenzy. I had hoped to take reading of the water temperature, but I busted my thermometer during a small spill on the way down the hill. After about an hour of taking pictures and filming the hatch, I tied on a size 16 BWO and headed to one of the deeper runs, which are far and few in-between on the Upper--prepare to do a little walking.

Mayfly Hatch--Around 7 pm

Several casts in, I was caught off guard as a large trout rose and took my BWO. As the trout started to reset its feeding pattern, it soon realized it had been hook and I struggled to angle him away fallen tree that hung over the run. Short story, short, I lost and the trout won. The next morning I tried the same pattern in the same run and to my dismay, a equally huge trout took my BWO and away we went. This time, a humble me got the upper hand I was able to photo document--more like collect evidence for disbelieving family members, of the large, what I believe is a Cuttbow--if you disagree, feel free to comment. As a colorblind guy, I won't take offense : )

Throughout the 3 day outing, I also observed salmonflies, both in their nymph and adult stages. Salmonfliesare a fascinating insect and I encourage anyone who is interested in introductory entomology to few this site's Comprehensive List of Macroinvertebrates of the Provo River, or even check out West-fly's Profile of the salmonfly.

For dry fly fishing, I tied on a 4 to 5 ft. section of 5x fluorocarbon tied to a smaller section, roughly 8 inches of 7x tied to the BWO. With my 9ft rod, I was able to manage the BWO through runs and achieve good drifts.

That's it for this week. Hoping for an outing on the Middle or Lower next week.

-B