Middle Provo River Fishing Report: July 25, 2013: Water levels, hatch reports, and large browns

After fishing my old stomping grounds on Washington's Upper Lewis River about a week ago (above Swift Reservoir), I found myself a little homesick. I'll have to save a summary of the trip for another post, though I'll take this opportunity to mention the two steelhead that I caught : ). Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely thrilled that the Provo River is so close to home, but it can be a little tiring fighting the river traffic, as everyone rat race's to their favorite run. This certainly is not a complaint about the anglers of the Provo, because I have had the pleasure of meeting and a great cast of characters, many who have been kind enough to help net fish, give fishing reports, and even swap a few lies, errr, I mean flies. Still, the Upper Lewis has that off-the-path feel, as does many sections of the Upper Provo, only with more river, wild steelhead and rainbows, and old evergreens along the bank.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the section of the Middle that I fished received little traffic. Water levels have also dropped some, and it's much easier to locate seams and holding spots. The water levels are high enough that large browns are actively seeking undercuts and hanging grass. It can be a bit tricky floating a hopper, bwo, or nymph along the undercuts without getting caught up, but it's well worth the risk.

(weather: calm/faint breeze at times, sunny/overcast, high 80s, no water temperature taken--thermometer broke)

Brown that sent me down river and through the "woods"

As for insect activity, I observed smaller caddis flies throughout the day (size 14 or 16),  light bodied duns (size 18, yellow) and grasshoppers. Please see the complete list of macroinvertebrates of the Provo River.

I arrived on the Middle around 6:45 am. Fishing has tended to be slower in the early morning, but I was itching to go. This morning seemed to buck the trend and I was into the fish until around 1 pm when the action dropped off. At this time, I switched from my nymph set up to duns, and I probably averaged a fish an hour--mostly smaller. Around 3 pm, I switched back to my nymph set up and hooked into back to back monsters--literally, unhooked one and went back to the same run and hooked into another behemoth of equal stature. I was also grateful that another angler, who was with his son, stopped and watched, and then offered to help net him. The brush is pretty thick at the moment and the first brown took me down river and I was forced to follow along the river bank, which required several line loops over larger brush in order to keep pace. I was pretty fortunate it didn't break free, especially given that the brown twice made it into some undercuts.

What am I?

I also saw quite a few critters today, including two beavers, an otter, two does--one crossed upriver from where I was fishing and this guy, which I am not sure what it is. 

There you have it, best of luck!

-Brendan

Middle Provo River Fishing Report: July 2, 2013: High Water, Mayflies, North to South Winds, & Pic of the Day!

If you suspect that the holiday week and the anticipation of mayfly hatches will lead to increased traffic on the Provo, you are partly correct. When I think of traffic, I think of moving vehicles, albeit slowly. Yesterday felt more like a traffic jam, as the hoards of anglers leaped frogged each other, until there was nowhere to leap frog to. Still, there are angling opportunities abound for those looking for a good time-- a lot of water gets skipped over in search for greener pastures. I arrived on the Middle around 7:30 am and decided to nymph until I observed a hatch. Nymphing proved to be very productive. With the very high water levels, I recommend scanning for slower water lanes, as well as the water to the left or right of the central water lane. These tend to be some of the more productive water to nymph in high water conditions.

The first and largest mayfly hatch occurred shortly before 11 am and lasted for over an hour. I had planned on shooting footage and taking photos for the blog, but that all went out the window when I hooked into a large brown that took my Hare's Ear--I had planned on one or two more casts before making the switch to a BWO, and submarined upriver--Das Boot! In true Brown fashion, the fish made a b-line for the cover--undercut with grass and branches hanging down on the opposite side of the stream. It is important to recognize the consequences of letting a large fish reach this cover, as there is a high likelihood that your line will get caught up in the hanging cover or even wrap around the fish, preventing it from being able to fight the current. And with the very high water levels, I certainly wasn't interested in doing my best Brad Pitt Impression of floating down the river while fighting the fish--would be the only similarity. So, I raised my rod high and tried to foil its plan. Knowing that there was a small margin for success, I was not surprised that the fish broke free. I was surprised at the point in my set-up that gave way, the knot connecting a small section of heavier test to my main floating line, which I use to create a perfect loop and attach my strike indicator. While all this was occurring, a caravan of anglers had stopped to watch. I stood with my floating line flapping in the wind, until I spotted my indicator zinging up river. I went to shore, dropped my gear off, and went back and tried several times unsuccessfully to grab the bobbing white thingamabobber--almost looked like I whaling. I was finally able to grab it, but without being able to let line out or allow for some give, the fish snapped free moments later and at least I was able to retrieve my line and flies.

I switched to a green bodied BWO and after letting the run rest, a large brown broke the surface, took my fly, bolted for cover, and promptly freed itself. After the hatch ended, the fishing dropped off noticeably and though I had planned on fishing until evening, I lacked stamina--the night before I went on a Google adventure and stumbled across a few blogs worth checking out: The River Damsel-- a fellow Utahn blogger, and Fishing Through Life--Alabama.

On Monday, heading "home" to Washington State.   

Final note:

Here's the pic of the day:

Who Leaves this Kind of the Stuff? 

By the end of the day, I ended up with a gallon freezer bag full of mostly spent line and some garbage. Given the proximity of the middle and lower Provo to Salt Lake and Park City, there will always  be a plethora of spent line and garbage. I am not sure these culprits are reachable and energy is probably spent better elsewhere. If you are able to, please bring as much of this garbage home at the end of the day as you are willing to stomach. Hopefully a collective effort of good river stewards can keep our river banks mostly garbage free! I have always been a proponent for public access and rights to fish streams; however, there's times when I can certainly see the other side's case.

Anyone interested in a river cleanup?

July 1, 2013: Blog Update: Outing on the Middle Provo River Tomorrow, the Delicate Hierarchy of River Shoes, and Fishing my Old Stomping Grounds in Washington the Following Week.

I'll be on the Middle Provo all day tomorrow and I am looking forward to observing a hatch or two--hopefully I'll get some excellent footage and some decent specimens to share on the blog. As I'll be MIA in the next few weeks, if you fish the Lower, Middle, or Upper Provo, a brief fishing report for the blog would be greatly appreciated! Feel free to email them, along with a short description of yourself to info@provoriverflyguy.com. 

With the string of 100 degree plus days that we have experienced this week, I am looking forward to wet-wading and donning a pair of my river sneakers--that is if my wife hasn't thrown them all away. I tried to explain to my wife that my shoe collection features a fragile fraternity, where the condition of the shoe determines its practical hierarchy and certain pairs must be recognized as keystone species. For example, if one pair of shoes were to go missing, such as my back-up river shoes that are held together with two year old duct tape, my lawn shoes would be catapulted into an endangered species standing, as I would be forced to use these shoes if anything were to happen to my primary river shoes, or if I were to take a friend or family member fishing--as they would obviously need a pair of seasoned river shoes. It is not easy to preserve my shoe collection from being tossed aside, but I believe that I have made a strong case,  and my annual conservatory efforts will preserve the delicate order for years to come. If you sympathize with my struggles, I wear a size 10.5 and I'll be happy to take a pair or two of river worthy shoes off your hands--feel free to email me.

I am heading to Washington next week and I'm particularly looking forward to fishing the Muddy and Upper Lewis Rivers, Merril Lake, and the Swift Reservoir, which were all instrumental in my early angling development and are the backdrop to some of my favorite childhood memories. I'll have some great photos from Washington and if I'm lucky, the Deschutes River, for the blog when I get back.

-B