Blog Update: August 23, 2013: Middle and Upper Provo River Reports

It has been a while since I have created a blog entry and fortunately, the absence of entries does not indicate an absence in my angling. Since my last entry, I spent a few days fishing the Upper Provo in early August and the conditions were dramatically different from my last outing up there--only one month prior. The water levels dropped noticeably and algae blanketed the river bottom. While I was not able to catch any brookies, much to my disappointment, the browns were fairly active and I experienced consistent action using salmonflies, caddis flies, and BWOs.

The Middle's waterflows have been somewhat of a mystery this year and a lot has to do with middle vs. lower priorities, low reservoirs, and yah, mostly low reservoirs. Typically by late August, the Middle's water levels have tapered off, but this year's late summer levels are closer to the spring runoff. I sometimes wonder whether the early 1990s construction of the Jordanelle Dam, whose flows control the look and feel of the Middle, play second fiddle to Utah's crown jewel in the Lower Provo, which is controlled by the dam and Deer Creek Reservoir.

Since my last report, I have fished the middle 3-4 times and have observed caddis and BWOs coming off the surface throughout the day. I have enjoyed moderate success matching these hatches and have continued  to be successful nymphing. My brother, who is visiting from Washington, and I caught between 15 to 20 browns, though the largest of browns humbled us and we were unable to land any of them.

I have also mixed in some hikes into my outdoor routine and was able access the twin peaks from the broadfork trail. Where the trail meets the two beaver bonds, and shortly thereafter, we were forced to cross the brush just past and two the right of the ponds. While cutting through the brush, my brother heard the distinct rattle and we both were able to spot a very healthy rattler give off a few more warnings before slithering deep into the brush. Several moments later, we stumbled upon a bedded moose that scared the bejesus out of us. Needless to say that it was a memorable hike and I rekindled my enthusiasm for hiking. It does not seem all that long ago that my kid brother and I were making our way through the brush in Washington's Indian Heaven and spooked a black bear that fortunately bolted off.

-B