The Provo River is a great fishery located next to major cities. It is considered a Blue Ribbon fishery with good reason. Full of brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout it can be fished during every season. It starts high up in the mighty Uinta Mountains and works its way down through two reservoirs and finally empties into Utah Lake. The river is broken into three sections namely the Upper, from the Uinta Mountains to Jordanelle Reservoir, the Middle, from Jordanelle Reservoir to Deer Creek Reservoir, and the Lower, from Deer Creek down to Utah Lake. I guide on the Middle and the Lower where fish counts are the highest.
The Middle Provo
Winding its way through beautiful Heber Valley the middle Provo is a great piece of trout water. After a river reconstruction done about 7 years ago the river has many access points and great holes to fish. The river is full of bug life which sustains a large population of Brown and Rainbow Trout. Amazing hatches of midges, and blue wing olives seem to bring every fish in the river to the surface.
The Lower Provo
Dumping out of Deer Creek Dam the lower Provo cascades its way through the impressive Provo Canyon. Huge limestone cliffs hang thousands of feet above you as large brown trout eagerly eat your fly. This is where I started learning how to fly fish. I have spent many days chasing these trout and have had much frustration and joy here. The lower Provo is much swifter then the middle section and offers great nymphing opportunities. The sow bug is the king when nymphing here and midges and mayfly nymphs work well. With seasonal hatches of midges, BWO, PMD, and a great caddis hatch fishing on top can be great as well.
Most fish average 12-17 inches in this section with fish over 20 possible. A 18 pound hog was caught out of this section 12 years ago. With the Lower Provo being only 10 minutes outside of Orem and Provo it gets lots of fishing pressure. I love to fish it in the fall through early spring to avoid the people hatch. In winter you can have whole sections to yourself and pick and choose where you want to fish. A real treat for putting up with cold hands for a few hours.