Yesterday I guided long time client Ernie on the lower Provo River, just 35 minutes from Park City, UT. We were on the river just before 10 a.m., and could see fish were active and feeding off the surface. We were just up from the Sundance Resort below the railroad trestle. Ernie was surprised for the month of February at how many fish were rising that early in the morning. It was only going to get better!
In the first hole we fished, we eyed a nice pod of fish at the surface. Ernie landed four brown trout before spooking the rest of the pod. From there we moved upstream, just above the railroad trestle. This stretch was just as active with noses dimpling the surface and eating midge clusters. The water type was very smooth and slow drifting. The ideal solution is an across and downstream presentation with your fly. By not casting over the fish, there is a better chance the fish will stick around. Ernie was able to hook another five brown trout. We used a hackle stacker midge pattern followed by a very small (size 20) midge cluster, about 18 inches apart on your line. This piece of water provided about 35 minutes of consistent rising trout before the sun settled the hatch and the fish stopped feeding. Like a light switch the surface activity turned off. We nymphed the next few holes and landed four more brown trout. We used an olive midge with a blue-winged olive nymph about 18 inches apart. Overall not a bad day of fly fishing for the seventh of February! Stay tuned for an updated Utah fishing report. -Jeremy Rogers
brown trout on lower provo river