My wife and I went out to Utah for my cousins wedding, so I figured while I am in Utah I might as well go fishing. I have had some good success on the Provo River in the past. It is mostly 10-12 inch Browns, but I have caught a healthy15 inch Brown on previous trip. The great part about fishing in Utah is I get to fish with my buddy Will. Will has taught me most of what I know about fly fishing and all through college we fished together 3-4 times a week (maybe more). It brings up a lot of great memories when we get to meet up and go fishing again.
We started on the middle section of the Provo and woke up early in the morning, so we could be the first on the river. My dad was set up with a squirmy wormy. Will and I started out with some nymphs. We got to the river and my dad started in the first run. About 10 to 15 minutes into fishing my dad had caught the first fish on that squirmy wormy. It was a decent sized fish, about 12 inches and healthy. We started moving up the river and there didn’t seem to be much else going on. As we moved up the river there was really no action. No takes on anything. I feel like I threw just about everything in my box at the fish. After a few hours of nothing happening we called it for the morning.
We made plans to meet back up for the evening hatch. This time we went to the lower section of the Provo. Now what is strange is that I usually don’t do as well on the lower section of the Provo, but today was much different. We went down to the river and there was activity on the water. The best part was, there were a lot of fish rising to the surface, so it was time to put on the dry flies.
Will figured out that the fish were going after PMDs on the surface. We both tied them on and the fishing was great. We started catching fish after fish. Now this is what I was hoping for. Nothing too big, but it was nice to be catching. Storm clouds start pushing in over the mountain and we started to hear thunder, so we decided to call it quits before we were turned into human lightning rods.
After fishing Will and I always like to get some food (who doesn’t). It’s a great time to relax, have some good food and catch up on lost time. We went to a place in Orem called Chubby’s. I got a milkshake and Pastrami burger, both were very good. There was a lot on the burger with great flavor and the bun was nice and fluffy. In fact, I liked it so much that I went again later in the week.
The next day I went back to the middle section of the Provo River. The same place that had been so disappointing a day earlier. I wanted to give it another shot because there were a lot of good runs. At first it seemed like it was just going to be more of the same. There wasn’t much happening on top, and no takes on nymphs. I moved to a section of the river that Will had pointed out to me the day before (there was someone in the spot the day before) and it looked very promising. I carefully waded into the water and started casting my nymph along the bank. All of the sudden, I started hearing fish behind me rising to the surface. Then they started rising all over the place. I saw a huge fish come flying out of the water. I was not in a good position to go after that fish but was able to get myself into a position were fish were coming to the surface repeatedly. Similar to yesterday on the lower section, the fish were going after PMDs. I did not have one so I tied a fly on the looked the most like it in my box; a BWO. I patiently waited for another raise near me. The fish made a raise and I made my cast. I put the fly a little bit ahead of the ripple. Once the fly crossed back over the fish, he turned around to go to the fly. My eyes got wide. The fish slurped up the fly. I waited for the fish to just turn back around and then set the hook. FISH ON! It was a decent size brown that put up a bit of a fight. I really wanted to land this fish. I felt that this stretch of river got the best of me to this point. I made sure the keep my rod tip up and the line tight. I got the fish into the net and breathed a sigh of relief. With how the previous day went, this fish felt particularly good to land. I felt like I had conquered the river!
We started on the middle section of the Provo and woke up early in the morning, so we could be the first on the river. My dad was set up with a squirmy wormy. Will and I started out with some nymphs. We got to the river and my dad started in the first run. About 10 to 15 minutes into fishing my dad had caught the first fish on that squirmy wormy. It was a decent sized fish, about 12 inches and healthy. We started moving up the river and there didn’t seem to be much else going on. As we moved up the river there was really no action. No takes on anything. I feel like I threw just about everything in my box at the fish. After a few hours of nothing happening we called it for the morning.
We made plans to meet back up for the evening hatch. This time we went to the lower section of the Provo. Now what is strange is that I usually don’t do as well on the lower section of the Provo, but today was much different. We went down to the river and there was activity on the water. The best part was, there were a lot of fish rising to the surface, so it was time to put on the dry flies.
Will figured out that the fish were going after PMDs on the surface. We both tied them on and the fishing was great. We started catching fish after fish. Now this is what I was hoping for. Nothing too big, but it was nice to be catching. Storm clouds start pushing in over the mountain and we started to hear thunder, so we decided to call it quits before we were turned into human lightning rods.
After fishing Will and I always like to get some food (who doesn’t). It’s a great time to relax, have some good food and catch up on lost time. We went to a place in Orem called Chubby’s. I got a milkshake and Pastrami burger, both were very good. There was a lot on the burger with great flavor and the bun was nice and fluffy. In fact, I liked it so much that I went again later in the week.
The next day I went back to the middle section of the Provo River. The same place that had been so disappointing a day earlier. I wanted to give it another shot because there were a lot of good runs. At first it seemed like it was just going to be more of the same. There wasn’t much happening on top, and no takes on nymphs. I moved to a section of the river that Will had pointed out to me the day before (there was someone in the spot the day before) and it looked very promising. I carefully waded into the water and started casting my nymph along the bank. All of the sudden, I started hearing fish behind me rising to the surface. Then they started rising all over the place. I saw a huge fish come flying out of the water. I was not in a good position to go after that fish but was able to get myself into a position were fish were coming to the surface repeatedly. Similar to yesterday on the lower section, the fish were going after PMDs. I did not have one so I tied a fly on the looked the most like it in my box; a BWO. I patiently waited for another raise near me. The fish made a raise and I made my cast. I put the fly a little bit ahead of the ripple. Once the fly crossed back over the fish, he turned around to go to the fly. My eyes got wide. The fish slurped up the fly. I waited for the fish to just turn back around and then set the hook. FISH ON! It was a decent size brown that put up a bit of a fight. I really wanted to land this fish. I felt that this stretch of river got the best of me to this point. I made sure the keep my rod tip up and the line tight. I got the fish into the net and breathed a sigh of relief. With how the previous day went, this fish felt particularly good to land. I felt like I had conquered the river!
