Freestone · Mixed · Utah

Beaver River

West Beaver Creek terrain map
Terrain map

The Beaver is southern Utah's overlooked little gem — a snowmelt freestone tumbling down Beaver Canyon out of the Tushar Mountains, the highest range in this corner of the state, east of the town of Beaver on the Highway 153 corridor.

Species

About as good as it gets

Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.

75% confidence in this read
Water temperature for brown trout
Ideal
15°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for brown trout
  • Temperature10028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time5013% weight
  • Pressure807% weight
  • Insect activity6512% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
14.6°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
28°C
Wind
W 18 km/h
Gentle breeze
Pressure
1010 hPa
Rain · 24h
0.0 mm
No rain
Rain · ahead
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for brown trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Through the year
0–3 scale · June highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Open all year (statewide default)
  • Verify current UDWR gear/limit rules
  • The fishable trout water is the canyon reach up Hwy 153 out of Beaver; below town the river is dammed and diverted for the valley
  • Spring snowmelt off the Tushars colours and swells it — a seasonal suppressor applies.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

The Beaver is southern Utah's overlooked little gem — a snowmelt freestone tumbling down Beaver Canyon out of the Tushar Mountains, the highest range in this corner of the state, east of the town of Beaver on the Highway 153 corridor. It's small-water fishing for wild browns and rainbows in a high, cool canyon that feels a long way from anywhere, with the Tushars' eleven- and twelve-thousand-foot peaks closing in overhead. Pocket water, plunge pools, willow-tunnel runs — the kind of creek where a hopper-dropper and a careful approach do most of the work and the fish reward an accurate cast over a long one. Easy access up the canyon road and through the campgrounds. Spring runoff comes off the Tushars hard and colours it for a stretch; once it drops and clears through summer into autumn it's an honest, uncrowded freestone that almost no one outside the area bothers to fish. Below town the river gets dammed and diverted for the valley — the fishing is up the canyon, in the cold water.

  • Mixed
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December