Tailwater · Limestone · Utah

Lower Provo River

Lower Provo River fishing venue photo

The Lower Provo runs down the canyon below Deer Creek toward Provo, a colder, faster tailwater with big browns and rainbows and a famous cluster of hatches — the Provo's blue-winged olives and the summer caddis are the ones people plan their week around.

Prime · Brown Trout
Sparkle Dun · 14-18
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River steady at a fishable height. On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.18 mLast reading 21h ago
  • Water temp10.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
SD
Sparkle Dun14-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.18 m
Last reading 21h ago
Water temp10.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather19°C
WindNW 3 km/h
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead4.4 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
10°C est.ideal 1016°C
0°14°28°
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.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 3 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July 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
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2
TricoHatch
2
3
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Beats · 2

The Lower Provo is the venue where Rise Daisy earns its keep on access. The canyon below Deer Creek runs in alternating public and private hands: there's genuine public water — the Provo River Parkway corridor, signed pullouts and day-use access off US-189 — but it threads past private frontage where the streambed itself is private. Utah's floating-access law lets you float over private water; it does not give you a right to wade, stand on or anchor to a private bed. Fish the verified public stretches, read the signs, and don't trust a casual 'everyone fishes here.' Flow is a tailwater game too — it tracks Deer Creek Dam releases, not rainfall — so check the gauge before you commit to a wade. Confirm public frontage and parking reach by reach against UDWR before relying on any of it.

Public Provo Canyon accessPublic
The straightforward end of the Lower Provo — verified public water in the canyon below Deer Creek, reached from the Provo River Parkway corridor, signed pullouts and day-use parking along US-189.
Private-streambed reachesPrivate
Parts of the canyon thread past private ground where the streambed itself is privately owned.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Open all year
  • ACCESS CAUTION: Utah's floating-access law lets you float over private water but does NOT grant a right to wade or stand on a private streambed
  • Fish verified public reaches only; confirm access reach by reach before promoting it
  • Verify current UDWR gear/limit rules
  • Flow tracks Deer Creek releases.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. Catching Greasers on the Provo!
    Catching Greasers on the Provo!
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Lower Provo runs down the canyon below Deer Creek toward Provo, a colder, faster tailwater with big browns and rainbows and a famous cluster of hatches — the Provo's blue-winged olives and the summer caddis are the ones people plan their week around. It's a fine river where getting the access details right matters as much as reading the water. Some of this canyon is straightforward public water; some of it threads past private ground where the right to float over the surface is not the right to wade or stand on the bed. Fish the verified public stretches, mind the signs, and don't trust a casual 'everyone fishes here.' Good water, but do your homework on where you're allowed to put your feet.

  • Limestone
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic lifeImpaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Provo River-3' (UT16020203-003_00), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Cause Unknown Impaired Biota. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · UT16020203-003_00

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 83 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity64 × 12%7.7
Conditions total= 83
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January31 December
Related guides
Booking & contacts