Tailwater · Limestone · Utah, US

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.

Tomorrow · About as good as it gets
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Tomorrow
About as good as it gets
On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
75% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.16 m
Water temp11.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather17°C
WindN 13 km/h
Pressure1013 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 10–16°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.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Western Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 81%
Also:Black Midge45%
Peak emergence window7 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Western Blue-Winged Olive (Western Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 4 with Pro.

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14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September 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
Middle Provo River
20 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Strawberry Reservoir
38 km
Cutthroat trout · Rainbow trout
Diamond Fork Creek
38 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Weber River
42 km
81
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Strawberry River (tailwater)
54 km
Brown trout · Cutthroat trout
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 life: Impaired
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 75%
How the 81 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity59 × 12%7.1
Conditions total= 81
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
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts