WWFG Fishing Reports

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 Post subject: It's Time to Throw Those Micros

It's Time to Throw Those Micros

August 14, 2007

Our long lived Pale Morning Dun hatch has ended for the summer. The time has now come to think about Terrestrials and evening Caddis. The heat of the day seems to be pushing the fish down to the bottom of the river.The fish will still eat if you throw small dark flies with a lot of weight. While the norm for this time of year would be for the fish to be in shallow, fast water our unusually high water temperatures have driven them to different areas. You can catch fish in fast water but find fast water that is a little bit deeper and add enough weight to get your flies down to the bottom. Use an extra few inches of tippet between your two flies and extend your drifts a little further. Upstream near the Jordanelle dam, there are Caddis hatches happening throughout the day. You can get big fish to hit the surface to eat these bugs.When you are seeing these hatches try emerging Caddis in either bright green or pale brown. The water in this area is still considerably colder than in other reaches of the Provo. One great opportunity that we have right now is to fish Blue Damsels. Find slow back eddies where there are lots of mating damsels skimming the water and keep your eye out for rising fish. There have been fish actively chasing these bugs for 3 or 4 feet on the surface. A skittering technique seems to work the best and you need to make sure that your fly is sitting high on the water. Around 1:00 or 2:00 each afternoon when the wind starts to blow, hoppers are getting blown onto the water and fish are eating these very aggresively. Check out the hoppers in the grass when you walk and match your fly to what you see. Again, keep them floating high on the surface for best results. Overall, the fishing is still very good if you're willing to be flexible and try some new techniques. Get out there and experiment to see what works best for you.

The Lower Provo is still running very high. Wading to good fishing spots can be very challenging. Remember that the fish cannot stay still in the big water so hit the seams on the edges of the fast currents with Caddis emergers and small mayfly nymphs. Sowbugs and San Juan Worms are still very effective flies on the Lower. Experiment with your weights before you give up on a spot. Water temperature is governing where in the water column the fish are eating. With the low water levels in Deer Creek (Due to dam reconstruction) the water temperatures are very warm. This will keep the fish in the deep pools, so be prepared to fish "down and dirty." Keep your eye out for float tubers. Contrary to popular belief they don't really put the fish down so let them get by and continue fishing as normal. Good Luck!