I’ve fished the provo river in Provo canyon and also between utah lake and I-15 quite a bit in the past. I’ve walked along the provo river trail between about ShopKo and 800 North in Provo and have always thought “I need to bring a rod and see what’s in here.” A friend of mine caught a large (6-lb range) brown just above State Street many years ago, but the only place I’ve ever seen anyone fish was the pool under the Columbia lane bridge by DI.
I’ve decided that since I work within a stone’s throw of the river, I should fish it sometime. I know that browns make it quite a ways down the river, but how far up do walleye, white bass, catfish, etc.. make it upriver? There are several small diversion dams along the length, one specifically near where the river goes under lakeshore drive, but I’ve never seen it actually closed off.
Anyway, any tips on this section of the river? Flies? Jigs? Explosives? Goat Spleens? Like I said, the only spot along there I’ve seen anyone fishing is Columbia lane.
Also, has anyone fished the spanish fork river between the golf course and I-15? Same questions about that since it’s very close to where I live and seems to be very accessible.
Only that portion that is West of I-15. And only until the morning of May 5th.
Utah Lake tributaries west of I-15, Utah County
Including but not limited to: American Fork Creek, Beer Creek, Dry Creek, Hobble Creek, Provo River, Spanish Fork River, Spring Creek and Spring Run Creek.
• All suckers must be immediately released.
• CLOSED March 1 through 6 a.m. on the first Saturday of May.
There are plenty of browns in that stretch and sometimes a rainbow that gets washed down from upper sections of the river.
How far up the walleye and white bass make it depends on how much water flow is in the river. I’ve caught white bass as far up as State Street, but that was in the mid 1980s when flows were very high. I’ve seen largemouths in the section below Geneva Rd.
DWR used to stock lots of rainbows in the river. I don’t think they do any now.
The biggest problems for the browns comes during the summer when the flow rates are very low. I’ve seen teenagers wading the river and catching the biggest browns by hand in the pools where the fish seek deeper water.
Even during high water years, the dam at Columbia Lane stops most of the fish from going higher.
Go fish it! Throw spinners and jigs. If you’re okay with bait, take some nightcrawlers. There are a lot of really great holes through town
A lot of really nice browns come from the stretch you’re looking at.
And the SF River, that’s great about having easy access. Exploit it. There are beefy browns in that river and likely very little pressure, where you’re talking about.
I had about a half hour to kill before my daughters concert, so I hit the walking trail along the SF river with a 5’ ultralight rod, a hook, and a couple of wax worms. The water is a little bit less-than-clear, but that was ok. With two wax worms on a small hook, I could just barely cast without any weight. One of the guys on the walking trail told me I was wasting my time because there aren’t any fish in there … about 2 minutes after I released the first one. I sniffed my hand and said “Sure smells like there are to me.” I wish I had my cell phone for a picture because the expression on his face was priceless. [crazy]
The larger of the two fish is in a weird position in the picture and it’s head is tilted down, making the head look like the typical planter rainbow head. That guy had a huge mouth for his size and some good sized teeth. I spooked at least one fish that was probably close to 20". It didn’t look like a trout, but I didn’t get a real good look at it. It almost looked like a whitefish, but I don’t know for sure.
I’m probably going to hit the provo at lunch today, depending on whether there is any lightning going on.
Thanks for the report. I’m in the same boat as you; I work a block away from the Provo river where it goes by Macey’s and I live about a half mile from the SF river. I’ve always wondered how the fishing was.
