Middle Provo River: the restored Heber Valley tailwater between Jordanelle Dam and Deer Creek Reservoir, wild browns and rainbows
Discharge
326
cfs
38 min ago
Water temp
52
°F
38 min ago
Gage height
4.13
ft
Ideal flow
200-650 cfs
published range
Hatching now · October
Midge
PEAKBlue-Winged Olive
PEAKCaddis (general)
ACTIVECrane Fly
ACTIVEAngler reports
Reports filed here are stamped with the gauge reading at the moment they are published, so the first one sets the record for what 326 cfs fished like.
Hatch chart
| Insect | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midge | January: peak | February: peak | March: peak | April: on | May: off | June: off | July: off | August: off | September: on | October: peak | November: peak | December: peak |
| Blue-Winged Olive | January: on | February: on | March: peak | April: peak | May: on | June: off | July: off | August: off | September: on | October: peak | November: peak | December: on |
| Mother's Day Caddis | January: off | February: off | March: off | April: on | May: peak | June: off | July: off | August: off | September: off | October: off | November: off | December: off |
| Caddis (general) | January: off | February: off | March: off | April: off | May: peak | June: peak | July: peak | August: on | September: on | October: on | November: off | December: off |
| Green Drake | January: off | February: off | March: off | April: off | May: off | June: peak | July: peak | August: off | September: off | October: off | November: off | December: off |
| Pale Morning Dun | January: off | February: off | March: off | April: off | May: off | June: on | July: peak | August: peak | September: on | October: off | November: off | December: off |
| Trico | January: off | February: off | March: off | April: off | May: off | June: off | July: peak | August: peak | September: on | October: off | November: off | December: off |
| Crane Fly | January: off | February: off | March: off | April: off | May: off | June: off | July: off | August: on | September: peak | October: on | November: off | December: off |
| Golden Stonefly | January: off | February: off | March: off | April: off | May: on | June: peak | July: on | August: off | September: off | October: off | November: off | December: off |
Timing checked against
Yellow Sally (Jun-Aug) and terrestrials (Jun-Oct) are also published by norrik/Big Y/Cast and Fly but not added.
The water
The Middle Provo begins at the outlet of Jordanelle Dam below US-40 and runs down toward Heber City, and the coldest, most stable water is in these upper miles. This is where the river's stonefly hatch happens, with golden stones from May into July just below the dam.
Through the Heber Valley the river was rebuilt from a straightened channel into meanders and side channels by the Provo River Restoration Project, and the public corridor along River Road and the valley lanes is where most anglers park and walk. It is a meadow river of riffles, bends and undercut banks, wadeable at normal flows and never floated.
Below the Legacy Bridge on Midway Lane the river passes Charleston, picks up Snake Creek and slows into the head of Deer Creek Reservoir. The USGS gauge this page reads is near Charleston, at the bottom of the reach. Regulations change at Legacy Bridge, so know which side of it you are on.
Wild browns are the majority fish on the Middle Provo and hold along the sod banks and in the deeper bends. The Mother's Day caddis in May, green drakes in June and July, PMDs from June into September, Tricos in July and August and the fall baetis are their surface calendar; sowbugs, scuds and midges take them the rest of the year.
Rainbows are present through the reach in smaller numbers than the browns and are the more willing midday risers during the caddis and PMD hatches. Cutthroat turn up occasionally near Jordanelle.
The Middle Provo fishes all year because Jordanelle releases keep it open. Utah shops call 200 to 650 cfs the wading window; below 200 cfs the fish get spooky and holding water shrinks, above 650 cfs the crossings get dangerous, and that is the range this page compares the Charleston gauge to. Summer irrigation releases usually sit in the 250 to 450 cfs band and winter flows near 135 cfs.
Utah's 2026 guidebook makes the river from Legacy Bridge on Midway Lane (SR-113) upstream to Jordanelle Dam artificial flies and lures only with a limit of 2 trout under 15 inches; from Deer Creek Dam to Legacy Bridge statewide rules apply. Check the current Utah DWR fishing guidebook before you go.
Facts checked against
The page's gauge 10154200 near Woodland is on the Upper Provo above Jordanelle, not the Middle Provo; replaced with 10155500 near Charleston, at the bottom of the Jordanelle to Deer Creek reach. Removed the invented 16-22 and 14-18 inch averages, moved the green drake from late May to June and July per the hatch verification, replaced the 'WIA sites' access claim with the Provo River Restoration Project corridor, and added the Legacy Bridge regulation boundary from the 2026 Utah guidebook. Ideal flow adjusted from 100-600 to 200-650 cfs.