Fly fishing in Utah

The rivers, the hatches, and the live flows — updated every 2 hours — plus the state’s fly shops and guides.

Utah is a tailwater state with a freestone heart. The Green below Flaming Gorge and the Provo below Jordanelle are two of the most productive trout rivers in the West and fish twelve months a year on dam-controlled flows; the Weber, the Logan, the Ogden, and the upper Provo are classic freestones that blow out in May and fish beautifully from late June through October. Strawberry, Scofield, and a few hundred high lakes in the Uintas and on Boulder Mountain make the stillwater as good as the rivers. Flow is the variable that matters most, and every river below shows its live flow against the seasonal median — the single best predictor of whether a freestone is wadeable and clear.

The rivers, live

WaterRight nowFlowWater tempStockedSpecies
Green River (below Flaming Gorge)Blue Ribbon · river, Daggett Co.Good2,290 cfs58°F6w agobrown trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout
Middle Provo RiverBlue Ribbon · river, Wasatch Co.Hot249 cfs55°F—brown trout, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish
Lower Provo RiverBlue Ribbon · river, Utah Co.Good61 cfs——brown trout, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish
Lower Weber River · river, Weber Co.Fair214 cfs—8w agobrown trout, mountain whitefish
Upper Weber RiverBlue Ribbon · river, Summit Co.Good99 cfs—2w agobrown trout, mountain whitefish, cutthroat trout
Logan RiverBlue Ribbon · river, Cache Co.Good74 cfs—3w agobrown trout, cutthroat trout, mountain whitefish
Upper Provo River · river, Summit Co.Fair62 cfs—6w agobrown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, …
Strawberry RiverBlue Ribbon · river, Duchesne Co.Good42 cfs—2mo agobrown trout, cutthroat trout
Currant Creek · creek, Wasatch Co.Fair44 cfs—3mo agocutthroat trout, brown trout
Huntington Creek · creek, Emery Co.Fair——22mo agocutthroat trout
Ogden River · river, Weber Co.Good360 cfs—2mo agobrown trout, rainbow trout
Blacksmith Fork River · river, Cache Co.Good52 cfs—3mo agobrown trout, cutthroat trout
Diamond Fork Creek · creek, Utah Co.Fair——2mo agocutthroat trout
Fremont RiverBlue Ribbon · river, Wayne Co.Tough98 cfs—4mo agobrown trout, rainbow trout
East Fork Sevier RiverBlue Ribbon · river, Piute Co.Good20 cfs——brown trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout
Duchesne River · river, Duchesne Co.Fair116 cfs—2mo agobrown trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout
Rock Creek (Uintas) · creek, Duchesne Co.Good90 cfs—7w agobrown trout, cutthroat trout, brook trout
Beaver River · river, Beaver Co.Fair30 cfs—2mo agorainbow trout, brown trout

Hatch calendar

January – February

Midges everywhere, all day on the tailwaters (Green, Provo, Weber): size 18–24 zebra midges, Griffith's gnats on the flats at midday. Scuds and sowbugs under an indicator. Eggs behind spawning rainbows on the Provo late in February.

March – April

Blue-winged olives — the first real hatch, best on gray afternoons, size 18–20 on the Provo, Weber, and Logan at pre-runoff flows. Skwala stoneflies on the Weber and Provo. Midges continue. Freestones fish until runoff starts in late April.

May

Runoff on the freestones. Tailwaters carry the month: caddis start on the Provo and Weber, cicadas arrive on the Green in the last week or two — size 8–10 foam cicadas, the year's biggest dry-fly fish. Stillwater comes alive: chironomids and leeches at Strawberry and Scofield at ice-out.

June

Cicadas on the Green through mid-month, then golden stones and PMDs. Freestones clear in the last two weeks: green drakes (size 10–12) on the Provo and Weber evenings, caddis every evening, yellow sallies. Damsels and callibaetis on the stillwaters.

July

PMDs mornings, caddis evenings, terrestrials from mid-month — ants, beetles, and the first hoppers on the Weber, Provo, and Logan. The Green settles into hoppers and PMDs. High-country lakes and creeks open: attractor dries, small leeches, and anything with a red tag.

August

Hoppers and terrestrials on every river, tricos at dawn on the Provo and Green (size 20–22 spinners), low clear water — long leaders, early mornings, watch the water temperature. Callibaetis and damsels on the high lakes.

September

Tricos continue, then blue-winged olives return with the first cool weather. Hoppers into mid-month. Streamers for pre-spawn browns on the Provo, Weber, and Green. Kokanee on the stillwater inlets. The best all-around dry-fly month of the year.

October – November

Blue-winged olives on cloudy days, midges, and streamer season — big articulated flies on overcast mornings for browns on the Green, Provo, and Weber. Egg patterns behind the redds (don't wade them). Whitefish stack in the tailouts. Stillwater leeches at Strawberry and Scofield until ice.

December

Midges and small nymphs on the tailwaters in the warm window; scuds on the Green. Everything else is under ice.

Stillwater on the fly

Chironomids under an indicator at ice-out, leeches and damsel nymphs on a sinking line through the summer, and callibaetis dries on calm evenings cover Utah’s stillwater. Strawberry is the big cutthroat water; Scofield and the Wasatch Plateau reservoirs are the tiger-trout waters; Little Dell and Minersville are managed trophy fisheries with artificial-only rules; and the Uinta and Boulder Mountain lakes are where a 3-weight and a box of Royal Wulffs is all you need.

WaterRight nowFlowWater tempStockedSpecies
Mirror Lake · lake, Duchesne Co.Good——7d agorainbow trout, brook trout, tiger trout (brown × brook hybrid)
Panguitch LakeBlue Ribbon · lake, Garfield Co.Good——3w agorainbow trout, cutthroat trout, tiger trout (brown × brook hybrid)
Currant Creek Reservoir · reservoir, Wasatch Co.Fair——3mo agocutthroat trout, rainbow trout
Electric Lake · lake, Emery Co.Fair——6w agocutthroat trout, tiger trout (brown × brook hybrid)
Huntington Reservoir · reservoir, Sanpete Co.Fair——6w agosplake (lake × brook trout hybrid), tiger trout (brown × brook hybrid), wiper (white × striped bass hybrid)
Little Dell Reservoir · reservoir, Salt Lake Co.Fair——2mo agobrook trout, cutthroat trout
Minersville ReservoirBlue Ribbon · reservoir, Beaver Co.Fair——11mo agorainbow trout, smallmouth bass, wiper (white × striped bass hybrid)
Otter Creek ReservoirBlue Ribbon · reservoir, Piute Co.Fair——5mo agorainbow trout, cutthroat trout, smallmouth bass
Scofield ReservoirBlue Ribbon · reservoir, Carbon Co.Fair——6w agocutthroat trout, rainbow trout, tiger trout (brown × brook hybrid)
Strawberry ReservoirBlue Ribbon · reservoir, Wasatch Co.Fair——3mo agocutthroat trout, rainbow trout, kokanee salmon

Fly shops & guides

Full guides & shops directory →

See also: all Utah rivers · fishing calendar · Blue Ribbon fisheries · Summit County