Fishing Reports
Northern Utah Fishing Reports: September 1st, 2026
Hello to all you fishy folks out there! Labor Day weekend will soon be upon us, and with it, the end of "The "Dog Days of Summer". Now that kids and families have school back on their weekly schedules, we should see the local waters quiet down a little, especially during the week. Leftover PMD's and sporadic Caddis are still providing good dry fly opportunities on the local tailwater fisheries from the mid-moring to afternoons, and as we get farther into September, the terrestrial fishing should continue to get better. The Middle Provo & Green are still continuing to fish well, and the high country is available for those seeking cooler temps and solitude. Fishing options are numerous, especially in the Uinta mountians. All of the special regulation Cutthroat waters are open, but many are small streams that may be too warm to fish. So make sure you bring your thermometer, and get off the water if/when water temps hit 66+ degrees!!!
Provo River
Middle Provo:
As of today (September 1st), the Middle Provo is flowing at 312 CFS out of Jordanelle Reservoir, and 255 CFS at River Road Bridge. P.M.D.'s are still accounting for some good fishing opportunities from mid-morning through the afternoon on the upper portions of the Middle Provo, and fishing terrestrials (Ants, Beetles, Crickets, Grasshoppers) has been picking up as we begin September. For what it's worth, I saw a significant amount of Trico mayflies on the Lower Middle a week ago, so it may not be a bad idea to pack some Trico spinner patterns (#20-#24) in your boxes-especially for the mornings. Speaking of small-tiny mayflies, we usually start to see Pseudocloeon (Pseudo) mayflies in good numbers on the Middle Provo in September. These tiny mayflies (#20-#24) definitely catch the attention of the fish, and can make for some challenging and rewarding dry fly fishing opportunities. Midges (#20-#26) are always around and fish are definitely feeding on them-especially up closer to the dam. If you're going to the Middle Provo, make sure you're still packing Pale Morning Dun (P.M.D.) mayfly nymphs and dries (#16-#20). The cloudy, rainy weather has definitely helped improv e the fishing, and I'd still be focused on the mid-morning to evening hours, fishing when we have the monsoon storms roll through, and fishing the pocketwater during the warmest parts of the day. Nymphing with midge larva and pupa patterns (#20-#24), sow bugs, P.M.D. mayfly nymphs (#16-#18), and small attractor nymphs (#16-#20) can move fish if there is no surface activity. If you don't want to look at a bobber, swinging soft hackles or fishing streamers has been working well too. Fishing an ant, beetle, or terrestrial attractor with a dropper up the banks for those sunny, warm afternoons wouldn't be a bad idea either.
Lower Provo:
The Lower's flow has dropped, and is currently flowing at 297 CFS out of Deer Creek. With the drop in flows, the water temperatures out of Deer Creek have taken a noticeable spike. I was out on the Lower, and I was getting 68 degree water temperatures at 4 PM below Olmstead Diversion and at Vivian Park, and the water temp was 67 degrees above Sundance. In short-bring/get a stream thermometer and take a water temperature every hour. If you want to fish the lower sections of the river, I'd recommend you do it in the morning, and then head up closer to the dam during the heat of the day if water temps get above 66 degrees. Like the Middle Provo, leftover Pale Morning Dun (P.M.D.) mayflies (#16-#20), and Caddis (#14-#18) are still hatching, so make sure to have nymphs and dries for all of these insects. Be on the lookout for fish up and eating egg-laying Caddis (#14-#18), P.M.D. spinners, Midge dry flies along the edges in the mornings and evenings, and nymphing with midge larva and pupa patterns (#20-#24), Sow Bugs, P.M.D. mayfly nymphs (#16-#18), and small attractor nymphs (#16-#20) can move fish if there is no surface activity. Like on the Middle Provo, if you don't want to look at a bobber, swinging soft hackles or fishing streamers has been working well too. Fishing an ant, beetle, or terrestrial attractor with a dropper up the banks for those sunny, warm afternoons wouldn't be a bad idea either.
WEBER RIVER
The Weber River between Rockport and Echo reservoirs is now flowing at 147 CFS at Wanship, and the gauge at Coalville is reading 182 CFS. Due to the Weber's narrower river channel, these flows will still push fish closer to the river edges and structure. Look for leftover PMD's and tiny Pseudo mayflies in the late mornings and during the afternoon storms, leftover Caddis in the mornings and late evenings, and this is also a good time to prospect around structure and up the grassy banks with ants, beetles and hoppers-dropper rigs. Flows out of Echo Reservoir to Morgan are now currently at 167 CFS. This is a very fishable flow, but it gets weedy and warm down there this time of year, so bring your thermometers and check water temps-especially on those hot afternoons. Flies to use for the Middle and Lower Weber will be identical to what we are fishing on the Lower Provo.
GREEN RIVER
The Green River below Flaming Gorge continues to fish, and which section is fishing best can depend on the day. If you're heading out to float, pick whatever section you like and enjoy the ride. Flows on the Green River below Flaming Gorge are currently fluctuating between 1,400-2,800 CFS. For the most consistent fishing at these flows, I'd recommend you get your fishing in during the lull in flows, especially if you're wading.
Large foam attractor dry fly patterns may still move fish, especially on the B and C sections, but smaller ants, beetles, and attractor flies are what we prefer to use as the fish are more wary after a busy summer. Switch up your insects if you aren't getting eats! Just because one insect is the most abundant, doesn't mean they aren't picking off something else! There have been more and more reports of Trico mayfly (#20-#24) hacthes and spinner falls on all sections of the Green, Pseudo mayflies (#20-#24) are showing up too, and fishing with Chubby Chernobyl patterns (#10-#16), Parachute Crickets (#12-#16), Flying Ants (#14-#18), Beetles (#14-#18), and dropping a Frenchie (#14-#18), Zebra Midge (#16-#22), Perdigon (#14-#20), Sow Bug/Scud (#16-#20), could potentially pick up fish. If its really windy, or cloudy, I wouldn't hesitate to try fish a streamer, and cover as much water as possible.
If you're headed over there, make sure to stop in and see the WRF Guides crew at Yellow Dory Fly Shop (435-790-6465) for all of your shuttles, last minute flies and tackle, and most up to date reports! If you need somewhere to stay, book a room at the newest place in town, Kestral Cove Lodge.
Uintas & OTHER WATERS
Mirror Lake Highway:
The afternoon thunderstorms are subject to show up, and based on what we've seen recently, some of them can get pretty wild! Pack appropriately with rain jackets, a warm layer and extra socks if you're heading deep out there, and be prepared to hunker down if need be. Otherwise, it's a lovely time of year to get a hike in or spend the night on the edge of a high mountain lake with the place to yourself.
Nothing new or revolutionary to note in regards to the high country other than that the Upper Provo is still quite low and anglers should tread lightly and monitor water temps, or avoid these low water stretches all together. For those fishing the lakes, many locations will fish very similarly, and the main factors are going to be how far do you want to hike, and what species are you after. There is so much information online about the different hikes, trailheads and lakes so it would be futile to try and replicate that here. Being said, grab a map and dig around online (trip reports, hiking forums, etc...) and find somewhere that looks nice, and a place that meets your desires for a day out on the trail.
Fly selection up here is pretty simple: Terrestrials, attractor style dry flies, damsel flies, callibaetis mayflies, balanced leeches, and small streamers should all do the trick. I'm usually going to start by looking for fish sipping and cruising the edges to throw dry flies at, and then switch to a small leech or streamer if I can't spot anyone.
Check our our Frequent Angling Questions - High Country for a crash course in getting after it up there.
Small Streams:
Most of our major hatches have come and gone on these streams, and many of the small freestone streams may still be too warm to fish after 2 PM or sooner. So if you're trying to get some fishing on these waters, bring a thermometer, and get off the water if/when temps hit 66+ degrees. Our smaller tailwater fisheries north and east of SLC are in better shape than the freestones and a few of them are offering some fantastic hopper fishing and decent hatch activity. Look for fish up on leftover P.M.D.'s, Caddis, and don't hesitate to prospect around with ants, beetles, terrestrials and attractors nymphs and dries. If one was inclined to drop a little beadhead behind their dry fly, jig style nymphs (#16-#18), Frenchies (#16-#18), Caddis nymphs (#16-#18), Stonefly nymphs (#14-#16) and otherwise will move fish.
Stillwater:
Scofield and Strawberry Reservoirs are fishing ok during the mornings, evenings, and cloudy/stormy days with a variety of flies and techniques. The farther we get into September, the chances of catching some fish on hoppers and attractor dry flies should increase too. So make sure to pack your terrestrial/attractor boxes with you! Fishing a variety of dry-dropper rigs, streamers, balanced leeches, Midge Pupa patterns (i.e. Chironomids), and slowly stripping larger soft-hackles can be effective during the late-mornings and afternoons-especially if there is a breeze. Warm September days are also still prime for chasing carp, bass, and sunfish too. So if you want to try something a little different, fishing for "warmwater" species is a great way to have some fun with a fly rod.
Tips
This time of year, I'm carrying a myriad of leader & tippet sizes and adjusting to the fishing conditions as needed. For most local fishing, a 9' 4X leader should cover your bases as long as you have 4x, 5x, & 6x tippet to adjust as necessary. For small stream fishing, we'd recommend a 7.5" 4X or 5X leader, and 4X-6X tippets.
Fly Recommendations
Dry Flies:
Ants (#12-#18)
Beetles (#12-#16)
Thunder Thighs Hopper (#10-#12)
Morrish Hopper (#8-#12)
Mongo Hopper (#10-#12)
Griffith's Gnat (#18-#22)
Film Critic PMD (#16-#18)
PMD Duns (#16-#20)
PMD Spinner (#16-#20)
Winger BWO (#22-#24)
Trico Spinner (#20-#24)
Parachute Adams (#12-#26)
Purple Rooster (#14-#18)
Chubby Chernobyl (#10-#16)
X-Caddis (#14-#18)
EZ Caddis (#14-#18)
Nymphs:
Gray RS-2 (#18-#24)
S.H.E. (#18, #22)
Barr's P.M.D. Emerger (#18-#20)
Barr's B.W.O. Emerger (#20-#22)
Duracell (#16-#18)
Blowtorch (#14-#16)
Split Case PMD Nymphs (#18-#22)
Prince Nymphs (#12-#18)
FB Pheasant Tail Nymphs (#12-#22)
Hare's Ear Nymphs (#12-#18)
Cased Caddis Larva (#16-#20)
Zebra Midges (#16-#22)
Copper Johns (#12-#16)
Soft Hackles:
March Brown Spider (#14)
Hot Spot Spider (#12-#16)
Partridge & Yellow (#14-#16)
Partridge & Orange (#14)
Partridge & Olive (#14)
Partridge and Peacock (#16)
Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle (#12-#18)
Snipe and Purple SH (#16)
Black Soft Hackle BH Thorax (#18)
GN Soft Hackle BH Thorax (#14-#18)
Tan Soft Hackle BH Thorax (#14-#16)
Olive Sparkle Soft Hackle (#16)
Streamers:
Leeches (#8-#12)
Olive and Rusty Sculpin
Patterns (#6-#12)
Platte River Spider (#4)
Shiela Scuplin (#6)
Sculpzilla (#8)
Balanced Leeches (#10-#14)
Wooly Bugger (#8-#12)
It's been busy out there with other anglers, and some of you REALLY need to read up on river etiquette! Be self-aware while on the water, spread out, ask people if they're ok with sharing the water with you before just jumping in, give each other space, and treat others as you'd like to be treated; there is plenty of room for everyone. If you are intent of fishing a specific piece of water; get there early! If you're having a hard time finding space; fish the pockets, edges and banks that are often overlooked. As always, in order to avoid bad river etiquette, it's important to know the basic ins an outs of how to interact with each other on the water. Check out this video from Redington on basic fishing etiquette Here.
*PSA: Water temperatures on our smaller creeks and streams are starting to get too warm to fish. So make sure you pack a thermometer, and take temps often, especially in the afternoons!!!*
Utah streamFlow Resources
The best information for river flows on the Middle and Lower Provo are through the CUWCD Wesbite. You can find that info Here.
For flow information on a majority of the smaller streams in the state, we use the USGS Website. You can find that info Here.
For flow information on other tailwater fisheries in the state, and surrounding states, we use the USBR website. You can find that info Here.
