According to guide Mike Glenn of Intermountain Guide Service, there are some hefty trout swimming here.

Back in September, in fact, he hooked a 9-pound rainbow, and one of his guides once played a 19-pound brown. Although Glenn said trout this size aren’t the norm, he insists that 18-inchers are common and ones pushing 20 inches are fooled regularly. The average trout stretches the tape to about 15 inches.

The variety of trout also sets this spectacularly scenic stretch of canyon apart from the middle. Browns make up about 70 percent. The rest are mainly healthy rainbows and a few cutthroats, giving the traveling angler a little more to write home about.

Another appealing aspect about this Blue Ribbon water is that it’s a truly year-round fishery. Even when Mother Nature throws her worst winter, there always seems to be a hatch popping off.

Although fishing is really good all year, the canyon receives a lot of pressure during the busy summer months. Many anglers will be “standing in a river waving a stick,” as John Gierach so eloquently put it. But rafters hit the river hard then as well. Despite this, anglers still bring excellent numbers of trout to net.

“What you have to do is get past the crowds mentally,” said Glenn of Intermountain Guide Service.

“Chances are, you will not be alone too many times on the lower Provo.”

If you’re looking for numbers of fish, Glenn suggests hanging out from Vivian Park up to Deer Creek Lake. This nearly 6-mile stretch is full of some of the best riffles, runs and pools in the whole river system.

If you’re looking for some overlooked water and maybe a chance at a true-blue monster, the guide said that you should spend time in the faster pocket water below the Olmstead Diversion Dam.

Here, the river gets narrower and faster. Anglers generally drive right on by. Look for the fatheads in the pockets and behind boulders.

Speaking of driving, access is also very easy here. Highway 189 skirts most of the section. Simply pull off, gear up and fish. You’ll find numerous access points.

HATCHES
Every stretch of the Provo offers a variety of hatches. Some are better than others, but each section has that kind of prolific hatch that gets the residents looking up.

• In the upper in May and June, it’s the salmonfly. A good imitation to try is a No. 12 Sofa Pillow.

• In the middle Provo, the green drakes start coming off in late June through July, and good matches are Nos. 10 to 12 Green Drakes.

• In the lower, the most prolific hatch is the blue-winged olive, which starts popping off in March through April. Nos. 16 to 20 BWOs are your best bet.

Other hatches you should take note of are midges, which come off throughout the year; caddis flies, which start showing up in late May through September; tricos, which start popping off in late June through July; pale morning duns, which get fish looking up in June through September; and big golden stoneflies, which surface in May through June.