Fishing Reports · October 26, 2026

Northern Utah River Report: Week of Oct 26, 2026

Last week’s storm gave the freestones a quick bump Thursday and Friday, and they’ve already settled back to where they were. The Provo is right around normal and fishing well, with good BWO hatches, while Causey and Echo are still holding back nearly everything. We get a mostly dry, mild week, then rain moves in Friday night and sticks around through the weekend. Here’s how nine stretches of Northern Utah and southern Idaho water are running, from the stream gauges, dam release data and the latest public reports.

Weekend Weather

Northern Utah

Fri Oct 3061° / 46°Chance Light Rain43% chance of rain

Sat Oct 3160° / 45°Light Rain Likely72% chance of rain

Sun Nov 157° / 43°Rain Likely60% chance of rain

Looking ahead: Check back next Friday for the new forecast.

Northern Utah forecast from the National Weather Service, updated Mon Oct 26.

A brown trout in the net — Fall browns are on the move.

The big picture

Flows below are from about 6 a.m. Monday, October 26. The tailwaters are at their winter levels now, and the bugs are small: BWOs and midges, with the fall Baetis the best game in town on gray days. Brown trout are spawning or getting close, so watch where you wade and give paired-up fish room. The best BWO days this week should be Friday and the wet weekend.

Blacksmith Fork Canyon

Flow: about 52 cfs at the USGS gauge near Hyrum early Monday (Oct. 26). Last week’s storm didn’t move it at all, and it’s still only about 64% of the 81 cfs median for this date, right around the low end USGS sees here (lower than nine years out of ten). Clarity: low and clear. Bugs: fall BWOs and midges.

Same story as last week: skinny, technical water. Keep your shadow off it, keep your casts short, and work the shaded pockets, deeper bends and riffle edges with a small nymph under a little indicator. The browns are close to spawning, so stay off the clean gravel and let paired-up fish be. On a gray afternoon, a small streamer through the deeper slots can still move a good one. The DWR rules here allow a bonus limit of 4 brown trout, with only 1 fish over 15 inches.

Fly to try: The Real McCoy, my signature fly, with a small BWO nymph (size 18 to 20) as the dropper.

Logan River

Flow: about 94 cfs above State Dam early Monday. Thursday’s storm bumped it to about 147 cfs on Oct. 22, and it’s already settled back to where it was a week ago. That’s still below the 122 cfs median for this date. Clarity: clear. Bugs: BWOs and midges. I couldn’t find a fresh public shop or DWR report for the Logan this week, so this one is based on the flows and the season.

The middle of the week looks dry and mild, so go small and quiet, and fish the deeper pockets and shaded runs. When the clouds roll back in Friday and Saturday, watch the slower tailouts from late morning on for BWOs. The bigger browns in the lower river are in pre-spawn mode, so a dark streamer swung through the deep bends on a gray afternoon is worth a try. If you see fish paired up on gravel, give them room.

Fly to try: a Parachute BWO, size 20 to 22, or The Real McCoy under an indicator before the hatch starts.

Lower Provo

Flow: about 161 cfs, but treat that as an estimate. There’s no live USGS gauge below Deer Creek, so I added up the Provo River Water Users Association’s two Deer Creek penstock flows (Sunday, Oct. 25 daily average). That’s up from about 124 to 134 cfs most of last week. Clarity: clear. Bugs: BWOs, midges and sow bugs.

Rocky Mountain Outfitters says fishing on the Lower has been picking up, and the lower flow has channeled the river out of the grass, which makes it a lot easier to get a clean drift. They suggest fishing it early or late. Nymph the seams and riffles over gravel with sow bugs, small BWO nymphs and midges, or swing soft hackles if you’d rather not watch a bobber. On gray days, a streamer has a good shot at a bigger brown.

Fly to try: The Real McCoy trailed behind a sow bug on a two-fly nymph rig.

Middle Provo

Flow: about 136 cfs at the River Road Bridge and 157 cfs near Charleston early Monday, right around normal for this date (medians of 134 cfs at the bridge and 165 cfs near Charleston). Last week’s storm pushed Charleston up to about 200 cfs for a few hours on Oct. 23 before it dropped back. The water was about 47°F near Charleston this morning and has been warming to about 50 to 55°F in the afternoons. Clarity: clear. Bugs: BWOs (sizes 20 to 22) are the main event, with midges in the mornings and a few caddis.

Fly Fish Food’s Oct. 25 report has a heavy BWO hatch from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with midge nymphing in the deeper slots before that. Rocky Mountain Outfitters says the Middle keeps producing well, and that junk flies like worms, mops and leeches have been good too. Start with a nymph, and when you see heads in the tailouts and flat seams, go to a small dry or emerger and pick out single risers. Stay low and come at them from downstream.

Fly to try: a Juju Baetis, size 22, then a Parachute BWO, size 22, once the fish are up.

Ogden River below Causey

Flow: about 7.8 cfs on the South Fork below Causey early Monday, flat all week and a hair lower than last week’s 8.2 cfs. USGS lists 30 cfs for this date, but that comes from a single year of records, so treat it as a rough guide. Clarity: very low and clear. Bugs: I couldn’t find a current shop or DWR report for this stretch. Fall here usually means BWOs and midges.

At these flows the fish are stacked in the deepest pools and plunge pools, and they’ll spook at anything. Use a long leader and light tippet, keep your drifts quiet, and don’t hammer the same hole. If you see browns paired up on gravel, give them room. There’s a mix of National Forest and private land along this stretch, so watch the postings.

Fly to try: a small BWO nymph or The Real McCoy, size 18.

Weber River below Echo

Flow: about 0.47 cfs at the Echo gauge early Monday, down from around 1 to 2 cfs early last week. The median for this date is 36 cfs, and the lowest USGS has on record for Oct. 26 is 0.42 cfs, so it’s just about as low as it gets. Clarity: barely flowing. Bugs: not much to report.

Western Rivers Flyfisher’s latest report (Oct. 16) calls this flow unfishable and suggests heading downstream toward Morgan, where there’s actually water moving. I’d give the fish in this stretch a break. They’re crowded into whatever pools are left and they’re stressed. I’ll keep watching the gauge and let you know when the water comes back.

Fly to try: none this week. Give it a rest.

Currant Creek

Flow: about 30 cfs at the USGS gauge early Monday, right at the 29 cfs median for this date. Thursday night’s rain bumped it to about 77 cfs on Oct. 23, and it dropped back within a day. Clarity: clear. Bugs: midges, with BWOs on cloudy days. I couldn’t find a current shop or DWR report for Currant Creek this week.

The browns are spawning or close to it. If you see fish paired up over clean gravel, give them room and don’t wade through the redds. Fish the deeper runs and pools between the gravel bars with a small dry and a jig nymph hung underneath, and slow down when the sun is off the water.

Fly to try: a Parachute Adams, size 16, with The Real McCoy as the dropper.

Little Bear River below Porcupine

Flow: there’s no live gauge on the East Fork below Porcupine Dam, so the closest number is the USGS gauge on the Little Bear at Paradise, which is below where the forks come together. It was running about 37 cfs early Monday, a little under the 41 cfs median for this date, after a short bump to about 53 cfs from Thursday’s rain. Keep in mind that number includes the South Fork, and in the fall the dam is often shut down to a trickle, so the East Fork right below the dam can be running a lot lower than Paradise shows. Clarity: no current report. Bugs: I couldn’t find a current shop or DWR report for this stretch.

The first mile below the dam is the public water, so that’s where to focus. Treat it like a small stream: short casts, light tippet, and work the deeper pockets and bends slowly. The DWR rules from Porcupine Dam down to the Avon-Paradise road (SR-165) are artificial flies and lures only, with a limit of 2 trout or salmon combined.

Fly to try: The Real McCoy, size 18, under a small dry as an indicator.

Oneida Narrows by Preston, Idaho

Flow: about 311 cfs below Oneida Dam early Monday, from PacifiCorp’s provisional release data. It held around 280 to 290 cfs most of last week, jumped to about 390 cfs on Oct. 24 and 25, then came back down. PacifiCorp’s forecast shows about 300 cfs Tuesday, then about 250 cfs Wednesday through Friday (Oct. 28 to 30). The USGS gauge below the dam (10086500) isn’t reporting live data, but its median for this date is about 377 cfs, so the river is running below normal. These flows can change quickly with dam operations, so check the PacifiCorp numbers before you drive up. Clarity: no current report. Bugs: no current shop report either. Fall here usually means BWOs and midges. Idaho Fish and Game’s most recent stocking here was 1,500 catchable rainbows in the Narrows below the dam on Oct. 9.

Nymph the riffles and seams below the dam, and swing or strip a streamer on cloudy afternoons for the browns. This is Idaho water, so you need an Idaho fishing license. Under Idaho’s rules for the Bear River from the Utah state line up to Oneida Dam, the trout limit is 2, with no harvest of cutthroat.

Fly to try: The Real McCoy under an indicator, or a dark streamer on overcast days.

Heads up on weather

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City has a mostly sunny Monday with a high near 65 around Ogden, then a chance of rain Monday night. Tuesday through Thursday look mostly dry, with highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s and only a chance of a shower Tuesday night. Rain chances build Friday, with rain likely Friday night, showers and thunderstorms likely Saturday, and more rain Sunday, with highs around 57 to 61. Smaller freestones like the Logan, Blacksmith Fork and Currant Creek can rise and color up fast, as we saw last Thursday, so check the gauges before you go and stay off rising water. Those gray, wet days are prime BWO weather.

Come fish with me

This is the last week of our fall season. I’m guiding Monday through Saturday through Oct. 31, so if the calendar still has an opening, come grab one of the last fall days with me. Guided trips are $585 for 1 angler, $850 for 2, and $425 per angler for 3 or more. After Saturday I’m off the water until spring, and a guided day makes a great holiday gift, so gift certificates are available on the website. You can also book spring 2027 (April through June) now. Questions? Call or text me at (385) 244-4033.

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See you on the water,
David

Sources (USGS and PacifiCorp numbers are provisional, and conditions change fast, so check before you go):

See the hatch chart: what's hatching in Northern Utah, month by month.