What are good river flows for trout. I was on the MP last Monday and hooked up with about ten trout in a few hours time. Went to the same spot yesterday and caught nothing. The water was much faster and probably more than a foot higher than it was last week. Anyways what would I look for for water flows on the web sites. In other words what would be too fast for trout. I am planning on hitting the MP again on Thursday. Thanks[
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Whenever flow change dramatically it puts the fish off for a little while. After the flows have stabilized the fish start feeding again actively but you won't find them in the same places obviously. I don't fish the MP very often but it can be tough when flows are real high. the fish are pushed out of the swift water into the banks. If I remember right it usually fishes pretty well in the low 100 cf/second range.
The hard part is that every river is different so you just have to learn each river and what a good flow. I just looked and MP is flowing at about 400 which if I remember right is a pretty decent flow for that river.
Good Luck
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Each river , each season will have a different optimum flow. Tatics need to change with that
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Not familiar with the flows of the MP and what is good and what is not, but one thing I know for sure is that fish feed in high water. But as baetis said, you just have to fish differently. Fish are in survival mode 100% of the time. Use the least amount of energy to gain the most. At high water there is all sorts of bugs kicked up, but the fish will be in areas that requires less energy.
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all good pieces of advise. 457 (current flow) is not a bad flow for the middle at all. The middle was at or around 400 cfs pretty much all summer last year. The fish are still on the chew, you just need to look for them in different places. Like others have said, the fish don't like to fight that current so they will hold anywhere that has a break from the current, good food supply, and cover. Forget the small dries and focus on nymphing, streamer fishing, and even fishing the big dry.
There are lots of Skwala stones out right now (especially on the lower river near Legacy bridge) so covering fishy water along the banks with a big #12 Peacock PMX or Royal Stimmy trailing a tungsten YFD (your favorite dropper) can be deadly. The higher water also displaces lots of baitfish so streamer fishing can be deadly right now, especially with the ever so slightly warmer water.
Don't be surprised to see the middle get over 2,000 cfs this year. Looks like Hailstone on the Uper Provo is about to crest 1,000 cfs tonight. Here's some good links for streamflow
[url "http://www.cuwcd.com/operations/currentdata.htm"]http://www.cuwcd.com/operations/currentdata.htm[/url]
[url "http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/current/?type=flow"]http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/current/?type=flow[/url]
[url "http://www.usbr.gov/uc/index.html"]http://www.usbr.gov/uc/index.html[/url]
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Thanks everyone for your replies. This gives me some knowlege to work with before I head to the river again.
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Thanks Lunchbox.
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