07-14-2016, 05:22 PM
Two strong possibilities are midges and/or caddisflies. Both are summer evening regulars with nightly occurrences. Not unusual at all for both to be hatching at the same time and different fish reacting to different insects (and different stages of insects)... although caddisflies do tend to pour it on right after dark.
Given your success with the caddis pattern after dark, there is a chance that the fish you were targeting were chasing emerging pupae the entire time, ignoring the flies on (or above) the surface and just their momentum was causing them to break through creating the rise form. After dark they lose their perspective but still react to the silhouette so the floating caddis will start taking fish that ignored it earlier.
For my money, Jul-Sep on the middle Provo is prime time for fishing soft hackles just below the surface. Fish them 2-3 at a time, different sizes/patterns to cover your caddis bases. Strikes will be jolting so keep your rod 90* to your line to keep the tippet from parting. Usually smaller fish will make up most of the catch until that last half hour before total darkness. Then the larger fish will come.
If you strike out with the wet flies, try drifting a midge pupae pattern… either on a greased leader, or 10" dropper off the hook of an Elk Hair Caddis (as an indicator).
The cool part of this pattern repeating itself is that one hard lesson can lead to adjusted success the next time out!
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Given your success with the caddis pattern after dark, there is a chance that the fish you were targeting were chasing emerging pupae the entire time, ignoring the flies on (or above) the surface and just their momentum was causing them to break through creating the rise form. After dark they lose their perspective but still react to the silhouette so the floating caddis will start taking fish that ignored it earlier.
For my money, Jul-Sep on the middle Provo is prime time for fishing soft hackles just below the surface. Fish them 2-3 at a time, different sizes/patterns to cover your caddis bases. Strikes will be jolting so keep your rod 90* to your line to keep the tippet from parting. Usually smaller fish will make up most of the catch until that last half hour before total darkness. Then the larger fish will come.
If you strike out with the wet flies, try drifting a midge pupae pattern… either on a greased leader, or 10" dropper off the hook of an Elk Hair Caddis (as an indicator).
The cool part of this pattern repeating itself is that one hard lesson can lead to adjusted success the next time out!
[signature]