# Green Drakes.....



## doody (Apr 2, 2009)

......ARE HERE! Middle Provo was bumpin today.


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## tap (Jun 27, 2008)

Awesome. Been waiting for this.


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## scientificangler (Aug 13, 2008)

Thanks for the update! I was out on the Middle on the 24th and didn't see a single fish rise from 9am to 2pm! What a difference a day makes.


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## HopperLover (Jul 7, 2008)

I am just curious what section you were fishing.


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## tap (Jun 27, 2008)

I second the question as to what section of the middle.

There were definitely none rising where I was on the middle on the 20th. I had a few possible bumps on a stone nymph but couldn't get anything to really take it.


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## doody (Apr 2, 2009)

I was fishing the southernmost pullout near the top of the middle, just after you take the right at the light coming down from Park City (Riverroad bridge??). I did however hike downstream quite a long way, I guesstimate at least 1 1/2 miles, mebey 2. Hatch wasn't heavy, didn't last long, and the fish weren't SUPER keyed into them, but it was nice to finally see fish rising to the drys I was throwing at em. Caught 4 ok sized fish with a few dozen more swipes. I'm hoping that its the fish that don't remember how to take a dry fly rather than me knowing that I'm a bit rusty finishing the bizznuss. Blaming it on the fish makes me feel better.

On that note, I went up today for a few hours hoping that the poor weather would mean more fish up but I didn't see a single snout. Didn't see any Drakes either but there were a lot of PMD's and a few caddis flying around. I ended up fishing soft hackles the whole day and did really well. 

I think things are just sporadic up there right now. Gotta be in the right place at the right time but hopfully this won't be the case much longer. Past years of Drake hatches have provided me some of the fastest and funnest dryfly fishing I've ever had on the Middle Provo.

Finally glad something, anything is happeing up there. I'm **** sick of nymphing.


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

It is going to be a while before any kind of significant hatch starts. Water temps are just too cold. As of now water temps are only 42 degrees, which is far too cold for the drakes to get out in full force. I spoke to the jordanelle dam manager just a couple of days ago and they are still releasing water out of the lowest penstock of the reservoir right now; about 250 feet deep. Once they change the penstock level and start releasing warmer water, that should trigger the drakes to go in full force. Water temps need to get around 50 degrees for that to happen. The hatch starts at Charleston bridge and works its way up toward the dam over the course of several days. I personally haven't seen a decent drake hatch on the middle before the 4th of July in several years. According to my records the peak of the hatch the past few years has been between the 15th and 25th of July.


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## doody (Apr 2, 2009)

Thanks for the info flyguy. What is the purpose of the different penstocks on the dams? And do they take the entemologic principles into account when deciding which water level to release from?


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## ScottyP (Sep 12, 2007)

That would be pretty neat to be the guy who pushes a few buttons (figuratively speaking) and starts a hatch. 

"I think I'll start the green drake hatch today"... and it was so.


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## HopperLover (Jul 7, 2008)

Where do you get information on the temperature of the river water? Is there realtime info available for temperature readings?


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## paraAdams (Apr 1, 2008)

> What is the purpose of the different penstocks on the dams


.

The penstocks are used to release water from different levels along the height of the dam. The lower the penstock the colder the water. The higher the penstock (closer to the surface of the lake) the warmer the water.

Incidentally, biologist learned a lot about fish behavior in colder, dam-released water from Flaming Gorge dam. The water released from the bottom of that lake was so cold, that the fish in the river below basically went into a coma because of the cold.

Now they are very aware of the effects of the different penstock releases are on the tail water fish.

Hope that helps!


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

The penstocks on Jordanelle are used not only to control temperature, but water quality of the water coming out of the reservoir into deer creek. because of the large amounts of water coming into Jordanelle during spring runoff, water quality is compromised (mostly due to large quantities of algae stirred up). The penstocks this time of year allow water to be passed out of the bottom of the reservoir to minimize the algae pass through. If water is pulled out mid column during runoff, that will pass large amounts of algae into deer creek. Because deer creek is a smaller, shallower reservoir, the reservoir warms up much faster and would see algae blooms in mid to late summer so severe that the water would become void of dissolved oxygen and a vast majority of the fish would suffocate and die. Once runoff subsides, the algae begins to settle and water is able to bepulled out at a higher level in the reservoir to warm the water below to the magic 50 degree mark and allow the insects to hatch and fish to grow. Scientists take water quality samples at different levels throughout the ressie to determine the water qualites and where the water needs to be taken out. Because of the close proximity of Jordanelle and Deer Creek, it is something that needs to be managed very carefully. This is exactly why the water stays colder out of jordanelle that any of the other local streams.


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## tap (Jun 27, 2008)

Very good information on the purpose of taking water from lower penstocks.


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