Troutline

Bear River

Utah·Northern Utah·40.90° N, 110.83° W
Flow
100 CFS
Bear River near Utah-Wyoming State Line
Water Temp
—
Condition
Below Normal
Weather
52°F
Partly Cloudy
near Evanston

Insights

Wind
Wind 2 mph — calm
Easy casting and clean surface presentations.
Sky
Overcast skies
Subsurface streamers and nymphs are favored.
Flow
Low flows at 100 CFS
Fish are spooky. Lighten tippet and lengthen leaders.
Snowpack
Snowpack snowpack update
Snowpack data for Bear River basin is limited right now. The May–July runoff forecast for Bear R nr UT-WY State Line is 53% of average.

The upper Bear River is where the whole 491-mile river starts — a cold, small freestone draining the north slope of the Uintas, fished for wild browns, brook trout, and native Bear River cutthroat within a couple rod-lengths of the Mirror Lake Highway. This is not the big, looping Bear that irrigators fight over down in Cache Valley and Idaho; up here it's a step-across-in-places mountain stream running through lodgepole, aspen, and willow-lined meadows above 8,000 feet. The draw is the cutthroat. The Bear River drainage holds one of the highest documented cutthroat densities in Utah, and the mainstem plus its forks — Hayden, Stillwater, East, and West — are the go-to Utah water for anglers chasing a native Bear River cutthroat for the state's Cutthroat Slam.

It fishes like classic high-country pocket water: short casts, high-sticking, and forgiving fish that will eat a size 14 attractor dry more often than they'll refuse it. Runoff dictates everything. The river is snowmelt-driven and blown out and cold through May and June — in a big snow year it isn't safe or productive until the first week of July — but once the flow drops from spring peaks into a fishable summer range, it turns into as easy and pleasant a dry-fly stream as Utah has. A Royal Wulff, an Elk Hair Caddis, a Stimulator, or a Parachute Adams covers most days; the meadow stretches of the Stillwater Fork reward a nymph under an indicator. Fish run small — 6 to 12 inches is the honest average, with the odd brown or cutthroat pushing 14-16 in the deeper mainstem bends and beaver water.

Access is the easy part and the hard part. The mainstem and Hayden Fork parallel SR-150 with turnouts and Forest Service campgrounds, so you can fish from the car — which also means the roadside water sees pressure on summer weekends when the whole Wasatch Front drives up to camp. The better fishing is a short walk off the highway: up the Stillwater Fork from Christmas Meadows, or up the East Fork past its trailhead. The season is genuinely short — the Mirror Lake Highway isn't fully plowed until late spring, snow can return by October, and the water is only comfortable July through September. Pack for afternoon thunderstorms and mosquitoes in July.

Species

  • Bear River Cutthroat Trout
    Primary · Jul-Sep · 6-14"

    The signature fish and a qualifying species for the Utah Cutthroat Slam. Native and densest in the forks — Stillwater, East, and Hayden — where they come willingly to attractor dries. Most anglers release them.

  • Brown Trout
    Common · Aug-Oct · 8-16"

    Wild and the best fish of the reach. Holds in deeper mainstem bends and beaver dams; the larger browns turn into streamer-eaters in fall.

  • Brook Trout
    Common · Jul-Sep · 6-11"

    Abundant in the upper forks and connected lakes. Small but eager — good company on a dry-fly day.

  • Mountain Whitefish
    Common · Jul-Sep · 8-14"

    Native to the mainstem. Takes nymphs readily and adds numbers on a slow afternoon.

Ideal wading flow40–120 CFS
Blow-out>200 CFS
Ideal water temp50–62°F

Mid-July through September is prime — runoff has subsided, hatches peak, and dry-fly fishing is easy. Early July can be very good in a light snow year but blown out in a heavy one. By late August flows get thin and clear; fish mornings and evenings. The Mirror Lake Highway season (and snow-free access) is essentially July through October.

Sections

5 sections on this river

Mainstem — Forks Confluence to State Line

WadeCutthroat · Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Whitefish

The mainstem below the Hayden/Stillwater confluence, running roadside along SR-150 down to where the river crosses into Wyoming at the USGS state-line gauge. Small freestone water — riffles, plunge pools, and willow-lined meadow bends, with beaver activity carving out the deeper holding water. This is the deepest, largest water of the upper drainage and the best shot at a heavier brown trout, with native Bear River cutthroat and mountain whitefish throughout.

Best for: Brown trout and Bear River cutthroat on dry-fly and dry-dropper rigs, with some streamer water in the deeper bends for the larger browns.

East Fork Bear River

WadeCutthroat · Brook Trout · Rainbow Trout

Freestone pocket water and meadow reaches on the eastern side of the drainage, joining the Bear below the Hayden/Stillwater confluence. Reached from the East Fork–Bear River Trailhead off SR-150 with some walking required, which keeps it quieter than the roadside forks. Good water for native Bear River cutthroat and brook trout away from the road crowds.

Best for: Bear River cutthroat and brook trout on dry-fly — a walk-in fork for anglers escaping the SR-150 pressure.

Hayden Fork

WadeCutthroat · Brook Trout · Rainbow Trout

The westerly of the two forks that form the mainstem, running right along SR-150 through pines, aspen, and willow flats and grassy meadows. Easy walk-and-wade water — runs, riffles, and pockets that fish beautifully with attractor dries. Classic Renegade, Royal Wulff, and Elk Hair Caddis fishing for eager brook trout and Bear River cutthroat.

Best for: Bear River cutthroat and brook trout on attractor dries — the easiest access on the river and forgiving fish.

Stillwater Fork (Christmas Meadows)

WadeCutthroat

About three miles of slow, meandering meadow stream through Christmas Meadows, then steeper pocket water below, reached by a short spur off SR-150 and a walk up the Stillwater/Amethyst trail. Undercut grassy banks hold spooky Bear River cutthroat that reward a low profile. The prettiest water in the drainage and the fork fly shops actually write reports about — indicator nymphing works the flats, dries the pockets.

Best for: Native Bear River cutthroat — indicator nymphing (Prince, Hare's Ear, small Woolly Buggers) in the meadow flats and dries in the pocket water.

West Fork Bear River

WadeCutthroat · Brook Trout · Rainbow Trout

A small headwater fork on the western side of the drainage near Whitney Reservoir, reached by forest roads west of SR-150. Brushy small-stream fishing and the least-pressured fork in the drainage, holding wild brook trout and Bear River cutthroat that eat a well-placed dry.

Best for: Brook trout and Bear River cutthroat — small wild fish on the quietest fork of the drainage.

Regulations

Current fishing rules and restrictions

The upper Bear River drainage streams in the Uintas are not listed under Utah's Rules for Specific Waters, so the statewide general trout limit applies. The practical season is set by snow and road access, not a regulatory closure. Verify current limits and any cutthroat provisions in the UDWR guidebook before you go.

  • Statewide general season and trout limit apply (the general stream trout limit has been 4 in recent years — reverify the current number)
  • No fly-only or artificial-only restriction on the general drainage water
  • Valid Utah fishing license required for all anglers age 12 and older

Bear River cutthroat are a native conservation species and a Cutthroat Slam target — most anglers release them. The 'Bear Lake tributaries' special rules in the guidebook refer to the Bear Lake fishery, not this headwaters reach. Regulations change annually; reverify for the current season.

Source: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Regulations change annually — verify before fishing.

Access & Logistics

Getting there, fly shops, and lodging

Getting There

Kamas, UT

45 min from Kamas via SR-150, 1.25-1.5 hrs from Salt Lake City, 30 min from Evanston, WY

Fly Shops

Camping & Lodging

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest campgrounds sit directly on the water — Bear River, Hayden Fork, Sulphur, Stillwater, Christmas Meadows, and Beaver View — plus dispersed camping on Forest Service land. Summer weekends fill; reserve where possible. Full services in Kamas and Evanston, nothing on the highway itself.

SR-150 (the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway) parallels the mainstem and Hayden Fork with turnouts throughout; a recreation-fee pass is required to park along the highway. The road is closed by snow roughly November through May. The best fishing is a short walk off the highway up the Stillwater or East forks.

Conditions data is live from public monitoring networks. Regulations change annually — always verify current rules with your state fish & wildlife agency before fishing.

More in Utah

View all 14 rivers

Northern Utah

Blacksmith ForkUT

The Logan River's big southern tributary — a freestone canyon stream off the Bear River Range that runs down Blacksmith Fork Canyon along SR-101. Fast pocket water and boulder runs full of wild browns, plus one of the only true salmonfly hatches in Utah.

Logan RiverUT

A freestone canyon river dropping out of the Bear River Range through Logan Canyon along US-89. Wild browns and mountain whitefish in the lower water, native Bonneville cutthroat upstream, and technical pocket water that rewards a careful approach.

Other regions

Beaver RiverUT

A small, overlooked Tushar Mountains freestone off SR-153 east of Beaver — pocket water and plunge pools for stocked and holdover rainbows, wild browns, and brook trout, plus a DWR-restored valley reach below town where the 18-20" brown stories come from. Wade-only, snowmelt-driven, and best July through October.

Currant CreekUT

A small, cold, dam-fed stream draining Currant Creek Reservoir southeast through a willow-choked canyon to the Strawberry River near Fruitland. Walk-and-wade beaver-pond water for wild browns and rainbows on attractors and terrestrials, with an artificial-fly-and-lure-only reach above the Water Hollow Creek confluence.

Diamond ForkUT

A small, dam-regulated canyon creek in Spanish Fork Canyon 20 minutes from Provo, holding wild browns and native Bonneville cutthroat in classic pocket water. Central Utah Project flows keep it fishable year-round, and roadside FR-029 access makes it the Wasatch Front's easy weeknight small stream.

Duchesne RiverUT

The biggest freestone draining the south slope of the Uintas, and a genuinely good wild-trout river above Tabiona — pocketwater browns, native Colorado River cutthroat, and one of northeastern Utah's most reliable naturally reproducing mountain whitefish populations. Two Blue Ribbon reaches (the West Fork and the Hanna-to-North-Fork main stem), a season that opens with the second-Saturday-of-July spawning-closure lift, and terrestrial fishing that carries it through September.

Fremont RiverUT

A remote high-desert brown trout river below the Fish Lake plateau — a small, brushy freestone tailwater up top and cold spring-fed big-fish water near Bicknell, where browns to 24-30" are reported. Wade-only, low-flow, and largely private outside Bicknell Bottoms.

Green RiverUT

The tailwater below Flaming Gorge Dam through Red Canyon — gin-clear water and one of the highest wild-trout densities in the country, with browns and rainbows stacked in the A Section. Sight-fish the upper river, float the canyon below, and time the famous cicada hatch in late May and June.