Utah Fishing & Outdoors Report

Fishing is very good right now in most waters around Utah, and the high success rate should hold up during the next few weeks as we settle into a summer pattern.

Uinta Mountains are opening up early this year. High lakes may still have some ice and there are still snowdrifts in spots. Most lakes along Hwy 150 are fishable now and are being stocked heavily. Here’s an interesting discussion about fishing small Uinta streams for tiger trout.

Boulder Mountain lakes are open. This report talks about catching grayling in the small lakes.

Fish Lake, Forsythe, Mill Meadow and Koosharem are fishing well according to this report, which has beautiful photos and describes good action for a variety of fish including rainbows, brookies, cutthroat, browns, tiger trout, splake and perch.

Causey Reservoir usually has muddy water at this time of year, but it is clear now and fishing well. These guys caught splake, rainbows and a tiger trout.

Scofield reports are mixed. In this one, the initial reporter says fishing was slow but someone responding says he found hot action – the best of the year. The anglers fished the reservoir on the same day.

Strawberry can be fickle, but Memorial Day action was good for these guys. Their post includes some great photos.

On the Provo, flows are stabilizing and that should allow fishing conditions to improve. As flows subside there should be good hatches of PMDs, drakes and stoneflies. Check with the local fly shops to find the most effective patterns before you hit the water.

Middle Provo is yielding mostly small browns. Here's a lively discussion about management on the river - whether it is good that anglers can use bait and harvest fish. This report talks about catching a bunch of small browns using spinners.

Green River flows have settled back to normal and fishing is very good. "Cicadas are going to remain for the near future," Dennis Breer says. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see the larger species appear or even for the present hatch to last well into late June." Fishing a dropper under a cicada usually produces great results.

Pineview tiger muskie fishing is always spotty - you've got to work at it to catch those toothy fish. This guy reports impressive success casting and trolling crank baits.

Utah Lake has yielded a monster channel catfish. Elroy Colledge caught the fish, which weighed 28.1 pounds. He was using a chicken heart. Here are details.

Pelican Lake has very good action for bass and bluegill. Here's info, along with good photos.

Deer Creek Reservoir is good for bass and bluegill right now. This report and this one talk about the action.

At Lake Powell, Wayne Gustaveson reports hot striper fishing. Large numbers of fish are being caught by people dropping anchovies down to school of stripers seen on their graphs. The main channel has been very productive, from Rock Creek Bay to Bullfrog. Fish can also be taken using jigs and lures that get down about 20 feet.

Some stripers are already feeding on the surface, eating tiny larval shad. "Feeding often looks like a wind riffle or a wake," Wayne says. "On closer examination the riffle has a silver lining. The surface commotion is small but stripers to 5-pounds are found feeding on shad larvae. The trick is to find a lure that casts far enough to hit the slurp before it sounds, but is small enough to mimic a one-inch larval shad. Perhaps the best bait is silver Kastmaster or other small spoon."

As summer progresses and the shad grow, surface feeding will become more common. Around mid-July, full scale boils will start and fishing will be incredibly good.

DWR Fishing Hotspots
DWR reports the following waters have hot fishing right now
East Canyon Reservoir for trout and smallmouth bass
Matt Warner for trout
Steinaker for trout, largemouth and bluegill
Lower Bowns for trout
Sand Hollow for largemouth, bluegill
Lake Powell for bass, striped bass, walleye, channel catfish and crappie

DWR Articles
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Huge catfish caught at Utah Lake
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Outdoor notes

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Passport to Adventure
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