Utah Fishing & Outdoors Report
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Labor Day Fishing Report
This holiday weekend will be crazy, with people everywhere. The popular spots will all be packed. After the holiday, with kids back in school and footballs flying, crowds will diminish just as fishing and hiking conditions begin to improve. Lake Powell is hot now and getting better. Strawberry has been exceptional for people jigging deep. Hoppers and other terrestrials are great on our trout streams. Most waters are good and many will become very good during the coming weeks.
At Lake Powell, DWR Project Leader Wayne Gustaveson reports: "Expect boils anywhere. September will be the prime boil month for 2007. Look for boils during the two-hour period at first light and last light each day... Shad moving in front of advancing stripers will excite any game fish. Find active stripers that will lead you to bass, walleye and catfish that lurk on the outskirts of the striper feeding frenzy." Read his complete report.
Green River water flows have been erratic but now appear to be stabilizing around 800-900 cubic feet per second. That should help fishing. Action has been good there and it should become very good as fall progresses.
Tiger muskie fishing has become very popular in Utah and now the DWR may be finding a way to keep that action going. The Salt Lake Tribune reports biologists are looking at ways to propagate the hybrid fish here in Utah. They were being imported from Minnesota, but that ended last fall because of concern about disease.
DWR Hotspots Report
DWR says these waters offer hot fishing
- Pelican Lake for bluegill and largemouth bass
- Crouse Reservoir for rainbows
- Calder Reservoir for rainbows- Pineview Reservoir for crappie, bass and perch
- Weber River for trout and whitefish
- Fish Lake for splake, rainbows, perch
- Sand Hollow Reservoir for bass and bluegill
- Lake Powell for bass, stripers, walleye, crappie and catfish
Interesting Posts by Anglers
Strawberry continues to be very good jigging for cutts
Strawberry's good trolling from a canoe
Otter Creek Reservoir is good trolling but rainbows have sores on them
Photo highlights from this year's trips
Nice bass fishing photos
Jordanelle continues to be good for smallmouth
Pineview is good for tiger muskie and bass
Twin Lakes, ID, is very good for largemouth
Lake Powell shore fishing spots
Flaming Gorge fishing with a guide
Flaming Gorge is good for kokanee, rainbows and lake trout
Huntington Creek Left Fork good with hopper patterns
Logan River's good fly fishing
Uinta Mountains fishing and hiking - beautiful photos
Strawberry River: the length some go to use illegal bait
Newton Reservoir is good for a variety of panfish
New Articles
Salt Lake Tribune
Hook Shot
Utah Upland Game guide
Tight Lines: Tiger muskie could return
Fee increase proposed for Flaming Gorge
Bird sighting
Antelope Island
Where is it?
Hike of the week: Lofty Lake Loop Trail - Uinta Mountain
Utah resorts offering deals on ski passes
Recreation roundup
The Outsider
'Planet's Greatest Climbs' part of Reel Rock film tour
The gear is here
Ogden Valley Pathways celebration
Deseret Morning News
Campgrounds will fill up this Labor Day weekend
Ski jumping championships at Olympic Park this weekend
Ray Grass: Labor Day ski sales usher in season
Outdoor notes
Trappers must use breakaway snares
Photo: 4 feet of bass
Gusts whip Idaho wildfire near Sun Valley ski area; new evacuations possible
BLM seeking comments on Utah-Nevada gas pipeline
Fire restrictions lifted across most of state
June suckers going into Utah Lake
Rain makes Dixie soggy mess
Cabin raising at This Is the Place Park
Idaho wakeboarder dies after Lake Powell accident
Park service donors ready to help upgrade cherished wilderness
Touching nature — Syracuse park offers urban fishing, trails, wetlands
Yellowstone lifts fire restrictions
KUTV
Sporting Clay Shoot
Dove Hunting Preview
Uinta Hike
Some Reservoirs Are Low But Fishing Is Good
Fishing is good to excellent at many waters. Strawberry is dynamite for people who fish deep using jigs tipped with sucker meat or part of a nightcrawler. This year, more than ever before, people seem to have learned how to fish jigs for trout. Tip a peal-colored jig with sucker meat or half a nightcrawler and drop it down deep. You’ll catch fish if you get it down to them. A good fish finder is almost essential for this kind of fishing.
Smallmouth bass fishing is excellent at Jordanelle, Pineview, Flaming Gorge, Sand Hollow, Lake Powell and other waters. This seems to be a banner year for smallmouth at Wasatch Front waters. Jordanelle has become a very good bass water. People are responding - more seem to be fishing for and catching these scrappy sport fish.
At Powell, striper boils have become common on the lower lake. Wayne Gustaveson reports: "My Goodness! Something happened to Lake Powel this week. The cause is uncertain but we know that yearling stripers that were feeding on top near Hite went deep. At the same time the bottom feeding fish on the south end came to the surface. I suspect there is a logical reason... Rather then try to explain the phenomenon, I just went fishing! It has been awhile since I have found full open water boils where I could reach them from Wahweap or Antelope Point. This morning 103 stripers were caught in 2 hours of fishing."
For fly fishermen, hoppers are becoming very effective. Steve Schmidt explains: "As the grasses dry out, hoppers are now moving to the rivers riparian areas to feast on the last of the green grasses. The browns are beginning to take notice. I've always done better on the Middle (Provo) with hoppers because of the corridors meadows and grasslands. They are far more extensive here than in the narrow lower Provo Canyon. They aren't the only land-based insects that are worth fishing. Ants and beetles on those hot sunny afternoons can be very productive."
Interesting Posts by Anglers
Strawberry is hot jigging for cutthroats
Strawberry - lots of people keeping illegal fish
Jordanelle remains very good for smallmouth and perch
Mantua bluegills keep the family happy
Flaming Gorge has fast smallmouth fishing
Deer Creek poacher busted
Tibble Fork Reservoir is good for trout
DWR Hotspots Report
- Pineview Reservoir for crappie, bass and perch
New Articles
DWR
Deer permits sold out
Colorado River cutthroats returned to the Book Cliffs
Search for quagga or zebra mussels continues
Stiff fines the result of knowingly breaking fishing and hunting laws
Pineview yields huge tiger muskie
Newton Reservoir boat ramp is now out of the water
KUTV
'CAST' Lets Special Utah Kids Reel 'Em In
Catching Crawdads In Utah
Catching Crawdads, Cleaning... And Cooking Them
Recipe For Crawdad Boil
Utah Field Guide: Crawdads
State Parks: Rockport
Deseret Morning News
Deep Blue : There's plenty of water to go around at Lake Powell
Utah may see more tourists from Asia
Dove season starts Sept. 1; young birds may be plentiful
From 'other side of the pond,' carp are revered
Permits sold out for '07 deer hunt
Sierra Club calls land buy for Legacy connector risky
Zion Park plans to rein in cheatgrass
Salt Lake Tribune
Slight decline in bird numbers forecast for dove-hunt opener
Deer-hunting permits sold out
Outdoor Notebook: Top dogs, Flow Tour, Mid Mountain Marathon and more
Out Takes: Give Us Your Best Shot
Wildlife mascots
Guitar hooks flow at Fountains of Wayne concert
Tight Lines: The lowdown on high flows
Wharton: Camouflage shows hunters, hipsters cater to one pattern
Recreation roundup
Bird sighting
The outsider: Hawk Watch, Paddle Fest
Mushroom Society of Utah to hold its fall fungal foray
Hook Shot
Board and bike competition
Where is it
Late Summer Fishing and Hunting
Large Catfish Caught in Huntington Reservoir
I was traveling last week and was not able to file my report. I won’t let that happen too often.
Utah's general archery buck deer hunt begins this weekend. The state's general archery elk hunt kicks off Aug. 23. DWR biologists say the number of young bucks is up this year and hunter success should be high. Details.
Meanwhile, fishing remains good for anglers who get into the high country, or who troll or jig deep in our lakes and reservoirs.
The moon will be full on 8/28, and new again on 9/11. My observations suggest fishing can be sporadic under a bright moon and is usually more consistent when the moon is dark.
At Lake Powell, there are now consistent striped bass boils on the surface. If you read this report regularly you’ll notice that I love fishing the boils at Powell – and that action should be very good during the next few weeks. Wayne Gustaveson reports: “Anchovy fishing for stripers continues to be beyond belief. Adult stripers have gone deeper - some as deep as 100 feet. Anchovy chum gets a school going and they just keep feeding as long as the bait continues to fall.”
Boils most common on the upper lake during early morning, but can happen anytime, anywhere. At Powell there is also very good fishing for smallmouth, largemouth and catfish.
Green River is fishing well early and late in the day, but action can be slow during the afternoon. Thunderstorms bring muddy water down Red Creek some days, and that can interfere with fishing below that point. With the heat of summer, the water warms as you move downstream. In Section C the water is quite warm and that can make fish lethargic. See Dennis Breer’s report for details.
Fly fishing on the Provo and even the Weber is challenging because of the pressure these streams receive. Steve Schmidt gives this advice: “If you have the time traveling to some of our less pressured waters is a good idea. Huntington Creek, Currant Creek, Price River, Logan River, and Strawberry River are all in good shape and fishing pretty good for this late in the year.” Read his report.
Interesting Angler Posts
Flaming Gorge yields 40 lb lake trout (very nice photos)
Flaming Gorge is good jigging for smaller lake trout
Provo River browns are hitting Rapalas
Strawberry is good trolling but better jigging
Scofield is good for smaller trout
East Fork of the Bear is good in the Uintas
Spirit Lake in the Uintas has good fishing and a pesky bear
Deer Creek, some anglers poaching bass
Kolob Reservoir is good for fly fishers
Porcupine Reservoir kokanee are biting
Sand Hollow is good for bass
Pineview has great bass fishing
Newton Reservoir is good for tiger muskie and nice bass (good phtos)
DWR Hotspots Report
DWR says these waters offer hot fishing
- Long Park Reservoir (Uintas) for trout
- Pineview Reservoir for crappie, bass and perch
- Weber River for trout and whitefish
- Fish Lake for splake, rainbows, perch
- Sand Hollow Reservoir for bass and bluegill
- Lake Powell for bass, stripers, walleye, crappie and catfish
New Articles
DWR
About the same number of doves
Another monster catfish caught at Huntington North Reservoir
Invasive mussels detected in Lake Powell
Larger animals can escape
You need a new HIP number
More young bucks this fall
Tips for a safe archery hunt
DWR proposes major turkey hunting change
Deseret Morning News
Salt & Speed: Record number of entries test Bonneville's flats
Bonneville Salt Flats — saved in nick of time
2,000 bicyclists test their limits at 111-mile ULCER extravaganza
Strong field for this week's XTERRA
Outdoor notes
Bighorn sheep return to historic range along Rio Grande Gorge
Montana State eyes profile as university for Yellowstone region
Peer reviews flunk Bush administration plans for spotted owl
Park Service struggles with campers' waste at Washington lake
Santa Fe reservoirs could help restore Rio Grande cutthroat
Authorities say Tahoe bear complaints, Angora fire, linked
Cedar Breaks marking anniversary this weekend
Man falls while rappelling at Zion National Park
Technology to let explorers stay wired in great outdoors
Water safety is urged at Utah lakes, parks
SL Tribune
Hike of the Week: Clayton Peak - Big Cottonwood Canyon
Huge bass surfaces at Lake Powell
Snorkel Utah
Snorkel design is a 'Kapitol' idea
Top 10 false myths about scuba diving
Recreation roundup
Tips to help you avoid injury and keep the hunt on-target
Outdoor Notebook: Watch eagle return to wild at Cedar Breaks and much more
The Outsider: Dressage Society show, Ogden balloon fest
Hook shot
Happy 20th, Fremont park
Bird sighting
Write an essay to vie for special hunts
Where is it?
KUTV
Starvation Walleye
Starvation Reservoir
Rifle Range Camp For Visually Impaired Kids
Kokanee Fishing is Good Right Now
Huge Lake Powell Striped BassThe photo illustrating this report was sent to us by Alphonso Gonzales. He picked up the fish in Last Chance Bay at Lake Powell on July 24. It is about 49 inches long and weighed between 40 and 50 pounds. Apparently it was dead and floating when he found it. Had he caught it with a rod and reel it may have been a new state record. Here's an interesting thread of posts about the incident.
Striped bass boils are still sporadic at Lake Powell. Surface action should pick up there any day now. Other species offer good fishing.
Monsoon Rains
We are now in the "monsoon season," with thunderstorms developing many days. Sportsmen need to use extra caution to minimize danger from flash floods and lightning. The flood that came down North Creek in Zion Park on Wednesday would have almost certainly killed anyone in the Subway (a popular Zion canyon hike). Never enter slot canyons when there is a chance of thunderstorms in the drainage. If thunderstorms develop, get off high ridges and mountain peaks, and take refuge when fishing.
Interesting Posts By Anglers
Jordanelle smallmouth continue to provide fast fishing
Porcupine Reservoir is good for small kokanee; water is low
Middle Provo River is fast for browns using lures (great photos)
Pineview Reservoir is good for smallmouth
Scofield Reservoir is good for assorted trout fishing bait; water is low
Fishing live leeches for trout - fun story
Electric Lake - cutts hit but are hard to hook; Lower Fish Creek is good with dry flies (beautiful photos)
Causey Reservoir offers good family fishing for small trout
Willard Bay adventure with boat taking on water - fun story
DWR Hotspots Report
DWR says these waters offer hot fishing- Long Park Reservoir (Uintas) for trout- Pineview Reservoir for crappie, bass and perch- Weber River for trout and whitefish
- Fish Lake for splake, rainbows, perch- Sand Hollow Reservoir for bass and bluegill- Lake Powell for bass, stripers, walleye, crappie and catfish
News Reports
DWR
Apply for a swan permit starting Aug. 10
Deseret Morning News
Summer splash — Reservoirs have plenty of water for recreation
Park City mountain biker to ride in Jeep King series
Racers to relive history on car track
Time's right if you're hooked on fishing Utah waters
Current ramp, water conditions at Utah reservoirs
Pack canoes — Lighter boats open up remote mountain lakes
Cycling notebook: Loads of options for valley cyclists
Outdoor notes
Salt Lake Tribune
Recreation Roundup
Outdoor Notebook: Zion openings, star party and more
Celebrating 50 years of Utah State Parks
Wharton: Utah state parks have come a long way in only 50 years
State Parks: The challenges ahead
Tight lines: Teens aim to hook scholarship prizes
Where is it?
The Outsider: Balloons and bicycling
Hook shot
Take the ranger with you GPS RANGER
Book shelf
Boat ramps closed at Willard Bay
Bird sighting
Hike of the week: Millvue Peak - Mill Creek Canyon
KUTV Roughin It
Wildfires Destroy Thousands Of Wilderness Acres
Smaller Utah Creeks Now Open To Fishing
Younger Utahns Are Turning Into Expert Anglers
Utah State Parks - Bear Lake
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