Utah Fishing & Outdoors Report

We are now posting our weekly report directly to our website and so we will no longer use this blog. The change will give us more flexibility.

See the report on our home page.

Ice fishing is generally good at our trout reservoirs. Strawberry is good but can be spotty - for the best action hike away from the crowds. Slush on top the ice makes snowmobiling difficult. Fish Lake is a very good choice; it offers nice splake, lake trout, rainbows and small perch. Many small reservoirs offer very good ice fishing.

Most reservoirs are filling; ice floats away from shore and a ring of thin ice forms around reservoir edges. You may need to jump or use a plank to bridge over a couple feet of thin stuff to the safe ice.

Bear Lake cisco run should start about Jan 20, and continue through the month. The lake is mostly open water, but that could change at any time. As of now, boats can be launched at Cisco Beach. Trolling is fair to good for cutthroat. See DWR's fishing report for more info.

Utah stream fishing is difficult because of all the snow. There's good action for whitefish and some browns if you can get to the water. Work small nymphs along the bottom.

Lees Ferry has good fly fishing for rainbows, with relatively mild conditions. Lees Ferry Anglers reports that fish are a little bigger this year. The big river is a great option for people interested in getting away from the snow into sunshine.

- Yuba good for perch, 1 pike; Nine Mile good for rainbows
- Strawberry has spotty ice fishing
- Straberry - snowmobile stuck in slush but good fishing
- Utah Lake good for white bass - is it being overharvested?
- Flaming Gorge kokanee through the ice
- Flaming Gorge burbot and lake trout
- Pineview slow, tiger muskie caught through the ice
- Lake Powell offers some winter stripers
- Otter Creek fair for rainbows

DWR
- More bear hunting permits
- License required to apply for a point
-Young hunters: hunt all three seasons
- Help needed to solve wildlife cases

Deseret Morning News
- The Island herd: 55 sheep relocated as population grows
- Deer Valley Resort: Stein's Way leads pack of great runs at resort
- Ray Grass: Lucky 13? It's true for those who want to ski
- Paralyzed hunter surprises family by bagging moose from vehicle
- Outdoor notes
- American Honda to recall ATVs for a throttle defect
- Park Service takes kids on electronic field trips
- 1,500 Great Salt Lake birds likely killed by avian cholera
- Washington avalanche death record blamed on heavy snow, carelessness
- The national avalanche danger scale
- Avalanche deaths in the U.S. so far this season

KUTV
- Fishing For Perch At Yuba
- Strawberry Ice: Winter Fishing
- Cross-Country Skiing In Park City

Salt Lake Tribune
- Lake Powell adds improvements for coming year
- Tight Lines: Next time I buy wading boots, they won't be the felt variety
- Wildlife relocation plan - Moving bison
- A moving experience for desert bighorn
- Bird sighting
- Where is it?
- Hook shot
- The outsider: Birding and nature photography
- Outdoor notebook: Ski or snowshoe to Cedar Breaks yurt
- Out Takes: Give Us Your Best Shot
- Communicating in the wild gets easier with Spot
- Utah Trapshooting Association names state team
- Recreation roundup
- Disease felling fowl at lake
- 'Tis the snow season to visit the top tubing hills
- AAA Utah tells how to avoid danger during winter trips

Daily Herald
- Hearing on rivers sees little support
- White bass, new friends

Regional
- Ice Fishing 101
- Senators Push for Guns in National Parks
- GF&P preparing plan when wolves return to SD
- Hunters, anglers spend big
- End of the line?
- FWS says pygmy rabbit may warrant listing
- Panelist will seek day in killing fish
- Outdoor: State panel looks at Idaho muzzleloader rules
- Meeting about restoration of Fish Creek scheduled
- Phillips perch problem lacks simple solutions
- AK Rates 'Best' in Fly Fishing World
- Sportsmen's Journal to record memories
- Survey Evaluates Eagles Wintering in Nevada

Fish Lake now has safe ice and offers good fishing for splake, rainbows, small lake trout and small perch. It will be one of our better fishing spots during the next few weeks.

Perch are now a popular target, as they are relatively easy to catch through the ice. We've heard reports of good action for nice sized perch at Yuba, Deer Creek and Rockport. Here are tips for icing perch and other panfish.

At Jordanelle, the Rock Cliffs area has safe ice and fair fishing for rainbows and perch. The main lake now has a cap of ice and it will probably become safe during the next week. Fishing success should pick up as more ice is accessible to fishermen.

Strawberry has safe ice over the entire lake and offers consistently good fishing. Flaming Gorge has ice on the north end and is a good choice. Most of our trout and perch waters will offer good ice fishing during the coming weeks.

Wildlife Board Meeting
Rules for Utah's 2008 black bear hunts and plans to guide the management of otters and prairie dogs are among the items the Utah Wildlife Board is expected to approve at its Jan. 8 meeting in Salt Lake City. The meeting begins at 9 am in the DNR Auditorium in Salt Lake City. The public is encouraged to attend. See the agenda.

Interesting Posts By Anglers
- Yuba is good for perch
- Deer Creek perch, rainbows biting
- Rockport fair to good for perch
- Rockport has big perch
- Hyrum is fair to good for perch
- Otter Creek is good but spotty
- Strawberry produces monster cutt
- Strawberry - tips for ice fishing
- Fish Lake yields splake, rainbows, small macks
- Panguitch Lake action was slow
- Joes Valley fair for splake and cutts
- Devils Creek ID good for trout

Articles
DWR
- Don't Toss your tree - Help local wildlife
- Learn 2007 big game drawing odds
- Teach kids how to fish

Deseret News
- Ice fishing tourney
- Hunters need to be aware of changes in big-game permits
- Utah's signature ski runs
- Week 1 signature run — Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort
- Resorts add new lifts, runs
- Ray Grass: Burton's boarding publicity stunt risky
- New GPS units not just for directions
- Photo: World-class Sundance
- 2 Iron County parks scheduled to go dry
- Ogden hailed as a top place 'you've gotta go'

SL Tribune
- Utah Avalanche Center: Be careful on the slopes
- Tight Lines: Utah fights to limit whirling disease
- Big day for bighorns: Mountain sheep get helicopter ride to new domains
- 'Dogtown': National Geographic Channel series profiles Utah's Best Friends Animal Society
- Eight things to do in 2008
- 'Utah Curiosities' joins the lineup of 'Where is it?' prizes
- Avian cholera killing water fowl at Great Salt Lake
- Naturalist volunteers sought
- Hike of the week: Navajo Knobs and Rim Overlook Trails - Capitol Reef National Park
- Bird sighting
- Where is it?
- Recreation roundup
- Outdoor notes: Free program will teach you essentials of avalanche safety
- The outsider: Avian idols, Big Game Guidebook
- High adventure in Ogden
- Hook shot
- Utah State Parks pass available

KUTV
- Young Utahns Get Pheasant Hunting Opportunity
- Hunting Ducks Off Shore... And On The Water
- 50,000 Acres Opened Up To Utah Hunters
- Field Guide: Ringneck Pheasant

KSL
- Backcountry travelers urged to know the conditions
- Utah joins effort to boost fishing license sales

Daily Herald
- DWR eyes land for June suckers
- Don't ditch that Douglas Fir
- An invitation to go fishing with me in 2008

Firsttracksonline.com
- Utah Winter Games Set to Launch Friends & Family Ski and Snowboard Race Series

Regional
- Western streams loaded with non-native fish, amphibians
- Time to intensify efforts to halt environmental invaders
- Skiing is not just for Downhillers
- Southwest Colorado wrestles with New Mexico over water issues
- Moose on the move in Oregon
- Wolf population grows; may be taken off endangered list
- Wolf plan is death knell
- Salmon-steelhead researchers study the many angles of barged vs. in-river
- Western streams loaded with non-native fish, amphibians
- Ketchum, Idaho: a five-star dilemma
- Presidential candidates spill all the intimate details
- Study looks at central Idaho road kill problem
- Wyoming drafts wolf hunting regulations
- A Divide as Wolves Rebound in a Changing West
- Mouse doesn’t deserve spot on protection list
- Message from G&F: 'don't feed the deer'
- Walt Gasson appointed new director of Wyoming Wildlife Federation
- Feeding fish on beer waste
- Citizen scientists help wildlife