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

Most of our trout reservoirs will offer good ice fishing during the next few weeks. Fish Lake should be solid about now and it is usually one of our better winter fisheries, offering splake, rainbows, perch and some lake trout.

Perch fishing is coming on strong now that Yuba, Rockport and Echo have safe ice. Pineview is good for perch and crappie, with safe ice near the dam and in bays.

Whitefish are schooling up on our streams and provide good targets for winter fly fishing. Walk the banks, softly, and look for fish in the deeper pools. Dead drift small nymphs, aiming right for their noses. Trout can also be caught this time of year. Here's info on fly fishing in winter.

Bear Lake cisco usually spawn in mid-January. Some years the lake freezes, other years it is open water. Here's how-to info from last year.

Apply online for big game hunting permits beginning Jan 2. Apply at wildlife.utah.gov

Interesting Posts by Anglers
- Woodruff Reservoir has good fishing and deep snow
- Yuba has ice and good perch fishing
- Rockport is frozen and good for trout and perch
- Jordanelle smallmouth can be caught in winter
- Echo has ice and is good for perch, spotty for rainbows
- Pineview is good for perch and crappie (Pineview has safe ice in some areas but may be unsafe on the main lake)
- Mill Meadow is frozen and good for perch; Forsyth is frozen but fishing is slow
- Panguitch Lake is frozen but fishing is slow
- Strawberry is good; safe ice on bays but probably still unsafe on the main lake
- Flaming Gorge - lots of interest in the burbot
- Flaming Gorge - burbot report

News articles
DWR
- Snowshoe Hares
- 2008 Big Game Proclamation Is On The Web

KUTV
- Ice Fishing After The Sun Goes Down
- Utah Man Snags Once-In-A-Lifetime Elk Tag
- Cartoonish Characters At Utah's 'Dry Fork'
- State Parks: We've Seen Them All!
- Field Guide: California Condor

Deseret Morning News
- Avalanche danger increases in Utah
- Mountain dangers: Christmas Day avalanche kills Utah snowmobiler
- Skiers only: Two Utah resorts among three in the nation without snowboards
- Cybertrips: Organize a trip around winter bald eagle watching
- Liability waivers at winter resorts have legal teeth
- BLM plan sets 2 million acres as oil shale sites
- New travel Web sites are really going places
- '52 gold medalist Stein Eriksen hospitalized after skiing accident
- Utah population booming

Salt Lake Tribune
- Yellowstone now open for winter enthusiasts
- AAA Utah tells how to avoid danger during winter trips
- Travelers may stay closer to home - but they'll still get around
- Short hike of the week: Golden Throne Trail - Capitol Reef National Park
- Wharton: Legislative plans are harmful for recreationists and taxpayers
- The outsider
- Bird sighting
- Catching a wave in an ocean of Utah desert
- Tight lines: A fish story to warm Dad's heart
- A hill of their own
- Outdoor Notebook: Annual parade will light up Deer Valley slopes
- Hook shot
- Where is it?
- Avalanche kills man, injures boy near The Canyons resort
- Young avalanche victim 'doing incredibly well'
- Snow slide victim was on 'prime-time avalanche terrain', not wearing rescue beacon
- 11-year-old avalanche victim recovering
- Authorities identify Oakley snowmobiler killed in huge avalanche
- Fatal avalanche called a rarity
- The Canyons avalanche victim identified as Grand Junction, Colo., man
- Conservationists pan White River drilling plan

Regional
- Arizona monument planning partial off-road vehicle ban
- Idaho Companies Reap Rewards from Bush's Spending Bill
- Fireworks used to scare mule deer away from roads, help survival
- Rainbow trout set to return to Colorado
- Woodland's Loomis looms large in NW conservation
- Young writers relate tales of the outdoors
- Big projections for Cowlitz River in 2008
- New dates for Hunting & Fishing Expo
- Top Ten Wildlife Conservation Success Stories in 2007
- Run-ins with grizzly bears raise questions about renewing hunts
- Returning to life: Project aims to restore important spawning tributary for trout
- Mountain lion hunting closes in many districts
- Ice fishing requires knowledge and caution
- Area wildlife refuge offers haven for nature
- Some good fishing books you may want to consider
- Colorado's rainbows ready to rise
- Author keeps lost art of boat building alive
- Nevadans love, and hate, to fish for carp
- National-forest access could soon be free again
- State hunters, anglers bring a tax windfall
- Environmental worries triggered by mussels

Strawberry has safe ice on some bays and people report good fishing there. The main lake still has considerable open water. Conditions can change quickly at this time of year, so use caution.

Otter Creek, Scofield and other similar reservoirs are frozen and have generally good ice fishing. Jordanelle, Deer Creek, Fish Lake and some other popular waters will not freeze for a couple more weeks.

Important Changes for Big Game Hunters
You must have a hunting or combination license before you can apply for a permit, and applications will only be accepted through the Division of Wildlife Resources' Web site. You can apply beginning Jan 2, at wildlife.utah.gov

Some 230,000 people will apply for permits, so get online early for your best chance. Here are more details.

Interesting Posts By Anglers
Scofield trout are finicky and the bit is light
Strawberry ice fishing is starting
Flaming Gorge, Utah side, has open water and good fishing
Palisade Reservoir has good fishing but questionable ice
Pineview has ice near the dam, spotty fishing

Articles
DWR
- Teach others about birds
- Changes await big game hunters
- See hundreds of wild elk
- Join the Dedicated Hunter program

Salt Lake Tribune
- The outsider
- Beehive touch: Natural wonders turn holiday symbol into artistic celebration of heritage
- Hook shot
- Boone and Crockett bling
- Outdoors Bookshelf
- Bird sighting
- People plus
- Striking writers playing hardball as they aim to snuff Oscars
- Cole: Families face challenges with kids and stepparents
- Yellowstone open for the winter season
- Where is it?
- Wharton: Entrenched intolerance makes it tough to resolve outdoor recreation conflicts
- Snowshoe hike of the week: Tibble Fork/Mill Canyon Trails - Utah County
- Pioneers of extreme skiing make their death-defying point
- Recreation roundup
- Plentiful pronghorn provide transplant opportunity (with video)
- Alta's digital pass to powder
- Birders flock to Zion for annual bird count
- Locked elk antlers challenge officers

Deseret News
- Ray Grass: A wish list for outdoor enthusiasts
- Spanish company proposes game hunting park in Cambodian jungle
- Outdoor notes
- Lawsuit against Snowbird revived by Supreme Court
- Skier dies at Canyons after striking object
- Nez Perce tribe authorizes steelhead gillnet season
- Wyoming, feds sign agreement for endangered species cooperation
- Utah drops lawsuit against feds over 6 BLM roads
- Au naturel — Foundation seeking your input on world's most magnificent natural wonders
- Poll: Idaho voters like using tax credits to preserve ranch land
- State fish and game: Don't count on Idaho wolf hunts soon
- Superferry braves protests, resumes service to Maui
- Forest Service decision favors proposed Montana mine
- Wildfire-burned areas of southern Idaho planted with seeds
- 7 states sign historic water agreement
- Get out there — Holiday to dos

KUTV
- Catching Rainbows At Flaming Gorge
- Catching Rainbows Underneath The Ice
- Counting Utah's Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
- Utah Has The Fastest Ice On Earth?
- State Parks: Coral Sand Dunes
- Field Guide: Great Horned Owl

Daily Herald
- Forum highlights importance of water resources

Regional News
- Elevated Levels of Mercury Found in Fish Collected from Four Idaho and Nevada Reservoirs
- USA. Arkansas, Missouri and Utah Commit to lapsed angler recruitment program
- Feds Mull Water Release to Grand Canyon
- Brian Head Completes Interconnect Project
- Where have all the birds gone?
- Restoring Sagebrush in the West
- One Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish, Blue Fish
- Craig Thwarted by Senate Democrats
- Deadline to comment on state's draft wolf management plan is Dec. 31
- Fish wrap: Little Tommy snags first fish at Bon Tempe
- Nighttime speeds on Warm Springs lowered to save deer
- Wyo., US wildlife agencies sign agreement
- New era of cooperation?
- Game and Fish hosting talk on lead in ravens
- Wild Horse Trading
- Fishing—A Great Gift!
- Group: Rod-and-gun crowd outspends pro sports
- Ritter calls for balance for drilling on the Roan
- Our Opinion: River pact in drought good, mostly, for western states
- Drilling On Wildlife Refuge On Hold
- Hunters, anglers aid economy, report says
- 8-pounders on TOR-P-DO's from shore at Pyramid Lake

This cold weather will firm up ice quickly and so there will soon be plenty of fishing options. Strawberry now has ice on some bays, and crazy people have been getting on it, but it is not safe. Give it one more week and then hit the bays, but be careful because there may still be open water or thin ice on the main lake.

Currant Creek Reservoir and Navajo Lake should now have safe ice and offer good trout fishing.

Within a week there should be good ice fishing at Panguitch Lake, Otter Creek Reservoir, Forsyth Reservoir, Mill Meadow Reservoir, Steinaker Reservoir, Red Fleet Reservoir and many other waters. Again, be cautious.

Snow and cold make it difficult to fish the streams, but the fish are still there and still eating. On mild afternoons you can do well fishing streamers, glo bugs and small nymphs.

Lees Ferry offers good rainbow trout fishing all winter long. It is on the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam. The best success comes boating up the river and then working the gravel bars. Lees Ferry Anglers updates this very good fishing report.

DWR's regional fishing reports are not very current right now and so we aren't emphasizing them.

Interesting Posts By Anglers
Scofield is good, best early in the morning
Huntington is still good for tiger trout
Pelican has ice and is good for bluegill
Mantua has good ice fishing for perch
Lake El Salto Mexico has great bass fishing
Flaming Gorge has ice on the north end

Articles
DWR
See hundreds of wild elk
Don't wait to join Dedicated Hunter program

Salt Lake Tribune
Avalanches keep rescuers busy in Utah's backcountry
Hike of the week: Syncline Trail Loop - Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park
The outsider: Tracking wildlife, Nordic ski race clinic
Where is it?
Hook shot
Outdoor Notes: Opportunities to volunteer in national forests abound
Tight Lines: Program that educates beginning anglers deserves our full support
Ten captive-bred black-footed ferrets released near Vernal (with video)
Free market aquaculture benefits the fishing public
Recreation roundup
Waterproof your MP3 player
Bird sighting

KUTV
Avalanches Bury Snowboarders Near Brighton Ski Resort
Ice Fishing At Utah's 'Mammoth Reservoir'
Ice Fishing With The Proper Gear
State Parks: Scofield
Utah's Often Forgotten Corner Of History

Deseret Morning News
Crews respond to three Big Cottonwood Canyon avalanches
Avalanche season: Stay informed of the risks
Late storm well-received at resorts
Amy Donaldson: Treadmill (yuck), trail (yeah) and gym etiquette
Ray Grass: Gifts galore for hunters and anglers
Bird-watchers to begin counting
Outdoor notes
Survey shines light on ORV unruliness
Grand Canyon road closed for winter
Zion National Park is a little slice of heaven
If you go to Zion National Park
Powder Mountain backs off threat
New suit filed over Glen Canyon Dam
Ski resorts receive lots of fresh snow
Zion seeks bird counters

Regional News
Parasites in Fish Farms Threaten Salmon, Researchers Say
Environmental group sues over operation of Glen Canyon Dam
IDFG wants comments from muzzleloader hunters
Chlorine leak kills 200000 rainbow at Idaho hatchery
Moose now thrive in Outside habitat
More than 50 attend Boise meeting over Idaho wolf plan
Tracks in snow first physical evidence of wolves paired up in Oregon
State game biologists poised to count wildlife from above
Petroleum Association works to prevent sage grouse listing
Wyo. issues first mercury-fish advisory
Cattle Battle -- Grazing debate rages as plans move forward
Federal judge critical of salmon plans
Loomis looms large in Northwest coastal conservation effort
Study to begin on Teton Range bighorn sheep
Wolf program debate raises other questions
Supplying the demand
Deer poaching case ends
Cracking down on kids hunting
Montana sets wolf-harvest number; Wyo. still undecided
USA. Colorado angler wins Bass Anglers Legacy Sweepstakes
'Clean' coal? What a joke
DENTRY: Big snow good news for wildlife
Gift ideas for your favorite outdoorsman
States agree on plan to make water last
Water supply gets less (and more) secure
Study shows several lakes free of non-native quagga mussel
Going fishing? Read this
Are cutthroat trout affecting catch numbers on the Truckee River?

Ice fishing is very good at Scofield, Huntington and a few other high-elevation reservoirs, but use extreme caution because ice could deteriorate with this mild weather.

A big storm is now dumping on Utah, but it is not going to bring the cold temperatures needed to cap more of Utah's popular waters. Next week, after the storm is gone, northern Utah temperatures are expected to climb back up into the 40s. St George may hit 50. Crazy. Maybe I'll stow the fishing gear and go hiking.

As a general rule, storms slow down the freeze. And rain can cause ice to melt in a hurry. High elevation waters that now have ice will probably stay safe, but double check before risking your life. Strawberry and other popular waters may not freeze solid for a couple more weeks.

Meanwhile, lower-elevation sections on our streams continue to fish well. The lower Provo, Weber and similar waters can be productive and conditions can be very nice if you hit the water on the right afternoon.

Interesting posts by anglers
Scofield is hot through the ice
Lake Powell still has good striper fishing (click subsequent posts to see photos)
Pineview good for crappie, perch in open water

News Articles
DWR
DWR Wants To Change Fishing Contest Rules
Fishing Should Improve on American Fork Creek
DWR Recommends More Bear Hunting Permits

Deseret Morning News
Winter welcome: Yellowstone National Park
Spike bull season extended to 13 days
News ski, snowboard classes Saturday
Hookless Fly-fishing: Angler likes fish too much to hurt them
Ray Grass: Keep out mussels and snails
Safari: Many definitions, many destinations
Canadian ambassador says public needs more info on new border-crossing plans
Outdoor notes
Trips, tips & deals from around the travel world
Airfare sales may make holiday travel merrier
Irksome mud snail infects Loa hatchery
Bidding air miles on the Web
New Mexico wildlife refuge celebrates its avian guests while improving habitat
Cybertrips: Scan the Web for holiday vacation ideas
Money from sale of Jackson office may not stay in Wyoming
Hunters to deliver hay for elk in northwest Wyoming

Salt Lake Tribune
Where is it?
Hike of the week: Chimney Rock Trail - Capitol Reef National Park
Snowmobilers should prepare for safe winter fun
REI Outdoor Volunteer Awards
Recreation roundup
The outsider: Go tubing, make Fremont figurines
Hook Shot
Bird sighting
Annual Christmas bird count
Book: Learn how to build an igloo
Outdoor notebook: Santa on skis, ice fishing and more
Wharton: Killing an animal to save a species is a tough sell
Otter proposal: Poised to make waves (with video)
Tight lines: My cool and crazy passion for ice fishing (with video)
Beauty and rebirth in the desert

KUTV
Elk Hunting Success Stories
Managing Utah's Elk Herd
Chasing Trout At Strawberry Reservoir
State Park: Willard Bay
Field Guide: Black-Footed Ferret