Utah Fishing Reports

The photo above shows a big striper caught at Lake Powell on March 2 by Dale Barsness

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International Sportsmen's Expo will be next week, Mar 18-21, at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy. It is a great show, well worth attending. There will be a kids outdoors fair sponsored by DWR. The International Dutch Oven Society will hold its World Championship Cookoff, and there will be many other activities.

Weather forecast looks great for early next week, but they are scheduling a storm beginning Thursday. Fish early in the week, then go to the Sportsmen's show.
- Upper 50s F in Salt Lake
- Around 70 F in St George

Fishing Schedule
Here's my plan for major trips. I'm still working out exact dates. I'll sneak in shorter trips as time permits, to get in my weekly fix. Let me know if you want to come along and share expenses.
- March: Fish Utah Lake and Willard Bay for walleye
- April: Fly fish the Green. Also put the boat on Flaming Gorge and fish for rainbows and lake trout.
- May: Lake Powell early in the month for prime spring smallmouth, striper, walleye and crappie fishing.
- June: Flaming Gorge again for great smallmouth bass, rainbow and kokanee fishing.
- July: Backpack into the High Uintas for spunky trout and artic grayling.
- August: Lake Powell again to fish the striper boils - some of the most fun fishing of the year.
- September: Bluewater fishing off the coast of British Columbia. (I'm dreaming, but might just make this dream come true).
- October: Strawberry for great rainbow and cutthroat fishing.
- Nov & Dec: Still to be determined.
- January: Bluewater fishing off Baja. (The dream continues.)

Walleye have the reputation of being tough to catch, but that's a myth. They can be tough to locate, but when you find them they bite aggressively (except during the spawn). For the next month they will be easy to find at Willard Bay - they will be congregating along the north and west dikes.

Walleye like to hold close to structure. There isn't much structure at Willard, beside the dikes. They are often found just off the bottom and most anglers don't get deep enough to catch them. You need to be brushing the tops of the rocks. You'll get snags - if you don't get snags you won't be catching walleye. Snags can be expensive if you are using Rapalas or similar lures. But jigs are effective and they are cheap. Best colors vary from day to day. Talk to the guys in the tackle shops for the latest info.

Pull a crawler on a harness behind a walking sinker and you will catch fish. The walking sinker lets you get down close to the bottom without getting many snags. See our walleye articles for more tips.

Big game hunting opportunities could increase under proposals being considered by the DWR. More info. Significant changes in elk hunting rules are being considered. More info.

Citizens can discuss the hunting proposals at upcoming Regional Advisory Council Meetings. See our events page for dates.

- Dave

Walleye fishing produces excitement this time of year. Action is a little slow getting started - probably be another week before many fish are caught. People like to fish the walleye spawn because they think it is the easiest time to catch fish. Actually, it is easier to find the fish at that time, but the fish feed more aggressively after the spawn. See our excellent walleye fishing articles.

Walleye will soon be congregating along the north and west dikes at Willard Bay. At Utah Lake, some gather around Bird Island, but there are many other staging areas and so the Utah Lake fish are harder to find. We have great articles about walleye fishing on both of those waters.

Ice fishing interest wanes as the lower elevation waters open up, but fish are still being caught through the ice at Strawberry, Fish Lake and similar waters.

Fly fishing on our streams will improve rapidly as we move toward spring. Midge action is good right now. BWOs will produce great fishing by month's end.

Lake Powell produced a big striped bass on March 2. It measured 36 inches and weighed about 16 pounds. See wayneswords.com for more about the fish, and for hints on how to fish for stripers in March.