Utah Fishing Reports

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What's New

Sand Hollow yielded a 7.48-pound largemouth bass on April 4 - probably a new record for that reservoir. It was caught by Mandy Myers of Santaquin. Details.

Scofield ice could start to pull back in a week or so, if we get the warm temperatures they are predicting. It is still early but there could be fishable open water there within a week or so. It is worth watching because fishing if often very good as the ice pulls back.

Lake Powell is calling! Action should be red hot for smallmouth and stripers by the end of this month. I'm adjusting my schedule, making arrangements to be there during the first week of May.

Flaming Gorge continues to offer amazingly good rainbow fishing, with a few lake trout thrown in for good measure. Lake trout are still roaming freely in the cool water. If you long-line a lure behind your boat you will catch lots of rainbows and you may hook into a big mack.

Mountain lion encounters are rare but people venturing into the outdoors should know how to respond. Conventional wisdom says make noise and appear aggressive. New research suggests it may be better to run: "They found that the likelihood of escaping injury increased if two or more people were present, and that bending over or crouching is a bad thing to do... Making noise had no effect, unless someone fired a gun, which often startled the attacking cougar..."

"The study found that half the victims who ran from cougars avoided injury, compared with 26 percent who stood their ground. The important thing, Coss said, is that the person must be able to run without suggesting injury or weakness. That requires a snap assessment of surrounding conditions to assure a smooth, flat, safe surface to run on. Running also might not be smart for a group, because anyone who falls behind is more likely to be attacked, especially children or the elderly." Details.

International Dutch Oven Society Spring Convention, April 17-18, Davis County Fairgrounds, 151 South 1100 West, Farmington, UT. DOG event, vendors, demonstrations and classes, taste of Dutch, youth cook-off, auction, annual meeting.

Great Salt Lake Bird Festival will be May 14-18. Includes workshops, field trips, presentations, food, games, fun for the entire family. Events are held at various locations around the lake and Antelope Island. This year's keynote Speaker is Scott Weidensaul.

See our events calendar

- Good Fishing, Dave Webb

Our best guess is that most streams will be fishable for another couple weeks, before major runoff sets in. Blue wing olive and midge hatches are attracting fish and fishermen. On warm days, Skwala stoneflies are out and they provide good action.

As runoff increases, stream sections protected by dams provide the best action. They include the A and B sections on the Green, the Middle and Lower Provo, the Weber between Rockport and Echo, and the Ogden below Pineview.

Trout are biting well in several reservoirs. DWR reports great fishing at Flaming Gorge, East Canyon and Upper Enterprise. We've also heard good reports from Echo, Otter Creek and Piute.

Lake Powell fishing will start to take off this weekend. Wayne Gustaveson predicts: "Bass will respond to warming that will finally begin this weekend. It is very possible that spawning will begin 7-10 days from the date of this report (4-15).

Nesting and increased aggression will happen for sure. Many quality bass have already been caught this spring. Those fish have proved to be larger and fatter than normal. This year will be memorable as many will catch the biggest bass of their fishing career. Largemouth exceeding 6 pounds and smallmouth larger than 4 pounds have already been caught. Many more big bass will be taken this spring during the spawn." Read Wayne's full report. Also see his tips on trolling for stripers.

At Lake Powell, the Castle Rock cutoff has been deepened and will be usable by boaters this spring. The lake needs to rise about one foot before most boats will be able to navigate the cut, which allows boaters to save about 12 miles when headed uplake from Wahweap Bay.