Utah Fishing Reports

Fishing Wiki
Help us build a shared knowledge base about fishing

♣ Read our fishing articles
♣ Listen to FishBytes on KSL Outdoors
♣ Take a SkyCall satellite phone on your next adventure
♣ Follow me on Twitter

May We Suggest:
- Auto/Truck/RV service & repair
- Bear Lake Area Snowmobiling
- Bear Lake Area Horseback Riding
- Bear Lake Area Family Reunions
- Private Ponds Fly Fishing in Castle Valley
- Pheasant Hunting in Castle Valley
- Park City Area Horseback, ATV, Private Pond Fishing
- OK3 Air Scenic Tours

What's New

Note the two photos above. The top one shows a lake trout I caught from shore at Flaming Gorge on Tuesday. The lower one shows Kevin Fox at Electric Lake, where he caught a dozen cutts and tiger trout in just two hours this morning. He was casting lures from shore. I didn't do as well as Kevin at Electric, but still had fun trip.

See my report about Flaming Gorge, and Kevin's report about Electric.

Electric is one of the lakes were biologists have found invasive mussels. If you put a boat on that water you need to take special care to disinfect it. Electric is fishing very well and so it may be worth the trouble, but we did great just casting from shore.

I've always wondered if you can catch lake trout from shore. For weeks I've been saying that lake trout range freely during the spring, when the water is cool, but I wasn't confident I could catch one from the bank. Still, I decided to give it a try, since I was in the area on business and things worked out in a way that prevented me from bringing my boat.

I stopped at Sheep Creek Bay and started making my way east from the boat ramp, out toward the main lake. I came around a point and saw a guy bait fishing. I noticed he had a lake trout, which looked to be about 24 inches, and I was surprised when he told me he caught it on a worm.

I started casting Rapalas into a pretty cove, but had no success for about an hour. The sun went down and the breeze felt cold, and I wondered if I was wasting my time. Not long after, I felt a solid hit and reeled in an 18-inch laker. A few minutes later I hooked a 24-incher of my own.

Most boaters were already back at the marina by the time fishing picked up for me. I'm convinced, the best fishing of the day takes place during the first 2 hours of daylight in the morning, and the last hour of light in the evening. Many times I arrive just after the good action ends, and I go home before it begins in the evening.

With warmer temperatures, smallmouth bass fishing will now become good at the Gorge, and at Deer Creek and Jordanelle. If you have ever wanted to learn to fish for bass, those waters are often kind to newbies during June.

My Flaming Gorge trip was a blast – I'm excited to go back. I hope to get back there in later June.

- Dave

Many Southern Utah streams are high and muddy. There is still considerable snow to melt down south and so runoff will last longer than normal.

It is best to check with the guys at the fly shops before traveling. They will give you good info about stream conditions, and productive patterns. (Cicadas have not yet shown up on the Green, but should start any time now.)

Lake Powell walleye fishing is surprisingly good – perhaps better than it has ever been. Smallmouth and largemouth are providing consistently good action. Stripers are hit and miss, but should start to be more predictable as we move into summer.

DWR has stocked many popular waters in preparation for the big Memorial Day weekend. Most of our trout reservoirs should fish well.

Highway 150 in the Uinta Mountains is not yet open, and lakes there have not been stocked. The highway should open about the second week in June. It will be early July before the high Uinta Mountain backcountry passes open up.

Many areas on Boulder Top and Skyline Drive are still closed because of snow and mud.

Free Fishing Day is Saturday, June 5. Family fishing events will be held at many community waters. Those events provide great opportunity to introduce people (especially kids) to fishing. Hands-on instruction will be available in many areas. Some gear will be available for kids to borrow. Details.

John Campbell, a pro fishing guide and long-time friend, is becoming famous for his Cheeto Fly. See this writeup in the Las Vegas Review Journal. John started his guiding career on Boulder Mountain, but now lives in Vegas where he teaches, does corporate retreats and casts to bass in Lake Las Vegas. He still does an occasional Boulder Mountain trip. See his website.