Utah's Fishing Hotspots

COMMENTS

Utah's Fishing Hotspots Revised 07-01-09 Hypertext gives a description of the lake and facilities available. Check proclamtion for details on restrictions as some may not be listed here. Flaming Gorge Reservoir Brown Trout, Burbot, Channel Catfish, Crayfish, Kokanee Salmon, Mackinaw (Lake Trout), Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass (Jul 1) The area received some highly changeable weather, which is common to the Uinta Mountains. Water temperatures have crept up to the 60s. Note the regulation changes for spearfishing in the Utah portion of the reservoir as of Jan. 1. See the Utah Fishing Guidebook for details. Lake trout: Anglers report good fishing for 12- to 24-inch lake trout in the Canyon, Antelope and Lucerne areas. Fishing for these smaller lake trout should continue to be good, and catch rates on larger fish have also improved. Try points next to deep water in Sheep Creek, Red Canyon, the Skull Creeks, Jarvies Canyon, Hideout Canyon and in the Antelope Flat/Lucerne area. Fish are scattered down to around 150 feet, and anglers report that they are most active in the 70-foot range. Smaller fish are suspending off the bottom while feeding on zooplankton. If you are jigging, try tube jigs in white, chartreuse, glow or brown. Tipping your jig with a small chunk of sucker or chub meat may increase interest. Airplane jigs and jigging spoons are also working well. Using no-stretch line will help you feel strikes and set the hook better. Use a graph to see where fish are located and place the jig at the same depth. When trolling, check your graphs and use downriggers to get lures like needlefish, other spoons and Rapalas down near the bottom. Long-lining near the surface with small or large fish-imitating lures may produce large fish that are trying to fatten up on rainbows and kokanee near the surface. Let out a couple hundred feet of line behind the boat or use planer boards to get lures out to the side of the boat. This technique works best when surface temperatures remain cool. Kokanee salmon: Fishing is has been good but spotty, depending on the weather. Try fishing from the surface to the 25- to 35-foot range around Buckboard, Big Bend, Pipeline, Sheep Creek and Jarvies Canyon. Downriggers, long-lining, lead weights and planer boards can get the small spoons (like needlefish, triple teasers or other erratic-moving lures) down to the right depths. Recommended trolling speed is from 1.5 to 2.5 miles per hour. Rainbow trout: Anglers continue to report good fishing for rainbows from boats and shore. Try fishing near the dam, Jarvies, Sheep Creek, Hideout and Antelope/Lucerne areas in Utah. We have also heard some good reports from the Wyoming end of the reservoir. Fish longer than 22 inches have been reported and seen in the trend netting. If you are fishing from a boat, try casting fish-imitation lures (like spoons or crankbaits) or jigs (like marabou or plastic grubs) to shore and letting them bounce on the bottom back to the boat. If you are shore fishing, try spoons, crankbaits or other lures or use a bobber/worm combo set 4 or five feet below the surface. PowerBait or a worm/marshmallow combo will also work on the bottom. Fish can be deep or shallow, so try different depths. Shore anglers should try areas like Mustang Ridge, Sheep Creek, Lucerne Bay and Antelope Flats. Don't be afraid of harvesting some rainbows. They are really tasty from the cold waters of the Gorge. Burbot: Anglers are catching a few burbot from boats and shore using the same techniques they used when ice fishing. Depths of 20–40 feet should hold the most fish from dusk until a couple hours after dark. Try to use glowing jigs and spoons at night or early in the morning off the points in areas like Antelope Flat, Linwood Bay or Sheep Creek in Utah. In Wyoming, you'll have the best success at Firehole, Lost Dog, Sage Creek, Confluence, Buckboard, Holmes Crossing, Anvil Draw, Skunk Cliffs and Marsh Creek. Tipping your lures with sucker or crayfish meat and using smelly jelly or similar scents in crayfish also seems to help. Smallmouth bass: Anglers are reporting hot fishing almost everywhere in the canyon area. Crayfish-colored grubs on leadhead jigs or small plastic worms, senkos, twitch and crankbaits are all working well because the fish are near the surface. If you are fishing in the canyon, keep a limit of 10 fish smaller than 10 inches to help thin out the population and increase growth on the remaining fish. Throw the big fish back, if possible — it takes many years for them to reach that size. Regulations Lake Powell Bluegill, Brown Trout, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, Rainbow Trout, Walleye STOP QUAGGAG MUSCLE (Jul 1) Lake Elevation: 3640 Water Temp: 77- 82 F Lake Powell is still rising. Water temperature took a big jump which will be well received by the many recreationists that will be here celebrating the Independence Day Holiday week. And Yes! Stripers will still be boiling. When chasing stripers on the surface during busy traffic times it will be most productive to concentrate fishing effort in the early morning and late evening time slots. Boils will be seen all day long but catching will be much better during the quieter times. Best fishing locations will be in quieter lake areas like Good Hope Bay to Hite, the Escalante and San Juan Arms and main channel between those canyons. The best recent report comes from the main channel near Buoy 67. But if the opportunity arises it is well worth the effort to fish near the busy marinas. Start looking in the main channel areas right in the busy travel lanes. In the southern lake, cruise around Antelope Island between Wahweap and Antelope Point Marinas watching for boils all the way. Boil abundance varies with the day and location but the common theme is that boils are steady and repeatable. While most boils are small with perhaps 25 fish working together, there are some boils each day where over a hundred fish group up to eat shad from the surface. Use your favorite confidence lure, as any lure will work that is presented perfectly. Cast the lure over and slightly beyond the lead fish in the fast moving school. Then quickly swim the lure along the surface or in the upper 2 feet of water and through the school. Schooling stripers spend their lives getting to the bait before the next fish. They will react quickly to a lure placed in the right spot. The strike zone is 2-4 feet in front of the lead fish. Bass fishing is somewhat slower than it has been but still very good for surface fishing early and late - particularly around striper boils. Largemouth are in the newly submerged green brush and smallmouth are on the rocky points and drop-offs. Walleye are caught occasionally while fishing grubs along the bottom for bass or trolling the submerged tree tops. Catfish are very active at night and easy to catch. Sunfish are in the trees and easy prey for a kid of any age with a small hook and live worm. Life and fishing are great- Enjoy the week at Lake Powell. Regulations Sand Hollow Reservoir Bluegill, Largemouth Bass (Jun 25) The water temperature is in the mid- to upper-70s. Anglers report good-to-excellent fishing for largemouth bass. Plastics work best for small fish in the shallows. For larger fish, use diving crankbaits in 15 to 20 feet of water. The best time to catch a big fish is in the morning. You can catch small fish all day. Bluegill fishing is also good. (Jun 4) Jason R. of Enoch fished by the dam with a partner and caught 15 bluegills and 3 largemouth. "Bass were bighting Rapala minnows, and the bluegill were biting nightcrawlers. One largemouth took a plastic, scented salamander." Regulations