Utah Ice Fishing Reports

COMMENTS

Utah Ice Fishing Reports Revised 03-05-10 Hypertext gives a description of the lake and facilities available. Check proclamtion for details on restrictions as some may not be listed here. Beaver Mountain Lakes Rainbow Trout (Mar 4) You can access more of the lakes with a snowmobile. Fishing pressure is light throughout the winter, with Little Reservoir and Kent's Lake receiving the most pressure. Birch Creek Reservoir Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Tiger Trout (hybrid) (Mar 4) There's not much fishing pressure at the reservoir. This spring, the DWR will not stock the lower pond because it goes dry every year. (Feb 15) Boone Outdoors of Clinton reports fishing by the dam and catching a 7 lb. tiger trout on minnows. Causey Reservoir Cutthroat Trout, Kokanee Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Splake (hybrid), Tiger Trout (hybrid) (Mar 4) Dedicated Hunter Gary Gooch reports that the ice around the edges is slushy in the afternoon. An angler reported that he'd had just one bite that day. The angler fishes the reservoir a couple of times each week and has noticed a slowdown in fishing success. Regulations Deer Creek Reservoir Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch (Mar 5) There were some anglers on the reservoir yesterday. Access onto the ice in good in places, but the ice can get soft with the warmer weather. Anglers are still reporting fair to good success week, mostly with bait-tipped jigs or traditional baits. Bring a plank to get on and off the ice, and check the ice thickness carefully. Please use caution. (Mar 4) Aaron of American Fork fished Snow's Arm using orange tube with nightcrawler in 10 to 20 ft. of water. "fished from 7 to 10 am. Had a bite within 5 minutes, but was slow after that. Ice was 15 inches and quiet." (Feb 27) Johnny W. of Orem fishing in a group of 8 at Rainbow Bay and caught 25 rainbows deadsticking and jigging all colors of jigs with meal worms or nightcrawlers in 6 to 12 ft. of water. "People are catching on to me I had a crowd around me. Time to find a new honey hole." (Feb 26) Johnny W. of Orem fished Rainbow Bay in a group of 4 and caught 16 rainbows. "We limited out in 4 hours. Had and awesome time. 16 inches hard ice. Edge was weak but if you went thru its less than a foot there. But we went across it no problem." (Feb 19) Johnny W. of Orem fished Rainbow Bay in a group of 4 and caught 9 rainbows using jigs with waxworms or piece of nightcrawler fished 1 crank off the bottom in 8 to 10 ft. of water. "6 am to 10 am is your best chance at gettin lucky after 10 they were gone. we moved 3 times and never got any action after 10." (Feb 12) Johnny W. of Orem caught 8 rainbows with a partner at Wallsburg using jigs with waxworms or piece of nightcrawler. "My buddy Joe and I Caught our limits in under and hour. Awesome time. Best fishing on the ice at Deer Creek ever. Smokin Fish today already in the brine." (Feb 9) Marriner M. of Orem fished west of boat ramp at main state park with a partner and caught 2 perch, one rainbow and one brown using nightcrawlers jiging with metal flasher 15 inch above worm in 25 ft. of water. "Fished for 2 hours, missed a lot more fish. Weather was great. ice very slushy at edges of lake. no bites on meal worms with ice jigs." Regulations East Canyon Reservoir Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Tiger Trout (hybrid) (Mar 4) Park Ranger Jeff Dale reports that anglers are catching 12- to 14-inch rainbows about 200–300 yards offshore around the main park area, using both PowerBait and mealworms. The ice was about 12 to 16 inches thick in those areas, but it's beginning to soften around the edges of the reservoir. Always check the ice thoroughly before venturing out, and don't ice fish alone! (Feb 28) LJ of Bountiful fished the SW coves in a group of 3 and caught 19 trout using red yellow ice fly glow red power bait tiped with a wax worm at night and green or lime power bait in the day in 12 to 15 ft. of water. "the ice was 18 inches in most spots the thinnest we found was 12 inchest the shore got slushy in the day and easy to get you feet wet but frozen in the night and early morning" Echo Reservoir Bass, Brown Trout, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Rainbow Trout (Mar 4) Dedicated Hunter Doug Johnson reports that anglers are primarily catching 10- to 12-inch rainbow trout, although one angler caught a whitefish. Anglers used a variety of baits, including minnows, PowerBait, and white tube jigs with wax worms. Anglers caught smaller fish closer to shore and a few slightly larger fish in deeper water. (Feb 20) Kris M. of Kearns fished in a group of 4 and caught 44 perch and 1 brown using ice flies tipped with bait. "we all used two poles one at 10-15ft and the other just off the bottom the brown was 24in and 4lbs right off the bottom(45ft) feeding on the perch" Regulations Fish Lake Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Mackinaw (Lake Trout), Splake (hybrid), Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch STOP WHIRLING DISEASE (Mar 4) Fishing is fair to good. There is a lot of deep snow and slush, so don't bother with an ATV. The ice is still over a foot thick, but you have to dig down to get to it. Fishing pressure is still heavy on the weekends. The slowest fishing is often found in the spots with the most concentrated pressure. Try fishing mornings or late afternoon or evening to get away from the crowds. You can catch small trout and perch in shallow water, around 15 to 20 feet. For larger splake and rainbows move to 30 feet and fish on the bottom, or suspend 20 to 30 feet down over deeper water. Rainbows and perch should hit light-colored jigs or spoons tipped with mealworms, wax worms or night crawlers. For splake, try tipping your jigs with perch meat. The bite can often be light so a spring bobber can be handy. (Perch will also hit a jig tipped with perch meat.) Anglers are catching small lake trout at depths of 80 to 95 feet with large tube jigs tipped with fish meat. Catching large lake trout is rare and requires a lot of patience. A few anglers are leaving perch on the ice. Note: This is wasting and is illegal. It is important that anglers harvest perch at Fish Lake, but not at the expense of the law. If you're not going to take the fish home, please release them. Regulations Fremont River Rainbow Trout STOP WHIRLING DISEASE (Mar 4) The road from Mill Meadow to Fish Lake is not plowed. Winter fishing can be fair to good in the Bicknell Bottoms. Hyrum Reservoir Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Tiger Trout (hybrid), Yellow Perch STOP WHIRLING DISEASE (Mar 4) Dedicated Hunter Mark Olson reports that anglers had success on the southeast corner of the reservoir by the inlet. Anglers caught many 15-inch rainbows, using green ice flies and green jigs with either wax worms or perch meat. They were in about 12 feet of water and caught the fish two feet off the bottom. Park Ranger Steve Bullock reports that ice conditions are changing due to the warm weather. The ice is about 16 inches thick, but the edges are beginning to melt. The ice is thin and slushy for the first three or four feet just offshore. Use caution when accessing the ice. Fishing continues to be good near the spillway. Kolob Reservoir Brook Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout (Mar 4) Access is limited to snowmobile. There is little ice fishing pressure because of the poor access. The ice fishing can be good, if you can get to the reservoir. Regulations Lost Creek Reservoir Brown Trout, Crayfish, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout (Mar 4) Conservation Officer Jonathan Moser reports that the ice is 14 to 16 inches thick. You can access the reservoir with a two-wheel-drive vehicle, but if you want to go to the boat ramp, you should probably have a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The road beyond the impound is snow-covered and ice-packed. Dedicated Hunter Richard Gooch interviewed anglers, but they hadn't had any bites. Regulations Mantua Reservoir Bluegill, Cutthroat Trout, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout (Mar 4) Dedicated Hunter Mark Olson reports that the best fishing occurs before 11 a.m. Anglers caught many small rainbows and bluegill, using green jigs or green ice flies and mealworms or waxworms. One large group had some success with orange and green PowerBait. Anglers caught fish at depths of about eight feet. Most of the success was south or southwest of the east point and hill. There is about three inches of snow on top of eight inches of ice. Regulations Mill Meadow Reservoir Brake (hybrid), Brownbows (hybrid), Perch, Rainbow, Splake (hybrid), Tiger Musky (hybrid), Tiger Trout (hybrid) STOP WHIRLING DISEASE (Mar 4) The ice is still thick with solid edges and not much slush. Perch fishing is excellent, despite the fishing pressure and harvest rate. Try small jigs tipped with nightcrawlers, mealworms or perch meat. Target depths of 15 to 25 feet and fish right on the bottom. Most perch are pretty small, but anglers are catching enough to fill their limit of fish over eight inches. Anglers are encouraged to harvest perch to help the population stay in balance with the available food. Remember that the perch limit has been increased to 50. Anglers have also caught a few browns and splake. Regulations Navajo Lake Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout (Mar 4) There is plenty of ice. Access is limited to snowmobile. Anglers report good fishing for splake. Try light-colored jigs or flashy spoons tipped with half a minnow or cutbait (like chub or sucker). Nine Mile Reservoir Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout (Mar 5) Success is fair to good through the ice. Try using white jigs tipped with nightcrawlers or jig woolly bugger flies. The fish are usually good-sized: 14 inches and up. The ice is about a foot thick. Otter Creek Reservoir Rainbow Trout STOP WHIRLING DISEASE (Mar 4) The ice is still pretty thick, but getting very soft and slushy around the edges. Ice fishing will be over shortly, though it has been slow lately anyway. Open water fishing should begin within the next two or three weeks. Expect complete ice-off by the end of the month. Regulations Panguitch Lake Brook Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Tiger Trout (hybrid) (Mar 4) There are no recent reports, but recent access conditions were poor with lots of snow and thick ice. Remember that cutthroat and tiger trout 15 to 22 inches must be released. For help with fish identification, download the identification guide at wildlife.utah.gov/trout.pdf. Regulations Paragonah Reservoir Rainbow Trout (Mar 4) The snow is too deep for anything but snowmobiles. Ice fishing can be good, if you can get there. Regulations Pine Lake Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout (Mar 4) Access is limited by snow. Ice fishing can be good, if you can get there. Pineview Reservoir Bluegill, Bullhead Catfish, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Tiger Musky (hybrid), Trout, Yellow Perch (Mar 4) Dedicated Hunter Richard Gooch reports that night fishing is still good for perch and crappie. For bait, try using perch eyes or Ratfinkee and atomic tube jigs tipped with wax worms. The ice is starting to get slushy around the shorelines as the days warm up. Regulations Porcupine Reservoir Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Kokanee Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Splake (hybrid) STOP WHIRLING DISEASE (Mar 4) A few anglers reported good fishing, but the majority reported slow fishing for kokanee. Regulations Rockport Reservoir Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Tiger Trout (hybrid), Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch STOP WHIRLING DISEASE (Mar 5) Doug of Riverton fished in a group of 5 and caught 24 rainbows using jigs with night crawlers or power bait in 10 to 22 ft. of water. "great day at rockport, edges were soft, bring a plank" (Mar 4) Conservation Officer Bruce Johnson reports that anglers are catching some perch at the dam. Other anglers across the lake are catching trout and very few perch. Success is fair to good. Remember, OHVs are allowed on the ice, but you must access the lake from the boat ramp and then stay on the ice — do not travel on land. All laws and rules apply. Regulations Strawberry Reservoir Crayfish, Cutthroat Trout, Kokanee Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass (Mar 5) The edges are still good and the fishing is fair. There are pockets of slush, so it's probably best to skip the ATV. Several parking areas have been plowed, but you can't drive past the Strawberry Marina turnoff. Try fishing with bait tipped jigs. If your success is slow, move locations. There are special regulations for Strawberry. Read the Utah Fishing Guidebook for details. (Feb 19) Tracy of Heber fished Soldier Creek and caught 12 cutts using a jig tipped with wax worm in 15 to 20 ft. of water. "Some slush. One 23 incher the others 19-21 inches. Fished from 4:30 to 8:00 pm" Regulations Thousand Lakes Mountain Trout (Mar 4) Access is limited, with best access from I-70. Ice fishing can be good to excellent in Solomon Basin.