Scott Tolentino, Bear Lake Project Leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources sent in this report.

The fishing is red hot! Cutthroat trout and lake trout fishing has been phenomenal the past week. This past weekend anglers reported excellent fishing for cutthroat and lakers by either trolling or jigging. If trolling, good depths to target have been about 70-90 feet using large minnow type lure or flatfish. When jigging try castmasters or other vertical jigging spoons or use lead head jigs tipped with cisco. Good spots to try are off Gus Rich Point, the rockpile, an...

The Utah State Parks eservoir conditions report for the week of February 13:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *watch for ice
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp CLOSED- boat launching may be available depending on ice
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp CLOSED- boat launching may be available depending on ice
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED/thin and unsafe ice
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED- one to 12 inches of ice
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED- soft ice, use caution
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ra...

Wayne Gustave, Project Leader at Lake Powell for the UDWR, sent in this report shared a recent Powell angler, Jason Knight.

We shot up Navajo Canyon on Saturday (Feb 4th) and towards the back of the canyon picked up 18 stripers, all very fat and healthy, averaging 3-5 lbs. We caught all of them trolling deep diving cranks and once the school moved under the boat we could jig them up on Wally lure spoons. My Mother, Kathi Knight, caught the jumbo of the trip, 30 inches and 8 lbs. This was only her second trip to Powell and only here 5th striped bass.
Jason Knight

...

The results are in and although participation was down, anglers still did a huge service by removing an estimated 1,700 pounds of illegally introduced and non-native burbot from Flaming Gorge during the recently completed Burbot Bash fishing tournament.

Ryan Mosley, Flaming Gorge Project Leader with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, sent in this recap of the event.

Participation was much lower this year, most likely a result of the poor ice conditions. The anglers that showed up were still very devoted to the tournament and it is a benefit to the resource. The...

The Utah State Parks reservoir conditions report for the week of January 30:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *watch for ice
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp CLOSED- boat launching may be available depending on ice
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *large sheets of ice forming- use caution
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED- one to eight inches of ice
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED- ice
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/31 degrees
Gunlock St...

Bear Lake Fishing Report from Scott Tolentino of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Sent Jan. 25, 2012

Bear Lake is 100% ice free at this time. Cisco finally running in good numbers off Cisco Beach. The cisco are running fair off the Utah State Park Marina, but the numbers have tapered off at the marina. The cisco run will peak this week but they should be around through the coming weekend. Weather will be the biggest factor. If it is windy the fish will move off shore. The early mornings have been the best time off the marina, but cisco have been in along Cisco Beach during the day too. It helps to have waders or hip boots in order to get ou...

Many Utah waters are lacking in enough safe ice to make a trip, but there are plenty of options for those who like to walk on water during their fishing trips. I did a story last week about the tagged trout that could bring you cash and prizes at Rockport. That event was created by Utah State Parks. There are two other ice fishing events being offered by the state agency.

The First Annual Starvation State Park Ice Fishing Tournament is being held Feb. 11 with a 6:30 a.m. check-in and fishing from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p....

Ryan Mosely, Project Leader for the UDWR's Flaming Gorge Project, sent in this report in advance of the Burbot Bash (Jan.25-28).

The stage is set for the 2012 Burbot Bash. In addition to last year's tagged fish (497 remaining), 152 burbot were tagged throughout the ice covered portion of the reservoir by WYGF and UDWR. Upon being captured, burbot were measured/weighed and tagged using a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag. Each PIT tag has a unique 15-digit identification number allowing biologists to track the history of those individual fish. PIT tags are an internal tag and can only be read with special...

Scott Tolentino, Bear Lake Project Leader for the UDWR, sent in this report

Monday, January 23, 2012

Bear Lake Fishing Report:

Bear Lake is 100% ice free at this time. Cisco are running well off the Utah State Park Marina, but it has been slow off Cisco Beach likely due to all the trees and vegetation in the water. Anglers have been able to dipnet limits of cisco in just a few minutes off the marina. Mornings are typically good, but anglers are dipping limits thoughout the entire day for the last 3 days. If helps to have waders or hip boots and if it is windy the cisco will not come in along the shoreline. Boat launching is avail...

The Utah State Parks reservoir conditions report for the week of January 23:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *watch for ice
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp CLOSED- boat launching may be available depending on ice
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *large sheets of ice forming- use caution
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED/32 degrees *weak ice
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED- ice
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/31 degrees
Gunlock State Park...

Here's the Utah State Parks current reservoir conditions report for the week of January 17:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *watch for ice
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *watch for ice
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED/32 degrees *weak ice
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED/33 degrees *thin ice
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/31 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/46 degree...

Report provided by Ryan Mosley with the UDWR's Flaming Gorge Project.

We haven't gained much ice, but the ice that formed in December has thickened quickly. Apparently there's 10-inches of ice at the Confluence and it only gets thicker as you move uplake. There's open water below the Confluence, with very little ice even in the backs of bays.

Burbot fishing has started off slow, somewhat similar to the start of the 2010-11 ice fishing season. While burbot fishing last week, we found most of the fish were caught dead-sticking versus jigging. Fish were caught from 20-40 ft, using glow jigs (Radical Glow...

The Utah State Parks reservoir condition report for the week of January 9:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *watch for ice!
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *ice starting to form
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED/32 degrees *weak ice
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED/33 degrees *thin ice
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/31 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/46 degrees
Hu...

The Utah State Parks reservoir conditions report for the week of January 3:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *watch for ice!
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *ice starting to form
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED/32 degrees *ice forming on edges
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp CLOSED/33 degrees *thin ice
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/31 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/48 degrees
Huntington State Park...

Ryan Mosley with the UDWR's Flaming Gorge Project sent in this report.

What's going on with this winter weather? I'm usually making runs to fish ice on the north end of the Gorge or down to reservoirs in the Uinta Basin, but these unseasonably warm temperatures have me opting to fish from the boat. As you would guess, there's not a whole lot of boating pressure on the Gorge this time of year either. I was out yesterday, and we only saw 3 other boats in about 10-miles of reservoir.

What's so ironic, is the fishing is awesome right now. We fished for...

Twenty-five rainbow trout will have some extra special meaning to anglers at Rockport Reservoir between Jan. 1 and March 1, 2012.

One lucky angler could win $2,500 in cash. Other prizes include sporting goods, generators and golf vacations. Tagged fish, or at least the tags, shoudl be taken to the Rafter B. Convenience Store in Wanship to claim the prize associated with the tag. Visit the Rockport State Park website for details.

More information is also available by calling 435-336-2241.

...

Learning to fish through the ice is not necessarily difficult, but it is always beneficial to get some help when making your first trips. It is also fun to fish while walking on water with others. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is holding Ice Fishing clinics at Pelican Lake in Uintah County Dec. 31 and Jan. 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Basic instruction, including techniques and gear, will be held at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Holes will be drilled and DWR staffers will be onthe ice until 1 p.m. to answer questions. A limited supply of fishing rods, jigs and baits will be available, but bring your own gear if you have it. Call 435-781-9453. I've included the video of ice fishing at Fish Lake ...

The Utah State Parks reservoir condition report for the week of December 19:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/36 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/36 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/36 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *ice starting to form
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/45 degrees *thin ice
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/34 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/48 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch ...

Bear Lake Fishing Report from Scott Tolentino, director of the Bear Lake Projecy for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Surface water temperature is 38 degrees. The Bonneville whitefish are still in the spawning run and will begin to wind down over the next week. It has been an interesting spawning season. Some anglers are doing extremely well when they locate the fish and other anglers are struggling to catch fish when fishing right next to anglers who are catching them. The best luck has come for those anglers using 1/8 ounce jigs along rocky shoreline areas in 10-15’ of water. Try marabou, tube, pony (roadrunner) or twister tail jigs. Favor...

Ryan Mosley, director of the UDWR's Flaming Gorge Project sent is this report.

With as cold as it's been, it's no surprise that ice is quickly growing and spreading downlake. There's safe ice down to the Confluence now, but that's where the open water/skim ice begins (see pic). We checked the ice on the eastside of the Confluence and it was about 4-5 inches clear. Ice about 2-miles uplake at Sage Creek Bay was 6-inches clear. I suspect the ice at Firehole is almost double that, being it formed sometime around Thanksgiving. If it stays as cold as it's been and the wind doesn't blow, ice will form quickly ...

The Utah State Parks reservoir conditions report for the week of December 12:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/38 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/38 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/38 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/35 degrees *ice starting to form
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/40 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/45 degrees *thin ice
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/34 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/48 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch...

The now-annual Burbot Bash at Flaming Gorge Reservoir is being held Jan. 25-28, 2012, with teams competing for more than $10,000 in cash and prizes.
Of course, the big winner is the reservoir's ecosystem and, eventually, anglers. The non-native burbot are a threat to kokanee salmon, smallmouth bass and lake trout in the Gorge and removing as many as possible helps maintain an already delicate balance.
More than three tons of burbot were turned in last year during the tournament.
Wildlife officials from Utah and Wyoming will be tagging 250 burbot with internal digital tags purchased by the Flaming Gorge Chamber of Commerce. Anglers with tagged b...

The Utah State Parks reservoir conditions report for the week of December 5:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/41 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/41 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/41 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/40 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/45 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/46 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/42 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/52 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/45 degrees
Hyrum Lake State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN...

Matt McKell, a biologist with the UDWR's Flaming Gorge Project, sent in this report.

Looking out the window and seeing the snow falling reminds me winter is on its way to Flaming Gorge country. However, this past Tuesday was a beautiful, clear day, so I took an opportunity to float the Green River with friend and local fishing guide, Ryan Kelly. We put in at Little Hole and floated all of B Section to the take-out at Indian Crossing in Browns Park. Except for of a lack of sunshine in the canyon during portions of the float, the temperature was just about right, considering it's late November. And the fishi...

Scott Tolentino, the Bear Lake Project Leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, sent in this report.

November 29, 2011

Bear Lake Fishing Report:

Surface water temperature is 42 degrees. The Bonneville whitefish are just beginning their spawning run and fishing has been fair, but is expected to improve significantly by the upcoming weekend and should continue to be good for the next 2-3 weeks. Anglers are catching a few whitefish right now using 1/16 to 1/8 ounce jigs along rocky shoreline areas in 10-15’ of water. Try marabou, tube, or twister tails. Favorite colors are white and ...

Flaming Gorge fishing report from Ryan Mosley, Flaming Gorge Project Leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

I love Thanksgiving. Good food, family, football, and the fishing couldn't be better this time of the season. We made it out a couple times last weekend and the rainbow trout were hitting jigs with authority! We found most of our bows in only 5-20 ft of water near submerged vegetation. Hot lures were Gulp minnows (shad colors) and Yamamoto grubs (crayfish colors) rigged on a 3/8 oz jig head. We retrieved the bait through the middle of the water column, pausing occasionally, with most of ...

The Utah State Parks reservoir conditions report for the week of November 28:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/43 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/43 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/43 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/40 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/49 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/50 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/42 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/52 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/51 degrees
Hyrum ...

Ryan Mosley, Flaming Gorge Project Leader for the DWR, sent in this report.

Happy Thanksgiving! How about some trout with your turkey dinner?

I fished last week with my boss, Northeastern Regional Aquatic Manager Trina Hedrick, and we found the fishing to be "good" for a variety of species using a variety of techniques. We totaled 4 lake trout, 12 rainbows, 2 kokanee, and surprisingly, 1 smallmouth bass caught in 70+ ft of water!

We marked a lot of fish (see pic of graph) along the main channel between Jarvies Bay and Skull Creek. Most of the rainbows were caught shallower, 20-60 ft, whil...

The Utah State Parks reservoir report for the week of November 21:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/45 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/45 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/45 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/42 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/49 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/50 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/42 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/52 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/53 degrees
Hyrum Lake State ...

Matt McKell, Flaming Gorge Project biologist for the Division of Wildlife Resources, sent in this report from the twice-annual electrofishing conducted in earlier this fall. The video was shot in the fall of 2010.

Back in mid-September we were able to complete our annual fall electrofishing survey on the Green River, in spite of an equipment issue and some foul weather (wind and horizontal rain) at Tailrace during the first night of survey. By the next night, we had our equipment issue resolved and a full moon shining over the river at Little Hole. As usual, we had a full crew of eager volunteers both nights, with representatives of GROGA,...

Peter Rigstad may not be the person you want trying to net the big steelhead you have on the end of your fly line - long and painful story - but he is a fun guy to go fishing with. Peter and several of our angler buddies make an annual trip to Mexico. Things went very well for Peter this last trip, until the Hurricane came calling. Here's Peter's report of landing a swell permit. Look for it to run as Hook Shot in the Tribune.

By Peter Rigstad, Holladay.

I checked the weather befor...

The Utah State Parks reservoir condition report for the week of November 14:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/48 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/48 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/48 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/44 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/49 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/53 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/42 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/52 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/54 degrees
Hyrum L...

Ryan Mosley, Flaming Gorge Project Leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, sent in this report.

Working with Wyoming Game and Fish, we weathered the "winter blast" last week and completed our annual trammel netting on Flaming Gorge. Each November, we sample nine sites along the length of the reservoir taking three nights/days and several volunteers to complete. This sampling project has been conducted since burbot were first identified in the reservoir in 2006. Abundance peaked in 2007 (189 burbot) and has been gradually declining ever since. This year we totaled 137 burbot, up slightly from 2010. St...

Scott Tolentino, Bear Lake Project Leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, sent in this report.

November 7, 2011

Bear Lake Fishing Report:

Surface water temperature is 53 degrees. Fishing has been good for lake trout and cutthroat trout. Lake trout are still spawning and can be found in shallow water. Pressure from shore has been very low, but those who are braving the cold weather are catching fish casting from shore at Cisco Beach and off the Utah State Park marina. Mornings and early evenings have been the best times. Anglers in boats are having the best luck either jigging and...

The Utah State Parks boatign report for the week of November 7:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/53 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/53 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/53 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/45 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/50 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/55 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/48 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/65 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/54 degrees
Hyrum Lake State Pa...

I've said it a million times, but it is true that every angler knows the therapeutic value of fishing. There are many non-profit groups out there that understand this and use the power of nature and wildlife to help people with all kinds of ailments. I'm involved with Reel Recovery, which serves men with cancer. I was thrilled to see Casting for Recovery make its Utah debut last summer with its first retreat for women with breast cancer. Things went well at that first Utah Casting for Recovery retreat and organizers are planning more. But they need to raise money to fund the retreats and will be holding "Fish Tales and Ales" November 7 at Squatters, 147 W. Broadway, in downtown Salt Lake Cit...

The Utah State Parks boating report for the week of October 31:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/57 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/57 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/57 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/53 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/51 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/57 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/55 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/65 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/57 degrees
Hyrum Lake State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/50 degrees

I probably use the word "monster" a bit much when it comes to writing about fishing. Most of the references come for the Hook Shots feature though so I don't feel too bad about overusing it.

In honor of Halloween I'm sharing this video of some monster fish I encountered during a trip I took early this spring to Flaming Gorge.

...

Lake Powell Fish Report - October 26, 2011
Lake Elevation: 3650
Water Temperature 65-69 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson

The bad times are over. The whole lake from Wahweap to Hite is now producing an amazing array of fish to those willing to come during the "off season". The key ingredients to the change in fishing fortune are cooling temperatures and dark skies at night. The key players are largemouth and smallmouth bass with late, but significant contributions from stripers, walleye and crappie. The better news is that this surge in fishing success will now continue through the month of November.
Bass are the main players. Each spring the best bass fishing activity...

The Utah State Parks boating conditions report for the week of October 24:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/58 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/58 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/58 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/54 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/53 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/57 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/58 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/65 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/59 degrees
Hyrum Lake State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/5...

Lake Powell Fish Report - October 20, 2011
Lake Elevation: 3651
Water Temperature 67-72 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson

The armor plating worn by most game fish this fall is finally starting to tarnish. There are a few chinks now apparent that can be exploited by anglers willing to meet bass and stripers on their own terms. Subtle changes in techniques and timing can turn a fishing trip into a success when resorting to normally fishing logic may
result in failure. Here are some suggestions.

Stripers in the main lake have ONLY been active in the evening. Chasing stripers all morning into the afternoon is not a
good choice right now. This...

The plan was to do a fall fishing trip to Boulder Mountain. Having once been snowed on during a July 4th trip on Boulder the snow should not have come as a surprise in October. We had watched the weather and snow was in the forecast for the Boulder area, but predictions were up to 6 inches at 10,000 feet, not the 10 inches we ended up getting. We were twice woken up during the night when quaking aspen, still loaded with stunningly colorful leaves, broke under the weight of the snow and fell against the trailer.
Determined not to let it stop us from fishing the next morning, we started the short drive to the trailhead and did not get very far. We pushed a couple of small trees out of ...

Ryan Mosley, Flaming Gorge Project Leader for Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, sent in this report on fishing at Flaming Gorge.

Two weekends ago, Mother Nature ripped through Flaming Gorge country leaving several inches of snow. This past weekend, we were back in the upper 60's, applying sun screen, and fishing comfortably. Water temps have cooled but still remain on the warm side, now in the low 60's.

Like the weather, rainbow trout fishing is "hot" right now for some sizeable fish. As water temps have cooled, rainbows are moving shallow. Look for concentrations of fish along shaded banks in the morning and evening. Surface feeding is a dead giveaway on a calm lake. A...

Utah has some big wipers - that cross between a white bass and a striped bass - but it may be a while before we see any this big. The folks at GoFISHn and Recycled Fish are reporting that a 21-pound wiper has been caught in Nebraska. Utah cars now may be headed there for more than the pheasant hunting. For the record, Utah's largest landed and record wiper came from Willard Bay in 2007 and weighed 9 pounds 12 ounces....

Utah State Parks reservoir conditions for the week of October 11:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp CLOSED/60 degrees
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/56 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/55 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/64 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/58 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/71 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/65 degrees
Hyrum Lake State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN...

Lake Powell Fish Report - October 12, 2011
Lake Elevation: 3652
Water Temperature 68-71 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson

This is my final report about challenging fishing at Lake Powell. All fish are poised and ready to explode in a feeding frenzy. Really the only thing holding them back is the big, bright, beautiful "anglers moon" hanging perfectly over the calm water. It's a sight to behold. But when the moon wanes fishing will improve.

The water temperature has now dropped into the high 60s. The lake elevation has stabilized having been at 3652 for three weeks. Beginning this weekend and continuing through mid-November fishing will ...

The Utah State Parks reservoir report for the week of October 11:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/58 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/57 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/66 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/58 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/71 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/69 degrees
Hyrum Lake State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/6...

My Fishing Page feature story last Tuesday was on the issues facing Scofield Reservoir. The day after the story ran the DWR pulled gill nets and found evidence big fish can still be had at the once-popular reservoir. Here's the report from Justin Hart, assistant regional aquatics manager for the southeastern region.

We gill netted Scofield on 10/5/11. First off we collected numerous chubs, and didn't see as many rainbows as we would have liked to. The rainbows we did see confirmed what we heard from many angle...

The Utah State Parks boating for the week of September 19:

Bear Lake State Park Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/66 degrees
Bear Lake First Point: Launch Ramp OPEN/66 degrees
Bear Lake Rainbow Cove: Launch Ramp CLOSED for construction until September 30
Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach: Launch Ramp OPEN/66 degrees
Deer Creek State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
East Canyon State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/60 degrees
Wide Hollow at Escalante State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/70 degrees
Great Salt Lake State Marina: Launch Ramp OPEN/73 degrees
Gunlock State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/74 degrees
Huntington State Park: Launch Ramp OPEN/70 ...