Bumble, the official mascot of the Salt Lake Bees minor-league baseball team, will help the state wildlife agency start the 2007 fishing season today by throwing out the opening pitch - oops, wrong sport - by releasing the first catchable trout in Willow Pond in Murray.

Never mind that folks have been catching fish since 6:46 a.m. on Jan. 1.

Fisheries officials say more than 22,000 trout and 9,500 catfish have been planted in Utah's urban fisheries to give anglers a chance to wet a line this weekend without having to travel to faraway destinations.

Mirror Lake Highway open

Low snowpack allowed road crews to get the Mirror Lake Highway (state Route 150) open a little earlier this year. Anglers expecting to get some action in the Uintas this weekend, however, might be disappointed.

Some of the lower-elevation lakes and reservoirs, particularly those on the north slope, have open water and have been planted, but many of the lakes along the Mirror Lake Highway still have an ice cover, and access can be difficult.

A staffer at the Kamas Ranger District office in Kamas said there is anywhere from 18 to 24 inches of snow on the ground at higher elevations in the Uintas. Mirror Lake and the campground there are still inaccessible.

Ted Hallows, Kamas Fish Hatchery director, said the lakes are opening, and being stocked, two or three weeks ahead of the regular schedule. He said anglers are catching fish at Trial, Lost and Teapot lakes.

10th anniversary

of Strawberry Anglers

The Strawberry Anglers Association is celebrating its 10th anniversary on June 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Workforce Services Building, 5735 S. Redwood Road, Taylorsville. The event begins at 6:30 p.m., and a special presentation will be made to DWR employees involved in the recent national award for the management at Strawberry Reservoir. RSVP to Jim Carter at 801-269-0619 or 801-243-3230 by June 1.

brettp@sltrib.com