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

I'm not sure I can remember a Memorial Holiday that wasn't cold and rainy. This year's holiday weekend was no different....with exception to adding some snow and wind. Regardless, we still fished and caught.

Friday- I spent the morning scoping out the reservoir for family and friends that were enroute to Dutch John. I didn't do well for kokanee, but found a large active school of small lake trout hanging in 60-80 ft of water off a large flat near Skull Creek. Several passes with downriggers rigged with Northland Forage Minnow and Williams spoons quickly produced a limit of tasty pup lake trout ranging from 15-20 inches. As a bonus, I also managed a kokanee and a few nice rainbows. Lure depth was 65-75 ft and boat speed was 1.6 mph.

Saturday- We took the kids down for the GROGA river clean-up. I couldn't resist my "bass" instincts with the high flows- fish hugging the bank likely waiting for a small trout to dart out of cover. My second cast with a Rapala Xrap (in rainbow trout color) quickly proved my suspicions. A few more nice browns here and there, and I was sold. Spin fishing isn't that common on the Green, but it sure is a great way to catch fish! My buddy Kevin Clegg, a long-time guide and president of GROGA, also handed me his fly rod rigged with an egg pattern. I was a little cold and rusty, but I managed a few nice drifts that produced 3 fish to add to my tally. The visitation is surprisingly low, but the Green River might be fishing better right now than it has in quite some time.

Sunday- We woke-up to rain and more rain. There's something about kokanee in the rain though. Their excitement and activity must be fueled by precipitation! We trolled around Jarvies Bay and caught over a dozen kokanee and lost/missed several more. Fish were caught mostly on a Rocky Mountain Tackle "fusion" dodger followed by a double-glow pink squid. Being fish were relatively shallow, planer boards were very effective but we also caught fish down to 40 ft using downriggers. Boat speed was about 2 mph and water temp was 51F.

The temps are going to climb the remainder of the week and I suspect the reservoir will fish really well. The Green River flows should drop to 2000 cfs next week, which will may quickly increase the consistency of bug hatches down there. Either way, both of these fisheries are producing some quality catches even with this roller-coaster weather pattern. Don't miss-out!