Utah's DWR has published a series of good articles providing information about ice fishing. The final article came out today; you can see the full thing here. We give excerpts below.

Here is info about the previous articles: Read part one: Cold ice means hot fishing. Read part two: Basic equipment equals fun ice fishing. Read part three: Catch fish by finding the right depth.

Today's article: Dozens of waters in Utah provide good ice fishing action

"Utah provides a wider variety of quality fish to catch than any place I know of," he (Drew Cushing) says. "And many of these opportunities are probably close to your home."

Some of Utah's best

Cushing says the following waters are producing great fishing for the following fish:

Yellow perch

Larger perch:

  • Fish Lake
  • Hyrum Reservoir
  • Rockport Reservoir

Smaller, but more abundant perch:

  • Pineview Reservoir
  • Mantua Reservoir
  • Starvation Reservoir

"Catching perch at Pineview can be fairly easy," Cushing says. "Just locate the spot on the bottom where the perch are, and then put your bait in front of the fish."

Bluegill

Larger bluegill:

  • Pelican Lake
  • Steinaker Reservoir

Smaller, but more abundant bluegill:

  • Mantua Reservoir

Largemouth bass

  • Pelican Lake
  • Mantua Reservoir

Rainbow, cutthroat, brown or tiger trout

  • Deer Creek Reservoir
  • Steinaker Reservoir
  • Starvation Reservoir
  • East Canyon Reservoir
  • Strawberry Reservoir ("Strawberry provides fantastic fishing for big trout, and lots of them," Cushing says.)
  • Birch Creek Reservoir
  • Scofield Reservoir
  • "Both of these waters provide good fishing for big tiger trout," Cushing says.

Lake trout

  • Flaming Gorge Reservoir
  • Fish Lake

"You have a good chance to catch some big fish at these waters," he says.

Burbot

  • Flaming Gorge Reservoir

Crappie

  • Pineview Reservoir

Cushing says crappie can be tricky to catch. "They suspend at various depths," he says, "so they can be tough to find.

"But if you catch a crappie at a certain depth, keep fishing that depth," he says, "and you should do well. Pineview has a good population of crappie."

Kokanee salmon

  • Causey Reservoir, and Porcupine Reservoir

Cushing says the best ice fishing for kokanee salmon happens at the two waters at the start of the ice fishing season. "When ice first forms on these waters," he says, "salmon fishing can be fantastic for about two to three weeks."

White bass

  • Utah Lake