Utah Fishing & Outdoors Report

Fishing is picking up now on our streams and that means the Provo and Green rivers are getting crowded on weekends. Fish mid-week if possible. Other streams also offer good action, with less competition. Consider trying the Weber, Ogden or Blacksmith in northern Utah. Down south, try the Huntington below Electric Lake, Cottonwood Creek below Joes Valley, or the East Fork of the Sevier.

Water is often a little high and it may carry a little color. Runoff will be light this year, particularly in southern Utah, so it should not be much of a factor. Still, take care as you get out on the water.

Small midges dominate the surface action on our streams, with a few Blue Wing Olives mixed in. Baetis and Mayfly hatches will become more common in a week or two and they will bring better surface action. Meanwhile, small nymphs continue to work well when drifted along the bottom.

Rapalas and other lures are working well on trout streams. Cast them upstream and work them down through the holes, or fan-cast to reach potentially productive spots. Get them right up next to the far bank, and work the “seams” where fast water gives way to slower water along the edge of pools.

Watch these websites for good fly fishing reports: Western Rivers Flyfisher and Trout Creek Flies.

Lake Powell fishing is getting better every day now, and will become red hot during early April. The big lake will offer exceptional fishing for striped bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and crappie until the heat of summer sets in. Catfishing is also picking up and will become very good as the weather gets hot. Watch Waynes Words for current info.

Community fishing ponds are now being stocked and they usually offer fair to good action close to town. They are great places to take kids in the evening.

Jordanelle, Deer Creek, Otter Creek, Piute and Minersville all have open water with fair to good fishing, along with many other smaller reservoirs and ponds. At this time of year rainbows cruise the shorelines looking for food, and readily take flies and small lures. Woolly buggers, woolly worms, leech patterns, Jakes spinners and Rapalas can be very effective. Casting parallel to shore allows you to keep your lure in the productive zone for a longer period of time. Often shore fishermen cast completely over the active fish because they think they need to get out into deep water. From a boat, cast into shore or parallel to shore.

Flaming Gorge has open water near the dam and boat ramps are open in that area. Ice will be completely off the Utah side any day now. Large lake trout can roam freely this time of year because the water is still cold. They are sometimes caught by angles trolling lures near the surface. After the water starts to warm the big lakers will move deep and you’ll need specialized gear to get down to them. Rainbows bite well in the spring and can be caught on baits or lures, from shore, boat and tube.

Joes Valley Reservoir typically fishes well when the ice first comes off – and that should be any day now. There are some large splake in this water.

Crappie and perch fishing should pick up at Pineview now. Tiger muskie follow the smaller fish. To target the tigers, work Rapalas and other large lures along ambush points that extend out into the lake.

Willard Bay and Utah Lake have on-again, off-again action for walleye. Most people try to target spawning fish, but that isn’t the best approach. Work deeper areas near the spawning beds to find pre- and post-spawn walleye. Wipers are biting at Willard. Catfishish can be caught at both Willard and Utah Lake.

Starvation and Yuba walleye will start to get active now. Starvation offers some good spring action for brown trout and Yuba has fished well this week for rainbows.

Check DWR's weekly fishing reports for current fishing info.