Utah Fishing & Outdoors Report

The weather should be beautiful this weekend and fishing will be very good at many of our waters. It looks like we are settling into a warm, stable period and so conditions should be great throughout next week. There will never be a better time to go fishing.

Seasonal changes are coming a couple weeks ahead of normal this year. Fish Lake and Currant Creek Reservoir have open water and have produced some of the best recent fishing reports. Many of the high lakes on Boulder Mountain and Skyline Drive will become accessible during the next couple weeks and they should produce very good fishing.

Runoff will increase on northern Utah streams with the warmer weather, but it will be lighter than normal. Still, some streams may become unfishable during high runoff. Even when runoff peaks, there will be plenty of opportunities to fish streams in sheltered areas below dams. Southern Utah streams will see very little runoff - it is already mostly over for the southern part of the state.

Fish Lake was extremely nice to one angler, who reported catching a 32-pound lake trout, 14-pound splake and 5-pound brown, all in one day. See his photos.

This report about Currant Creek includes a couple photos of beautiful cutthroat trout.

Lake Powell will be on fire right during the next 2-3 weeks, for stripers, smallmouth, bluegill, crappie and catfish. Walleye action is good if you hunt down the productive spots. Read the tips by DWR Biologist Wayne Gustaveson.

This angler report talks about great striped bass in Bullfrog the area. This one describes stripers, bass, bluegill and crappie around Good Hope.

Quail Lake and Sand Hollow also have good bass fishing. This report gives details and shows photos.

On the Middle Provo River, Steve Schmidt reports some very good Skwala stonefly hatches. These early-season stones hatch best on warm, sunny days. If it is cloudy and/or stormy, look for good mayfly hatches. Either way, there will be action on the surface. Rehabilitation work can interfere with fishing on the Middle. The Lower is also fishing well but is often crowded. Read Steve’s full report.

On the Green River, hatches have been sporadic. Some people find great surface action, others get there when it is slow. Dry fly fishing should become more consistent during the next couple weeks. Meanwhile, nymphs are working well. Weekends are also crowded here so fish mid-week if possible.

Many other streams in Utah are fishing well. Talk to the guys in the fly shops and they will put you onto fish.

Traditional favorites like Strawberry, Scofield and Otter Creek have been spotty - good at times but slow other times. Flaming Gorge has been more consistent for rainbows, but spotty for other species.

Many smaller waters are good right now. We’ve heard about nice fish coming from Kolob, Mill Meadow and Steinaker.

DWR’s Hotspots Report says these waters are hot:
East Canyon
Matt Warner
Steinaker
Otter Creek Reservoir
Enterprise Reservoir
Lake Powell

New Articles
DWR
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Funds for wildlife refuges are drying up
Utah's dangerous waters: State has 4th highest rate of boat accidents
CO poisoning linked to Lake Powell deaths
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Outdoor notes

Salt Lake Tribune
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New mercury alert
Recreation roundupHook shot