Utah Fishing & Outdoors Report

Most of our trout reservoirs will offer good ice fishing during the next few weeks. Fish Lake should be solid about now and it is usually one of our better winter fisheries, offering splake, rainbows, perch and some lake trout.

Perch fishing is coming on strong now that Yuba, Rockport and Echo have safe ice. Pineview is good for perch and crappie, with safe ice near the dam and in bays.

Whitefish are schooling up on our streams and provide good targets for winter fly fishing. Walk the banks, softly, and look for fish in the deeper pools. Dead drift small nymphs, aiming right for their noses. Trout can also be caught this time of year. Here's info on fly fishing in winter.

Bear Lake cisco usually spawn in mid-January. Some years the lake freezes, other years it is open water. Here's how-to info from last year.

Apply online for big game hunting permits beginning Jan 2. Apply at wildlife.utah.gov

Interesting Posts by Anglers
- Woodruff Reservoir has good fishing and deep snow
- Yuba has ice and good perch fishing
- Rockport is frozen and good for trout and perch
- Jordanelle smallmouth can be caught in winter
- Echo has ice and is good for perch, spotty for rainbows
- Pineview is good for perch and crappie (Pineview has safe ice in some areas but may be unsafe on the main lake)
- Mill Meadow is frozen and good for perch; Forsyth is frozen but fishing is slow
- Panguitch Lake is frozen but fishing is slow
- Strawberry is good; safe ice on bays but probably still unsafe on the main lake
- Flaming Gorge - lots of interest in the burbot
- Flaming Gorge - burbot report

News articles
DWR
- Snowshoe Hares
- 2008 Big Game Proclamation Is On The Web

KUTV
- Ice Fishing After The Sun Goes Down
- Utah Man Snags Once-In-A-Lifetime Elk Tag
- Cartoonish Characters At Utah's 'Dry Fork'
- State Parks: We've Seen Them All!
- Field Guide: California Condor

Deseret Morning News
- Avalanche danger increases in Utah
- Mountain dangers: Christmas Day avalanche kills Utah snowmobiler
- Skiers only: Two Utah resorts among three in the nation without snowboards
- Cybertrips: Organize a trip around winter bald eagle watching
- Liability waivers at winter resorts have legal teeth
- BLM plan sets 2 million acres as oil shale sites
- New travel Web sites are really going places
- '52 gold medalist Stein Eriksen hospitalized after skiing accident
- Utah population booming

Salt Lake Tribune
- Yellowstone now open for winter enthusiasts
- AAA Utah tells how to avoid danger during winter trips
- Travelers may stay closer to home - but they'll still get around
- Short hike of the week: Golden Throne Trail - Capitol Reef National Park
- Wharton: Legislative plans are harmful for recreationists and taxpayers
- The outsider
- Bird sighting
- Catching a wave in an ocean of Utah desert
- Tight lines: A fish story to warm Dad's heart
- A hill of their own
- Outdoor Notebook: Annual parade will light up Deer Valley slopes
- Hook shot
- Where is it?
- Avalanche kills man, injures boy near The Canyons resort
- Young avalanche victim 'doing incredibly well'
- Snow slide victim was on 'prime-time avalanche terrain', not wearing rescue beacon
- 11-year-old avalanche victim recovering
- Authorities identify Oakley snowmobiler killed in huge avalanche
- Fatal avalanche called a rarity
- The Canyons avalanche victim identified as Grand Junction, Colo., man
- Conservationists pan White River drilling plan

Regional
- Arizona monument planning partial off-road vehicle ban
- Idaho Companies Reap Rewards from Bush's Spending Bill
- Fireworks used to scare mule deer away from roads, help survival
- Rainbow trout set to return to Colorado
- Woodland's Loomis looms large in NW conservation
- Young writers relate tales of the outdoors
- Big projections for Cowlitz River in 2008
- New dates for Hunting & Fishing Expo
- Top Ten Wildlife Conservation Success Stories in 2007
- Run-ins with grizzly bears raise questions about renewing hunts
- Returning to life: Project aims to restore important spawning tributary for trout
- Mountain lion hunting closes in many districts
- Ice fishing requires knowledge and caution
- Area wildlife refuge offers haven for nature
- Some good fishing books you may want to consider
- Colorado's rainbows ready to rise
- Author keeps lost art of boat building alive
- Nevadans love, and hate, to fish for carp
- National-forest access could soon be free again
- State hunters, anglers bring a tax windfall
- Environmental worries triggered by mussels