Utah Fishing & Outdoors Report

Lake Powell will offer excellent bass and stripper bass fishing during the next few weeks. Fish are primed to become very active during the next period of warm, stable weather, and that should happen next week. Smallmouth and largemouth will be shallow, on or near spawning beds. Striped bass are still near the backs of canyons but will soon be moving toward the dam and other spawning areas. Watch wayneswords.com for current information.

The Green River is attracting crowds on nice weekends, so fish mid-week if possible. Success is becoming very good. Dennis Breer reports: "In the coming weeks the midge and Baetis hatches should be prolific. The spring Baetis hatches have been one of this rivers premier hatches for many years. You can expect optimum fishing conditions in the weeks ahead." See his complete report.

Provo River also offers great action. Steve Schmidt reports: "The nice weather has brought the crowds out, but for good reason. The Blue Wings Olives (BWO) have joined the Midges providing some very good dry fly and nymph fishing." See Steve’s report.

Most streams will offer good fishing now. I enjoyed good success last weekend on the East Fork of the Sevier, Deer Creek and Antimony Creek. Streams were a little high and the East Fork has some muddy water, but all were very fishable. Runoff will probably not be much of a factor in southern Utah this year.

Flaming Gorge has open water on the Utah side with good fishing for rainbows and lake trout. Boats can be launched and offer the best platform for fishing. Shore fishing can be very good for rainbows this time of year.

Bear Lake ice is mostly gone – may be completely gone this weekend. Cutthroat are biting. Big fish can be caught trolling or jigging.

Jordanelle, Deer Creek, Rockport and similar waters have open water and offer good fishing. Rainbows are the primary species being caught. Also some other trout species and some perch.

Pineview will offer good crappie fishing during the coming weeks. Catch them on small jigs in shallow areas. Tiger muskie are biting but are always hard to find and catch.

Willard Bay and Utah Lake offer good action for catfish, but are spotty for walleye. Willard is also spotty for wipers.

DWR has a funky interactive map that makes it easy to find fishing hotspots. Check it out.

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-- Time running out to help nongame wildlife
Salt Lake Tribune
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Game & Fish magazine
-- Jones Hole: 'God's Gift' To Fly-Fishing

Upcoming Events
-- Annual Moab Jeep Safari, March 31-April 8
-- Wedding of the Rails 137th Anniversary, May 10
-- Great Salt Lake Bird Festival, May 17-22
-- Utah Free Fishing Day, June 9
-- Buckboard Wy Classic Fish Derby, June 9-10. Multi-species tournament with $150 enter free per team. Prizes. Open area is Wyoming side of Flaming Gorge, from the Pipeline north. More info write: Buckboard Marina, HCR 65 Box 100, Green River WY 82935 or call 307-875-6927.

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.

Walleye fishing is now starting to pick up at Utah Lake and Willard Bay. Crappie are also biting in Willard. Both lakes have some good early season catfishing. Action for all species will get better during the next few weeks.

Lake Powell bass look like they may start a little early this year. Water is starting to warm, and that attracts fish. Action may be very good for smallmouth and largemouth by the end of this month. Stripers will also be coming on strong within a couple weeks. See the report by Wayne Gustaveson, DWR Lake Powell project leader.

Starvation Reservoir now has open water. Walleye haven't turned on there yet - that will happen in a couple weeks. Meanwhile, brown trout are biting well there. Catch the browns trolling or casting crankbaits or flipping jigs.

At Jordanelle, Deer Creek and Rockport reservoirs the ice should be pulling back about now. Rainbows and perch will bite as these waters open up.

Otter Creek, Piute, and Minersville reservoirs all have open water and fishing is good for rainbows from boat and shore. At Otter Creek, get out in a float tube and fish with a jig tipped with bait, trying various depths until you find the fish.

Green, Provo, Weber and other streams have good early season fly fishing. Midges are hatching every day, producing surface action for those fishing tiny imitations. Nymphs consistently produce when drifted along the bottom.

Zebra Mussels, a prolific nuisance species, have become established in the lower Colorado River system and now threaten Lake Powell. Take care to clean boats to prevent their spread. This website has good information.

Whirling disease has been found in the Duchesne River and DWR is worried it could spread to strawberry. Details.

Here are two discussion board posts with excellent information, one on early walleye at Willard Bay and one on the timing of the walleye spawn.

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

Spring fishing is now starting, with anglers already plying open water for early-season walleye, in both Utah Lake and Willard Bay. The action is slow right now but will pick up during the next couple weeks as the waters warm.

At both Utah Lake and Willard, success should improve by about the middle of March, and become good in late March and early April.

Walleye will soon spawn over shallow gravel and cobblestone-sized rocks in both waters. When they are in the shallows they are move visible, but they don’t actively feed while spawning. It is best to target pre-spawn fish that are still in deeper water, out from the spawning beds.

Deer Creek and Yuba Reservoir also have walleye and they will probably loose their ice by the end of March. Action here usually starts a couple weeks later than at the lower-elevation waters.

Starvation and Lake Powell offer good walleye fishing in May.

See our extensive library of walleye fishing articles.

Jordanelle, Rockport, East Canyon, Lost Creek and other similar reservoirs will offer good trout fishing as soon as the ice pulls back. Timing depends on weather conditions. If we get warm wind the ice will go in a hurry. Watch the Utah discussion board on this website for current info.

Lake Powell is slow right now but action will pick up by the end of March, as warming water temperatures allow smallmouth, largemouth and striped bass to become more active. Action is usually red hot by mid-April, and it stays hot through May.

DWR biologist Wayne Gustaveson has an excellent website with specific info on how to fish Powell. His latest report describes an early-season bass tournament where experienced anglers were able to coax some mighty nice fish out of the cold water.

Fly fishing is starting to pick up on our trout streams. Some midges are hatching on the Green River and fishing is decent between storms, when the water flow is steady. Insect activity will increase dramatically by the end of March, and fishing will improve proportionally. Tiny Baetis and midge patterns will work on top and standard nymphs will be effective along the bottom. Guide Dennis Breer publishes an excellent report with specific info about fishing the Green. Read it here.

The Middle Provo also has some midge action, with tiny bugs hatching. Larger insects should start to appear soon. Steve Schmidt provides a good current report on this water.

Lees Ferry should fish well during the next few weeks, with delightful spring conditions. This is a stretch of the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam. Look for detailed reports here.

Upcoming Major Events
International Sportsmen’s Expo will be March 15-18 in the South Towne Expo Center.
Moab’s Easter Jeep Safari will be March 31 through April 8.
Great Salt Lake Bird Festival will be May 17-22.

See our complete list of events