Fishing for Trophies

Fall is the time to catch trophy fish.

More really big fish are caught in Utah during November than perhaps any other month. Big fish generally prefer cooler water and so they stay deep during the summer months. But they can roam more freely now and so it is easier for fishers to target them. Action can be particularly good for fish that spawn in the fall because they become aggressive and readily attack lures. In addition, instinct motivates fish to eat heartily to stockpile calories to burn during the lean winter months.

Brown trout are now spawning in our streams. If you walk quietly along a stream and watch the shallow gravel riffles you’ll see fish fanning out nests, going through the spawning ritual and guarding nests. We encourage anglers to leave fish alone when they are actively spawning or guarding nests.

Opportunistic trout often wait in deeper water below spawning fish because the current washes roe down to them. Fish a glo bug or nymph to these fish and you can enjoy fast action.

Brown trout fishing should be good right now on the Ogden, Weber, Provo, Green and many other waters. Lesser-known waters can be particularly good. For example, the Strawberry River above Starvation often offers good brown trout fishing in the fall.

Lake trout fishing is always tough, always challenging, but this is the time of year to go after a big one at Flaming Gorge, Bear Lake or Fish Lake. Lake trout are occasionally caught from shore at Bear Lake. More commonly, they are caught by people trolling flatfish or Rapala-like lures. Jigging a large plastic tube tipped with bait can also be effective. (Linwood Bay at Flaming Gorge is closed to night fishing this time of year to protect spawning lake trout.)

Cutthroat fishing at Strawberry has been very good this fall and that action should continue right up until the reservoir freezes. It can be quite mild and pleasant at Strawberry some days. But it can become extremely cold in a hurry when the sun goes down, so go prepared.

Walleye fishing is good during the fall and November always produces some big fish. Walleye action actually seems to be best when it is windy and a storm is threatening. Willard Bay and Starvation Reservoir are great fall walleye waters. In addition, Willard offers good Wiper fishing at this time of year.

This is a great month to go after the challenging tiger muskie in Pineview Reservoir. They are usually caught by anglers casting or trolling lures from boats. But during the fall a tiger is caught occasionally by an angler walking the shoreline working Rapala-like lures alongside the brush line and along submerged tree limbs. The tigers wait at these ambush points until they see a prey fish swim by.

At Lake Powell, fishing in general will slow down now as the water cools. But the biggest stripers of the year are often caught as temperatures fall. If you watch your fish finder and troll at the right depth you can stumble onto some very good action.

Many other small streams and lakes will provide good fishing. See the DWR's complete report for details.