Fishing report for southeastern Utah

By Sun Advocate

As of July 25, fishing regulations changed at Duck Fork Reservoir. Anglers may now keep up to 16 trout, and they may use any legal bait. Previously, the trout limit was two and only artificial flies and lures could be used. These regulations are in effect until the end of September.
Anglers may keep bluegill and largemouth bass at the Gigliotti Pond.On July 11, an emergency change was made, allowing fishermen to keep six largemouth bass and 50 bluegill. The trout limit is eight. This change will remain in effect until September 1.
The daily bag and possession limits for trout have been doubled at Cleveland and Miller Flat reservoirs, Ken’s Lake, Lloyd’s Lake, Monticello Lake, and Recapture Reservoir. These regulations are in effect until November 1. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the trout they catch so that these fish are not wasted.
•Abajo Mountains. Foy Reservoir continues to provide good fishing with bait and lures. Best fishing occurs in the early morning and evening. Morning and evening fishing has been good at Monticello Reservoir, where the limit has been raised to eight fish, until November 1. Baits and spinners are recommended. Fishing has slowed down at Blanding number three. Trolling or casting is recommended for northern pike at Recapture Reservoir, where the daily bag and possession limit has been doubled for all game fish until November 1. The daily bag and possession limits for all game fish have also been doubled at Lloyds Lake until November 1, due to low water conditions and expected loss of fish. Fishing has been fair.
•Benchs Pond. This pond continues to be stocked every three weeks. Try dry flies in the evening. Good baits include PowerBait, worms and marshmallows. Fishing has been good.
•Blue Lake (by Grassy Lake). Access is walk-in or by ATV. The lake was not stocked this year.
•Boulger Pond. This pond shares the same stocking schedule as Benchs Pond. Try PowerBait, or worms and marshmallows. In the evening, try dry flies. Fishing has been good.
•Cleveland Reservoir. The daily bag and possession limits have been raised to eight fish until November 1. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the fish in the event the reservoir drains. At this point, the water level remains stable. Fishing has been fair for anglers using PowerBait or worms.
•Colorado River. The river continues to provide good fishing for catfish up to three pounds. Preferred baits include shrimp, worms and liver.
•Cottonwood Creek. Fishing has been fair to good with small spinners, such as Mepp’s, Panther Martins or Jake’s Spin-a-lures.
•Duck Fork Reservoir. Fishing is excellent but access to the shoreline may be difficult because of mud resulting from draw down of the reservoir. The reservoir is being drained somewhat in preparation for a non-native fish eradication project scheduled to occur between mid September and the end of October. Access to the shoreline will improve when the shoreline dries. Unless rainfall occurs, drying of the shoreline is expected to occur around mid August when the reservoir reaches its dead storage capacity of about 80 acre-feet. The director’s office issued an emergency regulation change on July 25. Anglers may now keep up to 16 trout, and they may use any legal bait. Previously, the trout limit was two and only artificial flies and lures could be used.
•Electric Lake. Fly fishermen using float tubes, canoes or pontoon boats have had some success in the evenings with dry flies. Boats cannot be launched this year. The trout limit is two. Flies and lures only.
•Ferron Reservoir. Fishing has been fair to good with worms and PowerBait. About two weeks ago, a six pound, 27-inch trout was caught. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the illegally introduced brook trout, which may eventually overpopulate the lake, resulting in small fish in poor condition. All tributaries are open to fishing.
•Gigliotti Pond. The water level is extremely low. The pond needs to be drained completely to fix the leaks. The harvest of all fish species is being allowed so that the fish will not be wasted. The trout limit is eight, the largemouth bass limit is six, and the bluegill limit is 50. On September 1, limits and restrictions identified in the 2002 fishing proclamation will resume.
•Gooseberry Reservoir. The reservoir was stocked two weeks ago. Good fishing is expected.
•Grassy Lake. Fishing success has been better this week for anglers using salmon eggs.
•Huntington Creek. Fishing success has been spotty with baits and lures. Fly-fishing has been much better with a size 12 Prince nymph, Renegade or Ugly. The limit is two trout in the fly only zone, which is on the right fork. Anglers on the Left Fork of the Huntington must use artificial flies and lures. Harvest of brown trout on the left fork is encouraged, where the limit is four fish.
•Huntington Game Farm Pond.The limit is four trout, 10 bluegill, and four bass, but only one bass larger than 15 inches. Limits are the same for all licensed anglers and unlicensed anglers under 14 years of age.
•Huntington North Reservoir (near the city of Huntington). Except for the early morning, fishermen will be competing with water recreationalists. Jigs have been working well for largemouth bass, where the limit is two. All bass over 12 inches must be immediately released.
•Huntintington Reservoir (near the top of Huntington Canyon). Black beadhead leeches from a float tube are recommended. Bait and lure fishing has been slow. Release of tiger trout is encouraged so that fish can grow larger. Any brown trout caught should be harvested. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout and trout with cutthroat markings.
•Joes Valley Reservoir. Very little fishing pressure. Boats cannot be launched. Anglers are encouraged to release all larger splake for control of the abundant Utah chub population. The splake limit is two fish. All splake between 15 to 20 inches must be immediately released.
•LaSal Mountains. The water level is low at Ken’s Lake. Fishing is fair for nine inch rainbow trout with a worm and marshmallow combination. The best fishing is in the early morning. The daily bag and possession limit for Kens Lake has been doubled for all game fish until November 1 due to low water conditions and expected loss of fish. Dark Canyon offers excellent fishing for nine to 12 inch trout with worms and spinners. Hidden Lake still provides excellent fishing for eight to 11 inch trout with worms, PowerBait or a black fly and bubble combination. Dons Lake has been good for trout up to 10 inches. Warner Lake offers excellent fishing for six to 12 inch trout with PowerBait, Panther Martin spinners and flies. Oowah was stocked last week. Fishing is excellent for eight to 12 inch rainbow trout with flies and baits. Good fly choices include wooly buggers and mosquito patterns. Good baits include worms, PowerBait and salmon eggs.
•Lower Fish Creek. Fly-fishing has been excellent. The water is flowing well. Conservation officer Stacey Taggart recommends beadhead nymphs, hoppers, and a variety of dry flies. Evening fishing has been most successful. Most fish are 11 to 13 inch brown trout.
•Miller Flat Reservoir. Fishing has been fair to good with Rooster tails or a fly and bubble. The daily bag and possession limits have been raised to eight trout to help anglers harvest the trout before the reservoir drains. At this point, the reservoir continues to hold plenty of water.