Small mountain lakes are beginning to freeze, although open water may be found on larger lakes and reservoirs. Fishing remains good as trout feed actively in preparation for winter. The Division of Wildlife Resources urge potential ice anglers to wait several weeks for ice to thicken.
•Benches and Boulger Reservoir The reservoir has iced over. No report on thickness.
•Electric Lake. Fishing has been very good on the east and west shorelines near the dam. A nightcrawler/egg combination has been most effective. Fishing has also been good on the north end, which has partially iced over. Access is difficult.
•Fairview Lakes. The lakes are covered by ice. No report on thickness. Access continues to be difficult.
•Ferron Creek. (above Millsite Reservoir) Aquatics Biologist Justin Hart fished upper Ferron Creek this past weekend. He caught and released a dozen cutthroat trout up to 13 inches, using small 1/16 ounce hair jigs or crankbaits.
•Gigliotti Pond. Biologist Justin Hart suggests that parents take their kids fishing on warm afternoons. Good fishing is expected until ice-over. PowerBait, worms, and small spinners are recommended.
•Huntington Creek. Below the forks, fishing has been good with salmon eggs or nightcrawlers. The fly-only zone has also been good with glo bugs or small nymph patterns like lil brassies, copper johns or WD-40s. On warmer days, surface action can be fair with blue-winged olives or a large royal wulff pattern with a small nymph dropper. Brown trout continue to be in spawning or post-spawning condition, and have been feeding on wayward eggs. Orange or pink glow bags or salmon eggs can be effective.
•Huntington Reservoir (on the Wasatch Plateau). The reservoir has iced over. Ice anglers are urged to be patient and wait for safe conditions. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout and trout with cutthroat markings.
•Joes Valley Reservoir. Joes Valley Reservoir is closed to fishing until Dec. 11 to protect spawning splake. Although splake are sterile hybrids of lake trout and brook trout, they still attempt to spawn and become very vulnerable to anglers. In past years, very large splake (5 to 15 lbs.) were harvested in large numbers during the November to early December time period. Because large splake are needed to control the chub population, fisheries managers in cooperation with concerned anglers petitioned the RAC to close fishing during the spawning period. The RAC and Wildlife Board approved the request and closed Joes Valley Reservoir to fishing from Nov. 1 until the second Saturday in December.
•Lasal Mountains. Conservation Officer Joe Nicholson reports that higher mountain lakes are freezing up and access has become limited due to snow conditions. Fishing has been good at Ken’s Lake for trout, averaging 10 to12 inches. Officer Nicholson recommends PowerBait, worms and spoons.
•Miller Flat Reservoir and Potters Ponds. Access by snow machine only. The reservoir is iced over. Unknown ice thickness.
•Price River. When the water clears, fishing can be good with small, size number 22 nymphs. Try copper johns or lil brassies in slow runs or below gravel bar riffles.
•Scofield Reservoir. Sergeant Carl Gramlich reports that ice conditions are dynamic, due to widely fluctuating temperatures. Morning anglers may find ice along shorelines and in shallow bays. Warming daytime temperatures or wind action may open things back up by afternoon. Anglers are urged to think twice about the danger associated with venturing out on thin ice. As of last weekend, there were still lots of boaters, tubers and pontooners on the water. In the mornings and evenings, dead redside shiners or a nightcrawler/marshmallow combo have been the best baits. During the day, orange sparkle PowerBait has been most effective. Most trout have been rainbows in the 14-inch size class.
•Straight Canyon. Fish biologists Justin Hart and Craig Walker electro-fished Straight Canyon two weeks ago, and reported a lot of spawning brown trout up to 15 inches in size. They recommended drifting egg patterns through major holes.
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