Fishing report for southeastern Utah

By Sun Advocate

•Abajo and Blue Mountains. Conservation officer Randall Scheetz reports that fishing for rainbow trout was only fair this past week at Blanding number three reservoir.
Fishing was slow at Recapture Reservoir. Some Northern pike are being caught from shore with Red Devil spinners. Foy Reservoir is ice-free. Fishing for rainbow and brook trout has been good with bait and nymphs. Trout at Foy are skinny and weak and will not take spinners yet.
•Cleveland Reservoir. Please avoid this reservoir until ice-off. The ice is dangerous and unpredictable.
•Cottonwood Creek (below Joes Valley Reservoir). The creek is low and colored below Cottonwood Canyon. Fishing is good according to conservation officer Kip Draper.
•Duck Fork Reservoir. This body of water is fishless, but will be stocked with small tiger trout and Colorado River cutthroat in summer. The tiger trout are expected to be large enough to catch in 2004.
•Electric Lake. Ice conditions are extremely unsafe. Open water occurs along the edges, and the ice is fracturing. The limit on fish at Electric Lake is four trout.
At Electric Lake, there are no restrictions on the type of tackle which may be used, but the trout limit is the same as the statewide trout limit. Tributaries will be closed until July 12. When tributaries open, the limit will be two trout; and artificial flies and lures must be used.
•Ferron Reservoir. The trout limit is four. However, anglers may take a bonus limit of four brook trout in addition to the normal trout limit. All tributaries are closed until July 12.
•Gigliotti Pond. On May 10, the DWR will sponsor its annual kids fishing day. The pond will be filled and stocked by that time. The DWR will provide poles, reels and bait for those who don’t have their own fishing tackle. Local companies will provide prizes for the kids.
Children 14 years of age and older need a fishing license.
In 2003, the trout limit is four fish. All largemouth bass and bluegill must be immediately released.
•Green River Golf Course Ponds. The limit is four fish in the aggregate for all species.
•Huntington Creek. Fly fisherman, Tom Ogden recommends fishing the holes which hold more water.He recommends a number 10 Montana or a number 14 clear glass beadhead prince nymph. Another good pattern is the hare’s ear.
On the right fork (from Flood and Engineer’s Canyon upstream to Electric Lake) only artificial flies may be used. The trout limit is two.
On the left fork, only artificial flies and lures may be used. The harvest of brown trout is encouraged. A portion of Crandall Creek above the Genwal Mine is closed to fishing for 2003 to protect Colorado River cutthroat trout.
•Huntington Game Farm Pond. The DWR will sponsor its annual kids fishing event on May 3 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The DWR will provide rods, reels, tackle and bait for those who don’t have their own.
All anglers 14 years of age and older need a fishing license. The pond will be restocked shortly before the event.
In 2003, the limit is four fish in the aggregate for all species. For directions to the pond, please call the DWR office in Price at 435-636-0260.
•Huntington North Reservoir. Fishing continues to be slow. In 2003, the bass limit is two; all largemouth bass over 12 inches must be immediately released.
•Huntington Reservoir (near the top of Huntington Canyon). This reservoir is extremely dangerous, due to the potential for buckling and subsidence of the ice pack. Please stay off! Anglers are urged to wait until ice-off, before resuming fishing.
Tributaries are closed until July 12. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout or trout with cutthroat markings.
•Joes Valley Reservoir. The reservoir is ice-free! Conservation officer Draper describes fishing as good with dead minnows. Some anglers are using a plastic grub, tipped with a dead minnow.
In 2003, the trout limit is two. No more than one trout may be over 22 inches. All trout 15 to 22 inches must be released.
•Ken’s Lake. Ken’s Lake is receiving a lot of fishing pressure on warm days. Conservation officer Ed Meyers reports that success for rainbow trout has been fair to good. Meyers says shoreline anglers using rainbow PowerBait and boaters trolling with Rapalas are having the best luck.
Fly fishermen may want to try a red and green sparkle leech pattern. The best time to fish is early and late in the day. Mid-day success is poor. The lake has been recently stocked. In 2003, fishing is prohibited from a boat with a gas engine.
•Lake Powell. The Lake Powell fishing report home page is: http://www.wayneswords.com.
DWR biologist and project leader, Wayne Gustaveson, updates fishing conditions at this website weekly. He provides detailed information on locations, tackle, and techniques for each species in the lake.
•Millsite Reservoir. Fishing has been good, especially early or late in the day, using dead minnows or PowerBait fished on the bottom. Some good fly patterns are a size 14 beadhead prince nymph or size 12 San Juan worm. Some anglers have had good luck with egg sacs or salmon eggs on the bottom.
Fisheries biologist Craig Walker advises anglers to slowly crawl the bait along the bottom and be ready for very light, tapping bites. Walker’s catch ranged from 12 to 18 inches.
•Price River/Lower Fish Creek. Very little water is being released from Scofield Reservoir. Flows are very low in the upper reaches near the dam. The further anglers go from the dam, the better the flows become.
Angler Tom Ogden walks two to three miles down from the dam. He casts downstream at a 45 degree angle, and has good success on the retrieve using a size 14 beadhead prince nymph. Ogden says the brown trout average 13 to 14 inches.
From the railroad bridge approximately one mile below the Scofield Reservoir dam downstream to the confluence with the White River only artificial flies and lures may be used. The gate to the DWR property remains locked until the road dries out.
•Scofield Reservoir. There is plenty of open water on the south end and ever-widening open water along the edges (approximately 60 feet or more).
Shoreline angling has varied from fair to fabulous! Cutthroats and rainbows have ranged from one to three three pounds.
This past weekend, best success was had with trout eggs tied up in fine-meshed nylon sacks. Some anglers have been using salmon eggs, PowerBait and worms.
Ice-off is expected within a week or two. Anglers are advised to remember that tributaries are closed to fishing until July.