Fishing report for southeastern Utah

By Sun Advocate

During the summer heat, fishing success generally tapers off. To improve the odds, fish in the early morning or late evening. Also fish in deeper water.
Pay attention to what natural foods the fish may be eating. At this time of year, Cicadas and grasshoppers are very abundant. Hook one of them and float it downstream. That’s an effective fish-getter.
Besides natural baits, try to imitate insect hatches that may be taking place. Artificial flies are very effective this time of year.
Before going to a favorite fishing hole, read the most current fishing report available. These can be found weekly in the Sun Advocate or by visiting the Division of Wildlife Resources Internet website at www.wildlife.gov.
All popular waters have been stocked. Most waters have already received their total annual allotment of fish from the hatcheries.
•Cleveland Reservoir. Fishing has been slow. The best baits have been wildfire Power Nuggets and chartreuse PowerBait. Grasshopper fly patterns and gold or silver Panther Martin lures have been effective recently.
In June, the reservoir was planted with 4,000 catchable-size rainbow trout. No further stocking will occur this year, due to concerns about the reservoir drying up.
•Duck Fork Reservoir. Duck Fork will be replanted with Colorado River cutthroat trout and fingerling tiger trout this summer. The tiger trout are expected to be large enough to catch in 2004.
Duck Fork regulations will protect the Colorado River cutthroat population for future egg collection and fish transplant operations. The DWR hopes that this measure will help keep the Colorado cut from being listed as threatened or endangered.
•Electric Lake. Small boats can be hand-carried to the water. Trolling anglers have had fair success with Super Dupers, black fury Mepp’s, tan roostertails and gold Jake’s.
Bait fishermen have had good success with night crawlers tipped with red salmon eggs on the north end. Chass Henrie reported anglers catching 12 to 14 inch cutthroats with gold and red Jake’s, night crawlers and PowerBait.
The limit at Electric Lake is four trout which may be taken on any type of bait, lure or fly. Tributaries are closed until July 12. When tributaries open, the limit will be two trout, but artificial flies and lures must be used.
•Ferron Reservoir. The water level has dropped significantly, due to dam repair work. Worms and floating cheese worked to some degree last weekend, although fishing success has been slow.
The reservoir was stocked with 3,000 nine to10 inch rainbow trout in June.
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. The pond water level has risen. Trout fishing is poor, although catch-and-release fishing for bluegill and bass has been fair.
The DWR is concerned about the widespread hooking mortality of bass and bluegill evident along the shoreline. If a bass or bluegill is caught and the removal of the hook will cause excess bleeding and injury, please cut the line and immediately release the fish. The fish will survive with the embedded hook, which will eventually dissolve.
•Gooseberry Reservoir. A local angler reports fair fishing around the main campground and off the dam with a night crawler and marshmallow. The angler recommends a red crystal bugger behind one half bubble and four feet of leader.
•Huntington Creek. The best fishing has been on the left fork or below the forks. It is recommended that large attractor patterns, such as number14 red and yellow humpies, number 12 royal wulffs or number 12 hopper patterns be used. Anglers should also try using small nymph patterns four to six inches below the attractor. Good nymph choices include: RS2, disco midge or pheasant tails.
On the right fork (from Flood and Engineer’s Canyon upstream to Electric Lake) only artificial flies may be used and the trout limit is two. On the left fork, only artificial flies and lures may be used. The harvest of brown trout is encouraged.
•Huntington North Reservoir. Trout fishing continues to be slow. More trout will be stocked in October. Largemouth bass fishing has been fair to good.
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). Fishing has generally been slow, because fish have moved to deeper water. Early morning and late evening are the best times to fish. The north shore has been most productive.
It is recommended that anglers use a straight night crawler behind a full bubble with four feet of leader. Keep the night crawler moving slowly for best results.
Fly fishermen have had fair success with dark colored leech patterns and crystal buggers. Dark colored spinners have also been effective.
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 boat ramp is open and the water level is good for boating. Both shoreline and boat anglers have had fair to good success this past week jigging or retrieving three to four inch white grubs, tipped with a piece of chub meat. One boat angler had luck trolling with a triple teaser.
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 immediately released.
•Miller Flat Reservoir. The reservoir has been fishing quite slow. Casting gold Jake’s or green sparkle PowerBait from the dam has been successful. In addition, a dry fly and bubble in the morning or evening continue to be effective.
•Millsite Reservoir. The reservoir is full. Velveeta cheese or garlic cheese bait continue to work, although fishing success has dropped.
•Price River/Lower Fish Creek. Flows from the reservoir continue to be high. 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. Good brown trout fishing continues.
•Scofield Reservoir. Dedicated hunter Mike Jennings reported very good shoreline fishing with dead minnows, which may be caught at the reservoir. He also said that bank fishermen using red and white Daredevils or rainbow or yellow-green PowerBait were doing well.
Chass Henrie reported good success with yellow, green and orange sparkle PowerBait. Henrie saw anglers catching fish with Jake’s spinners as well. Jennings noted that fly fishermen were having luck using renegade and wooly bugger patterns. Other good fly patterns have been brown and olive leeches, and rust, white or red crystal buggers.
Todd Munford of Fairview recommends using a minnow trap, baited with glazed donuts to catch the redside shiners which are spawning in the shallows on the west end. He also says that dead shiners make the best bait.
Munford fished the shiners three and one half feet behind a half bubble with a number eight hook. He caught mostly cutthroats, which averaged around 16 inches and one 22 inch rainbow trout.
Boat fishermen have done well east of the island with rainbow or lemon twist PowerBait behind a full bubble.