Fishing report for southeastern Utah

By Sun Advocate

•Abajo Mountains – Dedicated hunter David Lacy visited the waters in San Juan County this past weekend and offered the following report. Fishing was excellent at Foy Reservoir with corn or worm-flavored Zeke’s, floating off the bottom.
Fishing conditions at Monticello Reservoir has ranged from good to excellent early and late with jigs and Daredevil spinners. At mid-day, Zeke’s garlic bait or salmon eggs seems to work best. Blanding 3 and Blanding 4 reservoirs offer good to excellent fishing respectively. Zeke’s garlic and salmon eggs have been the most effective fish-getters at 3, while white marshmallows or Zeke’s chartreuse cheese bait has worked best at Blanding 4.
•Benches Reservior – Angler Vaughn Silcox said he always has good luck at Benches and Boulger’s Reservoir with Pautzke salmon eggs. He added that over the July 4 holiday, he caught and released a combined total of almost three dozen fish at these ponds. Crystal buggers have performed well for fly fishermen.
•Blue Lake – (at the top of the Muddy Creek drainage) Tiger trout fishing has been good with PowerBait or with a fly and bubble in the evening.
•Boulger Reservoir – Refer to Benches Reservoir for bait recommendations.
•Cleveland Reservoir – Fishing success has been slow to fair for boats and shore anglers.
•Duck Fork Reservoir – Catch-and-release fishing has been good for cutthroat trout using a fly and bubble. Brown nymphs are recommended. Tiger trout are only about four inches long right now. Only artificial flies or lures may be used.
•Electric Lake – Fishing continues to be slow.. Tributaries opened on July 10th.
•Fairview Lakes – Fishing has been slow in the recent past. A straight nightcrawler is recommended. Float tubers can do moderately well by slow-trolling a gold Jake’s.
Fly fishermen might try bright-colored wooly buggers or brown leech patterns.
•Ferron Reservoir – Fishing success has been fair. Best results have come from PowerBait. Spincasters might try a yellow Panther Martin with red spots. The trout limit is four, but anglers may take a bonus limit of four brookies.
•Gigliotti Pond – The pond is now full stocked. The DWR and Castle Country Bassmasters plan to introduce bass and bluegill this week.
•Goodseberry Reservoir – Dedicated hunter Matt Rauhala reported good fishing over the weekend with marshmallows or PowerBait.
•Huntington Creek – On warmer days, Todd Munford recommends the following patterns: a 14 royal wulff, a 12 orange stimulator, or a 16 para-Adams.
On cloudy days, try a 16 beadhead pheasant tails or a 12 stonefly nymphs. Below the forks, anglers have had good success with nightcrawlers.
•Huntington Reservoir – Fishing in general has been poor, but is slightly better for fly fishermen. Munford recommends casting a gold Jake’s from the west shore or fly fishing from pontoons or tubes with dark (purple or black) leech patterns, slow-trolled on sinking line. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout and trout with cutthroat markings.
•Joes Valley Reservoir – Fishing continues to range between fair and poor. Splake as large as 15 lbs. are known to exist in the reservoir, according to biologists, who also report a fair number of seven-pounders. The trout limit is two; only one over 22 inches; all trout from 15-22 inches must be immediately released.
•Millsite State Park – Fishing has been good for trollers using pop gear tipped with PowerBait.
•Pete’s Hole – Fishing has been fair with worms or PowerBait.
•Potters Ponds – Rauhala reported excellent fishing with PowerBait, salmon eggs, worms, Panther Martins or silver fish..
•Scofield Reservoir – The best fishing has been in the tributaries, where anglers have been using streamers, nymphs, grasshoppers and Panther Martin spinners. Rauhala reported good fishing in the reservoir with PowerBait, worms, or flatfish. He said fly fishermen were having best success with leech patterns on sinking line.
Munford suggests trolling 3.5 colors of leaded line tipped with a perch scale flatfish or rainbow needlefish. Fly fishermen have had good success with olive crystal buggers from pontoons or tubes. Anglers are encouraged to clean up litter, which has become a nuisance along the shoreline.
•Soup Bowl – In the recent past, fishing for tiger trout has been good with a nightcrawler and bubble.
•Spinner’s Reservoir – Dedicated hunter Chad Kulow reported slow to fair fishing with a worm or PowerBait. Fly fishermen had some luck in the mornings and evenings with a renegade fly pattern.
•Straight Canyon Creek – The water is running too high for good fly fishing.
•Willow Lake – Fishing success has been excellent reported Leroy Neil, who talked to a fisherman who said he couldn’t keep the fish off his hook. The angler was using PowerBait and worms.