Looking for those fish

By Sun Advocate

With the Fourth of July weekend coming up fishing will be a main attraction all across the southeastern part of the state.
“There will be a lot of interest in fishing this week as Utahns head to public land to recreate, picnic and camp,” said Brent Stettler of the Price Division of Wildlife Resources.
Since many who like to fish are also planning on staying in the great outdoors it is good to know that there are no fire restrictions in central or southeastern Utah. This is the first time in years that there haven’t been any.
Here is a report on many of the lakes and streams that are easily accesible from the Carbon County area for fishing.
Abajo Mountains. No recent report has come in on the fishing in this vicinity. Last week, fishing at Monticello Lake was slow to fair. Worms were the best bait. Fishing at Foy Reservoir was good, where most trout were caught on worms, PowerBait and small spinners. Lloyd’s Lake was slow. Fishing was poor at Recapture Reservoir.
Benches Reservoir. Fishing has ranged from fair to good. Better success occurs at dawn and dusk. Rainbow trout are 10-12 inches long. Anglers have been using PowerBait, worms, or a fly and bubble. Good PowerBait colors have been green, yellow, or rainbow sparkle. Fly fishermen have done well with a brown leech pattern.
Blue Lake (by Grassy Lake). Fishing ranges between poor and good, depending on time of day and angler experience.
Boulger Reservoir. Fishing success has ranged between fair and good. Try a straight nightcrawler fished with a full bubble, or cast silver spoons off the dam. Fly fishermen might try either an olive leech or crystal bugger with sinking line. Other popular baits include salmon eggs or PowerBait in orange or yellow colors. The tributary is closed until July 9.
Cleveland Reservoir. Fishing has been fair with a worm and slip sinker. Anglers trolling from a boat have had luck with Mepp’s spinners or Roostertails. A good cheese bait has been Zeke’s Sierra gold in yellow or orange.
Duck Fork Reservoir. Fishing continues to be very good. Tiger trout range between five and 20 inches with an average of 14-15 inches. Best fishing occurs in the early morning or just before dark. The best lure continues to be a gold Jake’s Spin-a-Lure. Good fly patterns include the renegade, mosquito, and green wooly bugger. Special regulations apply. Artificial flies and lures only. Closed to the possession of cutthroat trout. The tiger trout limit is two fish. Tributaries are closed until July 9.
Electric Lake. Fishing success has been sporadic. Cutthroats range generally between 12 and 16 inches. Good bait choices include a dead redside shiner or minnow fished in front of a full bubble, or a nightcrawler/salmon egg combination. A good lure has been a brown and black marabou jig near the inlet. Good fly patterns include red crystal buggers or red leeches. Tributaries are closed to fishing until July 9 to protect spawning cutthroat trout..
Ferron Reservoir. Fishing continues to be poor to fair. One fly fisherman had luck with a green sparkle leech. A bait fisherman did well with green PowerBait. One float tuber had luck with a tube jig. Brook trout are most commonly caught. They range between 12 and 13 inches. Tributaries are closed until July 9 to protect spawning trout.
Gigliotti Pond. No recent report has been received. Last week, fishing was good to excellent for anglers using silver Jake’s Spin-a-Lures or common baits.

Gooseberry Reservoir. The reservoir has been stocked. Last week, fishing was been best near the campground with nightcrawlers for cuts and chartreuse or spring green PowerBait for rainbows. Another good bait choice was salmon eggs. Fly fishermen had luck with brown leeches. Fishing success was variable, depending on the day and skill of the angler. Tributaries are closed to fishing until July 9.
Grassy Lake. Fishing has been fair. Worms have been the best bait. Trout average 10-12 inches.
Huntington Creek. Fly fishermen have had good luck with a number 10 Montana nymph or number 10-12 red San Juan worm. Other good patterns include a number 18 Griffith’s gnat, number 16 para Adams, or number 16 blue-winged olive pattern. Bait fishermen have had fair success with worms on the right fork. The water flow below the forks remains high and fast.
Huntington Reservoir. (on the Wasatch Plateau, Sanpete County) Fishing has been good for experienced anglers, using straight nightcrawlers, dead minnows or Rapalas. Please remember it is illegal to use live fish as bait. Some tiger trout are as long as 18 inches and weigh as much as two lbs. Good lure choices include a gold Jake’s Spin-a-Lure or tan Rooster Tail. Fly fishermen have had success with a brown leech or crystal bugger. Special regulations apply. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout or trout with cutthroat markings. Tributaries are closed until July 9th to protect spawning cutthroat trout.
Joes Valley Reservoir. The new boat ramp is open. Several 8-11 lb. splake were creeled during June. During a gill-netting survey, aquatics biologists captured eight splake between 6-9 lbs. and a good number in the 2-5 lb. range plus plenty of small ones. Dead chubs or chub meat have been the best baits. Special regulations apply. The limit is two trout, only one over 22 inches. All trout between 15-22 inches must be immediately released.
Lake Powell. The Lake Powell fishing report home page is: http://www.wayneswords.com.
Lasal Mountains. Fishing continues to be slow to fair at Clark’s Lake. Anglers might try wooly worms, silver spoons or worms. Fishing continues to be fair at Ken’s Lake, where most trout are being caught with PowerBait or worms. A few largemouth bass have been caught on worms and small spinners. Warner Lake is accessible, although fishing has been slow. Fishing has been good at Oowah with salmon eggs or black and silver Jake’s Spin-a-Lures. Angling at Hidden and Don’s lakes has been slow. Good bait choices include orange PowerBait or salmon eggs. Good spinners have been gold Jake’s or Mepp’s lures. Dark Canyon and Blue lakes are now accessible, although surrounded by snow. Fishing has been rather slow for 12 inch trout, hooked with worms. The road to Medicine Lake remains impassable. Fishing at the pond by the Miner’s Basin trailhead has been fair with brook trout being caught on small silver spoons and spinners.
LOWER FISH CREEK Access from U.S. Highway 6 is now open, and there’s a good volume of water flowing in the creek. Angler Tom Ogden recommends #10 Montana nymphs or #10-12 San Juan worms.
MILLER FLAT RESERVOIR Fishing has been good for anglers using either worms or rainbow sparkle PowerBait.
MILLSITE RESERVOIR Fishing has been fair. Best fishing occurs in the early morning. Spincasters have had luck with a silver or gold Jake’s Spin-a-Lure. Bait fishermen have had success with green or rainbow PowerBait. The water is turbid due to the high volume of run-off flowing into the reservoir. There’s a lot of natural food in the water, making conditions more difficult for anglers.
PETES HOLE Fishing has been good. Anglers have had about equal success with worms and spinners. This past week, good spinner colors were orange, silver and black.
POTTERS PONDS Good fishing has been reported for 10 inch rainbow trout. Worms and rainbow PowerBait are good bets. The Jake’s Spin-a-Lure has been the best spinner.
SCOFIELD RESERVOIR Fishing success has slowed down significantly, due to the large volume of natural foods in the water and insects at the water’s surface. Best fishing occurs in the early morning or late evening. Trollers have been having much better success than shoreline anglers or still-fishing boaters. Good bait choices include dead redside shiners retrieved behind a full bubble, or orange or rainbow sparkle PowerBait. Spincasters have been using black and gold Mepp’s spinners or gold Roostertails. Fly fishermen have used streamers, olive crystal buggers or black/red wooly buggers. Please remember that all tributaries are closed to fishing until July 9th.
SOUP BOWL Fishing has been good with worms.
STRAIGHT CANYON The water runs high and fast. Little fishing pressure.
WILLOW LAKE Fishing has been good. Spincasters have had luck with a Jake’s Spin-a-Lure, a red & black Daredevil, or with a Mepp’s spinner with a silver blade and black body. Fly fishermen have had success with green wooly buggers or a royal coachman pattern. Baits haven’t seemed to work as well, but nightcrawlers seem to be #1. Some tiger trout have been as long as 18-20 inches and have weighed as much as 2 � lbs. On the average, they range between 14-16 inches.
WRIGLEY SPRINGS RESERVOIR Fishing has been poor-fair. Smaller rainbows are being caught on Jake’s Spin-a-Lures, or with a worm and bubble.