| Some anglers enjoy a Sunday afternoon of fishing. |
During the late summer heat, anglers need to exercise special effort in order to be successful. Fish very early in the morning or very late in the day. Use a boat, pontoon or float tube for best results. Read the DWR weekly fishing report: www.wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/reports.php and visit fishing forums on the Internet.
•Abajo Mountains. Sergeant Justin Shirley reported excellent fishing at all Monticello area lakes and reservoirs. Monticello and Foy were very good for planter rainbows and tiger trout in the shallower areas of both lakes. Lloyds Lake was excellent for rainbows and bluegill.
•Benches Reservoir. No recent report. Most trout are 10-12 inch rainbow trout. Bait suggestions include salmon eggs or green PowerBait. Fly fishermen may try a number 12 black wooly worm or small Adam’s.
•Boulger Reservoir. No recent report. Try fishing from a tube with olive or brown leeches on sinking line. Shoreline fishermen should try a full bubble, three feet of leader and a straight nightcrawler.
•Cleveland Reservoir. No recent report. Trout range from 10-12 inches. Boats have better success than bank anglers.
•Electric Lake. No recent report. Fishing has been best from a float tube or boat. Fly fishing in the early morning or evening is recommended. Try using green wooly buggers, black gnats or black nymph patterns. Boaters can do well by trolling with pop gear and worms. Trout range from 12-14 inches.
•Ferron Reservoir. One angler caught 18 trout in three hours using a black and yellow Panther Martin spinner. Trout range from 12-17 inches. Brook trout are in the 13-14 inch size class. Access to Ferron Reservoir may be blocked for a week, beginning July 25th, while the U.S. Forest Service conducts a controlled burn in the area.
•Green River. North of the town of Green River One party of anglers fished an eddy about 2.5 miles above Swasey’s boat launch. All members of the party caught at least 10 catfish apiece. A few caught 30 fish. They used pieces of worm or cut fish on a size six or eight hook. Two pieces of split shot were anchored 18 inches above the hook. The larger catfish were in the 12-inch size class. Fishing was “furious” in the early morning, but slowed down as the day progressed.
•Huntington Creek. No recent report. Fly recommendations include a renegade, gray hackle peacock, royal coachman, mosquito, green wooly bugger or prince nymph. Good spinners include the Kastmaster or Jakes. Please help us prevent the spread of whirling disease by cleaning boots and waders before leaving the creek.
•Huntington State Park. Aquatics Biologist Justin Hart reported that largemouth bass were taken by shore anglers on the east side of the dam and on the north side of the lake near the inlet. Shore anglers had best success with small plastic baits, such as the Senko soft jerk bait. Bass were also caught by boaters using similar artificial baits.
•Mammoth Reservoir. Biologist Justin Hart reported shore anglers having good success still-fishing night crawlers from a boat. Most tiger trout averaged 12 inches. One boat did well, trolling flatfish. Tom Ogden fly fished on July 24, but caught only five fish in five hours�the largest was a 16-inch tiger trout. From Randall Stilson comes an excellent rig for tiger trout. Remove the treble hook from a silver Kastmaster. Attach 20-inches of leader and a number eight bait hook. Thread on a nightcrawler, letting it hang off the hook. With a syringe, inflate the nightcrawler with air to float it off the bottom. Cast out the Kastmaster and bait and allow them to settle to the bottom. Periodically jerk the line on the retrieve, allowing the bait to sink between jerks.
•Joes Valley Reservoir. No recent report. Boaters have had best success by trolling pop gear and worms. Still-fishing from a boat can also be successful with chub meat. Special regulations apply. The trout limit is two. Only one may be over 22 inches. All trout between 15-22 inches must be immediately released.
•Lasal Mountains. Dedicated hunter Steven Todd Day surveyed anglers on the LaSal Mountains on 7-23-06 and provided the following report. Fishing was excellent at Hidden Lake with Rooster Tail spinners. Baits didn’t seem to work as well. Dons Lake provided poor fishing. No recommendations for Dons. Oowah Lake offered excellent fishing for baitcasters. The number one bait was rainbow PowerBait, although worms and salmon eggs worked almost as well. Fishing was excellent at Warner Lake for fly fishermen. Bait fishermen using salmon eggs were next most effective. Dark Canyon provided only fair fishing. The best success was had by a spincaster using silver spinners. Fishing was good at Medicine Lake for fly fishermen using a mosquito pattern.
•Millsite Reservoir. Fishing success has ranged from poor to good. Last week, Craig Funk and his partner caught limits of fish trolling Rooster Tails. The two anglers released about 20 fish. Cutthroat and rainbow trout averaged two lbs. apiece. Two 6-lb. tiger trout were reportedly caught late last week
•Potters Ponds. Success continues to range from poor to good. Fish at first light or at dusk for best results.
•Scofield Reservoir. No recent report. Best fishing occurs at daybreak. Good fishing has been reported for boaters, trolling pop gear and worms.
•Willow Lake. Dedicated hunter James Kulow, Sr. surveyed angler success on 7-22-06 and watched two anglers, who caught 20 rainbow trout in 3 hours, using Gummy Bears! Other baits and lures seemed ineffective. Tigers range up to 14 inches.
•Wrigley Springs. Fishing was slow last Saturday. No recommendations. Trout range up to 16 inches.