Mid-August southeastern Utah fishing report

By Sun Advocate

Until autumn arrives, it’s very important to fish during the cool hours of the day. Early morning or late evening anglers will always catch more fish than the mid-day bait dunkers. In addition, artificial flies and lures will often have the advantage over baits during the heat of summer. Baits are more effective, when floated off the bottom, because that’s where the trout will be, as they search for colder water.
Holders of valid fishing licenses qualify for entrance fee discounts at state parks from Tuesdays through Thursdays until the end of the year.
Now in effect is a fishing license requirement for 12 and 13 year-olds.
•Abajo Mountains. Sergeant J. Shirley checked fishermen over the weekend. He said that Monticello Lake provided fair fishing for anglers using dry flies or floating bait. The algal growth has made fishing very difficult. Foy Lake offered better fishing, even though it is similarly plagued by algae. Recapture has been fishing poorly for pike or trout, but can be good for bullheads with traditional catfish baits. Blanding number three is the best Blanding-area reservoir. The best fishing will occur in the morning. Blanding number four produces larger trout than number three. At number four anglers should seek the deeper water.
•Academy Mill Reservoir. Ray Allred backpacked to the pond on Saturday. He caught and released 15 10-inch tiger trout in two hours, using a number 10 brown leech.
•Benches Reservoir. Success has ranged from fair to good. One creel survey technician recommended spring green PowerBait on a treble cheese hook with a slip sinker and length of leader. Another technician suggested a pink PowerBait/worm combo. One spincaster had good luck with a gold Gitzit. A silver spoon is Casey Mickelson’s choice. Fly fishermen should take along a black gnat for evening surface feeding.
•Blue Lake. Fishing has been good with worms or flies.
•Boulgers Reservoir. Success ranges from one extreme to the other. Dedicated Hunter Louis Santi rated fishing as poor on one day; whereas Dedicated Hunter Kyle Medley described the catch rate as excellent. A nightcrawler tipped with a white marshmallow is recommended.
•Cleveland Reservoir. Fishing success swings from poor to good. A worm/PowerBait combo can be effective. Good PowerBait colors include lime and lemon-twist.
Todd Munford reported fair fishing for off-shore bows on the northwest side. Todd recommends a nightcrawler tipped with a yellow marshmallow.
Tom Ogden tube-fished a week ago and landed six bows, ranging from 12-18 inches. He used fast-sinking line in 15-20 feet of water with #8 wooly bugger or leech. The darker colors seemed to work the best.
•Duck Fork Reservoir. Aquatics Biologist Darek Elverud fished Duck Fork on Saturday, and reported good fishing for tigers, ranging from 9-17 inches. Darek recommends a black, olive or brown wooly bugger. The bite is light and a slow retrieve is best.
•Electric Lake. Fishing success has been poor for several weeks. Still-fishing from a boat with a dead minnow holds the greatest chance for success.
•Fairview Lakes. Todd Munford of King’s Outdoor World reports that lake levels are low, concentrating the trout. Best fishing will be had from a tube or toon. Trout are hitting crawlers. Fly fishermen do best with a black leech pattern on sinking line.
•Ferron Reservoir. Slow fishing has prevailed until late. Boats are landing most fish. The top lures are silver Jake’s or Panther Martin’s.
Conservation Officer Casey Mickelson recommends green wooly buggers or deer fly imitations.
•Gigliotti Pond. The pond was restocked last week, and fishing has been good with a worm and bubble, says Conservation Officer Chris Pugliese.
•Gooseberry Reservoir. The reservoir continues its season of poor fishing. For best results, fish early or late.The algal bloom has made bad fishing even worse.
•Grassy Lake. Don Candelaria reported good fishing with worms and PowerBait.
•Huntington Creek. Fishing flips between fair and good. Fly fishermen have a number of patterns to choose from: black ants, black gnats, midges, and Chernobyl ants or elk hair caddis. Browns are 11-13 inches
•Huntington North State Park. Last week, Clifton Elliot of Price landed a 25 pound channel catfish from the bank with a nightcrawler. He was fishing in the late evening and floated the crawler off the bottom with a barrel sinker and two and a half feet of leader. Elliot told a friend he had seen another cat, which he guessed weighed more than 35 pounds. The water level is extremely low, and the ramp is out of the water.
•Mammoth Reservoir. Fishing success runs cold and hot. Try a worm/cheese combo using orange glitter PowerBait. Motorboats with more than 10 horsepower are prohibited. This reservoir has special fishing regulations.
•Joes Valley Reservoir. Dedicated Hunter Don Candelaria reported poor fishing success. Dead chubs are the best bait year-round. Special regulations apply at this reservoir. The limit is two fish. Only one may be over 22 inches. All trout from 15-22 inches must be immediately released.
•LaSal Mountains. Sergeant J. Shirley reported excellent fishing at Oowah and Dark Canyon. Shirley noted that the biggest fish are coming from Dark Canyon with a Jake’s Spin-a-Lure. Trout can be caught in the early morning with PowerBait or marshmallows at Ken’s Lake.
DWR Habitat Specialist Duane Swasey recommends live grasshoppers at Don’s Lake.
The Mill Creek Bridge remains under construction and will be impassable until November. Anglers wanting to fish Oowah must access the lake from the south end of the LaSal Mountain Loop Road. Warner Lake fishermen will need to come from the Castle Valley side.
•Lower Fish Creek. Success ranges from fair to good. One spincaster reported good luck with a yellow Panther Martin with red dots. Todd Munford of King’s Outdoor World recommends a number 18 Griffith’s gnat or number 12 hopper.
•Miller Flat Reservoir. Slow fishing continues. No recommendations.
•Millsite Reservoir. Park Manager Dan Richards recommends trolling with Shad Raps or Roostertails at a depth of 6-12 feet. Pop gear and spoons have also been effective.
• Petes Hole. Fishing success has been good with a worm/PowerBait combo. Rainbow is a good color.
•Potters Ponds. Fishing ranges from slow to fair with bites coming in spurts. Try a worm/PowerBait combo.
•Scofield Reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation intends to drop the reservoir about five feet for dam improvements. State Park Manager Dan Richards says that the Madsen Bay ramp may be out of service by mid-August. The Mountain View ramp is expected to remain open until September.
Fishing success ranges widely with lots of contradictory reports.
A week ago, DWR Accounting Technician Tressa Christianson reported still-fishing with a party of five around the island. In four hours, the party caught about 50 rainbows, which averaged more than two pounds with a 17-inch length. The party used rainbow sparkle PowerBait and/or rainbow PowerNuggets, floated off the bottom with a slip sinker and two to three feet of leader.
A few lures stand out from the rest, a black Panther Martin with yellow dots, and Jake’s Spin-a-Lure.
•Soup Bowl. Dedicated Hunter Don Candelaria described fishing as excellent with worms and rainbow PowerBait. Wooly buggers are a good fly choice.
•Straight Canyon. Try worms or black Panther Martins with yellow dots.
•Wrigley Springs Reservoir. There has been a partial fish kill in recent weeks. Summer heat and low oxygen have caused a number of trout to “belly up.”
•Willow Reservoir. Fishing is improving since the Jungle fire. The best baits are green PowerBait or grasshoppers. Most trout are about 11-inches long. Conservation Officer Casey Mickelsen recommends green wooly buggers or deer fly imitations.