Mountain lakes and reservoirs are icing over. However, ice anglers should wait two to three weeks for the ice to thicken to a safe amount. Ice fishermen should always carry safety gear, including ice awls, a long rope with attached floatation device, and change of clothes.
Joes Valley Reservoir closed to fishing Nov. 1 and will remain so until Dec. 14. When the reservoir reopens to fishing, the trout limit will be two, of which only one can be over 22 inches. All trout 15 to 22 inches must be immediately released.
The intent is to protect the big spawning splake, which congregate in shallow water and are very vulnerable to foul hooking.
The big adult fish is needed in order to control the Utah chub population, which were illegally introduced by fishermen using live minnows as bait.
•Duck Fork Reservoir. There are no fish in Duck Fork Reservoir at the current time.
•Electric Lake. Anglers may take a limit of eight fish using any legal bait. However, ice is forming along the edges, making bait casting difficult.
•Gigliotti Pond. The DWR has restocked the Gigliotti Pond in recent weeks. About 500 rainbow trout as well as some bluegill and bass went into the pond in early to mid-October. Anglers are encouraged to harvest these trout before the pond freezes.
•Huntington Creek. It’s a good time of year for anglers to fish Huntington Creek.Water flows in the right fork are low due to reduced releases from Electric Lake. In a short while, snow and ice could make fishing tough.
From Flood and Engineer’s Canyon upstream to the dam, only artificial flies may be used. The limit is two fish. On the left fork, only artificial flies and lures may be used. Anglers are encouraged to harvest brown trout there.
•Huntington Reservoir (near the top of Huntington Canyon). Last week, fishing was good from a float tube using a black leech pattern. However, shoreline ice will soon preclude further open water fishing. Release of tiger trout is encouraged so that fish can grow larger. Please harvest any brown trout that are caught. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout and trout with cutthroat markings.
•Joes Valley Reservoir. The reservoir is closed to fishing as of Nov. 1 and will remain closed until Dec. 14. When the reservoir reopens to fishing, the trout limit will be two. No more than one trout may be over 22 inches. All trout 15 to 22 inches must be immediately released. This regulation change will protect the large spawning splake, which are very vulnerable in November and early December. In addition, splake from 15 to 22 inches are needed to help reduce the chubs, which were illegally introduced as live bait.
•Lake Powell. The Lake Powell fishing report home page is: http://www.wayneswords.com. DWR biologist and project leader, Wayne Gustaveson, updates fishing conditions at this website weekly. He provides detailed information on locations, tackle and techniques for each species in the lake. In 2002, an unlimited number of striped bass may be kept. The smallmouth bass limit is 20, and the largemouth bass limit is five.
•Scofield Reservoir. “Open-water fishing is over for the year at Scofield Reservoir,” remarks Louis Berg, aquatics manager. “Ice is just starting to form, but within a week, it is likely that ice will cover the entire lake.”
•Straight Canyon. Water flows are optimal for fishing. This is a great time of year to catch brown trout by fly-fishing with nymphs. Be careful on the icy rocks and slippery slopes.
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