Cool early November fishing report for southeastern Utah

By Sun Advocate

•Abajo Mountains. Fishing continues to be fair at both Blanding number 3 and number 4 with traditional baits, such as PowerBait, marshmallows, salmon eggs, and worms. Foy and Monticello reservoirs have been good with traditional baits and fair with spinners or flies. Lloyds Lake continues to be fair with traditional baits.
•Benches Reservoir. Bait fishermen should try chartreuse PowerBait or a nightcrawler/marshmallow combination. Fly fishermen have done well by wading out, and slow-stripping brown leech patterns.
•Boulger Reservoir. Fishing has been good from the dam for spincasters using gold Jake’s or gold Mepps spinners. Fly fishers have done well by slow-stripping brown leech patterns from pontoon boats or tubes.
•Cleveland Reservoir. Fishing is fair for trout up to 16 inches. Wildfire Power Nuggets or pink PowerBait have been the best baits off the west side. Trolling has been good with red/black Panther Martin spinners.
•Duck Fork Reservoir. Tiger trout are catchable-sized and offer good sport-fishing. Aquatics Biologist Justin Hart reminds anglers that the reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout. Only tiger trout may be harvested. Only artificial flies or lures may be used.
•Electric Lake. Fishing has improved on the north end from points. A nightcrawler/salmon egg combo has been most effective.
•Fairview Lakes. The lake level is as low as it will get. Fishing is good from shore with a nightcrawler/marshmallow combination or rainbow PowerBait. Fishing is best between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and is sporadic, but when it’s on, it’s on! Rainbow trout up to three pounds are being creeled. Fly fishing is good from tubes or pontoons with sinking line and brown wooly buggers or chartreuse/olive leech patterns. Black leeches have been effective in the evenings.
•Ferron Reservoir. Fishing continues to be good for rainbow, cutthroat and brook trout. A variety of flies, lures and baits have been used successfully. The trout limit is four, but anglers may take a bonus limit of four brookies.
•Gigliotti Pond. Aquatics biologist Justin Hart suggests that parents take their kids out fishing in the afternoon, when temperatures warm up. Good fishing is expected this fall. Hart recommends PowerBait, worms, and small spinners.
•Gooseberry Reservoir. Shore fishing has improved along the west shoreline near the campground. Orange sparkle PowerBait or chartreuse Zeke’s garlic cheese have been the most effective baits.
•Huntington Creek. Fly fishing has been good with a large attractor pattern, trailing a number 16 pheasant tail or beadhead prince nymph. Lower stretches of the creek have been good with a nightcrawler or #0 brass Vibrax spinner. Aquatics biologist, Craig Walker suggests that anglers use salmon eggs in the main stem of the creek, below the fly-only zone. Biologists have observed a lot of brown trout in spawning or post-spawning condition. Fish are likely making use of wayward eggs.
•Huntington Reservoir. (on the mountain) Fishing has dramatically improved. Best fishing has been on the west side with a straight nightcrawler behind a full bubble. Tiger trout average one pound. Fishing from a small boat has been good for anglers trolling gold Jake’s or pop gear and worms, especially on the southwest portion of the reservoir. Fly fishing has been fair from tubes or pontoon boats, slow-trolling purple or brown leech patterns on sinking line. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout and trout with cutthroat markings.
•Huntington North Reservoir. Troll with pop gear and a nightcrawler for best results.
•Joes Valley Reservoir. The boat ramp is out of the water. Little fishing pressure. November is a good month to resume fishing at Joes Valley. The trout limit is two with only one over 22 inches. All trout from 15-22 inches must be immediately released.
•Lasal Mountains. Conservation Officer Joe Nicholson reports that Warner, Dark Canyon and Medicine lakes have been slow with very light pressure. Oowah has been good with peacock caddis or hopper fly patterns. Bait fishermen have done well, using PowerBait and salmon eggs below bobbers. Trout run between 8-12 inches. Ken’s Lake has been fair with flies.
•Miller Flat Reservoir. Fishing for planted rainbow trout has been good. Move around the shoreline until fish are found. Red salmon eggs or a nightcrawler and marshmallow combination have been the best baits.
•Potters Ponds. Fishing has been good with rainbow PowerBait or dark leech patterns.
•Scofield Reservoir. Fishing has been good, although the lake level is very low. The dam cove has been good in the morning. The east shoreline has been best in the afternoon. Orange sparkle or pink PowerBait or a nightcrawler/marshmallow combination have been the best baits. Fishing from a small boat has been good north of the island or in the vicinity of the Boy Scout camp. Trollers have had good luck with monofilament line and gold Jake’s or pop gear and nightcrawler. Fly fishing has been good from a pontoon boat or tube, using red or black wooly buggers or chartreuse crystal buggers on sinking line. Fly anglers should slow-troll until fish are found and then stay in the general area. Try slow-stripping in 8-14 feet of water.