| Stephen Butkovich enjoys an afternoon of fishing at Gigliotti Pond. After watching several fishing shows, Butkovich felt that it was time that he hit the water for some fishing action. Although a leak has errupted at the Helper pond, the fishing action continues to be successful. In fact, the fishing limit at the pond was recently increased to eight trout per angler. |
Effective June 19, the daily bag and possession limit for trout at the Gigliotti Pond in Helper has been doubled to eight. However, anglers are still not allowed to harvest any largemouth bass or bluegill. The increased trout limit will remain in effect until August 31. On September 1, the limit will revert back to four trout.
This emergency regulation change was made necessary because of a leak in the pond. Draining may be necessary to fix the leak. The DWR encourages anglers to harvest the trout they catch so that these fish are not wasted. Also on June 19, the hatchery mistakenly restocked the pond with 1,300 trout. Aquatics manager Louis Berg strongly encourages anglers to go fishing and harvest these trout before the pond drains further.
It was reported last week that the daily bag and possession limits had been doubled for all game fish at Cleveland Reservoir, Miller Flat Reservoir, Monticello Lake and Recapture Reservoir. This week, the daily bag and possession limits have been doubled for all game fish at Ken’s Lake and Lloyd’s Lake. Both reservoirs may be drained due to drought conditions.
This will be a good year for anglers who fish the reservoirs at the right time, according to Tom Pettengill, DWR sport fisheries coordinator. “At each water there will be a period of time when the water will be low enough that fish will be somewhat congregated, but there will still be enough water that the fish will actively feed,” he explained. “Anglers who fish during that time period should do really well.”
•Abajo Mountains. Foy Reservoir continues to provide good fishing with bait and lures. Fishing remains fair at Monticello Reservoir. Bait fishing continues to be good at Blanding number three, which will be regularly stocked during the summer. Blanding number four is almost drained. At Recapture Reservoir, rainbow trout fishing has been fair for boat anglers trolling with spinners. Northern pike fishing has been good for anglers trolling with crankbaits. The daily bag and possession limit for all game fish has been doubled at Lloyds Lake until November 1, due to low water conditions and expected loss of fish.
•Benches Pond. Conservation officer Stacey Taggart reports fair fishing with PowerBait, worms and marshmallows. The pond will be repeatedly stocked throughout the summer.
•Boulger Pond. Fair fishing has been reported for anglers using PowerBait, worms and marshmallows.
•Cleveland Reservoir. This reservoir has been stocked with its total annual allotment of 4,000 rainbow trout. The daily bag and possession limits have been raised to eight fish. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the fish before the reservoir drains, which is expected by mid-August. Fishing has been excellent for 10 to 15 inch trout in good condition, using spinners, PowerBait or night crawlers. Conservation officer Kip Draper recommends red and green PowerBait with sparkles.
•Colorado River. Conservation officer Edward Meyers reported good fishing for catfish up to three pounds. Preferred baits include shrimp, worms and liver.
•Duck Fork Reservoir. Aquatics manager, Louis Berg reports good fishing for eight to 16 inch tiger and cutthroat trout using a variety of spinners. All tributaries are closed to fishing until July 13. The trout limit is two. Fish may be caught only with artificial flies and lures.
•Electric Lake. Right at dusk, fly fishermen have been doing well with dry fly patterns. The water level is so low that boats cannot be launched. Tributaries are closed until July 13. A tributary is any moving water, which empties into a reservoir, even if that water is running within the lakebed.
•Ferron Reservoir. Fishing has been excellent for nice-size trout with a night crawler and marshmallow combination. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the illegally introduced brook trout, which may eventually overpopulate the lake, resulting in small fish in poor condition. Please remember that all tributaries are closed until the second weekend in July.
•Gigliotti Pond. In order to fix the leak, the pond bottom may need to be partially dried out. The DWR hopes to maintain enough of a pool to permit the survival of bass and bluegill. The hatchery mistakenly planted another 1,300 trout in the pond on June 19. These trout will probably die, so anglers are encouraged to keep the fish they catch, so they are not wasted. Effective June 19, the daily bag and possession limit for trout has been doubled from four to eight fish. Bass and bluegill must still be released. On September 1, the bag and possession limit will revert back to four fish.
•Gooseberry Reservoir. Fishing has been fair with PowerBait, worms and marshmallows.
•Huntington Creek. Fishing has been good in the fly-only zone. The forks of the Huntington were stocked on June 19 with nine to 10 inch rainbow trout. Harvest of brown trout on the left fork is encouraged, where the limit is four fish. On the left fork, fish must be taken with artificial flies or lures. On the right fork, from Flood and Engineer’s Canyon upstream to Electric Lake dam, only two trout may be taken and artificial flies must be used. No bait or lures are allowed in this section.
•Huntington Game Farm Pond. Bass and bluegill may still be caught. The bluegill limit is 10. The bass limit is four, but only one bass larger than 15 inches. Limits are the same for all licensed anglers and unlicensed anglers under 14 years of age.
•Huntington North Reservoir (near the city of Huntington). Fishing continues to be slow for trout. Jigs have been working well for largemouth bass, where the limit is two. All bass over 12 inches must be immediately released.
•Huntington Reservoir (near the top of Huntington Canyon). Fishing success has been sporadic for 12 to 14 inch tiger trout with night crawlers. Release of tiger trout is encouraged so that fish can grow larger. Any brown trout caught should be harvested. The reservoir is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout and trout with cutthroat markings.
•Joes Valley Reservoir. No report this week. Fishing has been poor to fair for rainbow trout. Anglers are encouraged to release all larger splake for control of the abundant Utah chub population. The splake limit is two fish. All splake between 15 to 20 inches must be immediately released.
•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.
•LaSal Mountains. The daily bag and possession limit for Kens Lake has been doubled for all game fish until November 1 due to low water conditions and expected loss of fish. Trout fishing will be best in the early morning and late evening hours. For catfish, nighttime hours are best. On June 1, a 25 pound catfish was landed at Kens Lake. Bass fishing has been good for small bass with plastic jigs. Fishing at Dark Canyon has been fair to good. Worms or PowerBait is recommended. Hidden Lake continues to provide excellent fishing. Salmon eggs and marshmallows are recommended. Dons Lake has been slow to fair for small fish with bait and lures. Good fishing has been reported at Oowah Lake with spinners.
•Lower Fish Creek. The road to the DWR property is open and dry. Dry flies are recommended.
•Miller Flat Reservoir. The reservoir has been stocked with its total annual allotment of 3,000 rainbow trout. Last week the daily bag and possession limits were raised to eight trout to help anglers harvest the trout before the reservoir drains. Fishing has been excellent for 10 to 12 inch rainbow trout, using worms, PowerBait or a worm/marshmallow combination. Roostertails have done well according to conservation officer Kip Draper.
•Millsite Reservoir. Fishing success has slowed down.
•Petes Hole. Petes Hole has been stocked with 1,800 rainbow trout. Good fishing can be expected.
•Potter’s Ponds. Fishing success has ranged from good to excellent for 10 to 12 inch rainbow trout with PowerBait and night crawlers.
•Scofield Reservoir. Fly fishing has been good for 14 to 16 inch trout on the east side of the lake using green wooly buggers. Bait casters have been using a worm/marshmallow combination. Boaters trolling with spinners, lures and pop gear have enjoyed fair success with some limits being taken. Please be advised that all tributaries remain closed until July 13. A tributary is considered to be any moving water, which empties into the body of the reservoir, even if the channel of water lies within the reservoir’s basin. Bear in mind that much of the land around the reservoir is private. Please keep vehicles off the shoreline and fish only in designated areas.
•Soup Bowl. The first stocking of the year occurred three weeks ago.
•Willow Reservoir. Good fishing has been reported for eight to 12 inch tiger trout and rainbow trout using a variety of spinners.
•Wrigley Springs Reservoir. Jake’s Spin-a-Lures are recommended.