Lower Fish Creek?

[Envenomation09]

Thinking about fishing it soon, never been. Anyone been down there recently? Wondering about conditions, general areas, and what bugs to tie/bring. Is it worth it to head down there? With the fish kills that have happened in past years and everything?
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[gonfishn]

I have been wondering the same thing myself. I haven't been in a few years and want to get back down there but would hate to 'waste' one of my limited days off to go all the way down there and find it hasn't recovered. I hope someone who has been there recently chimes in.
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[BDUtah]

I haven't been there recently. The last time I went there was about 2 years ago, and it was infested with chubs - the more upstream the worse it was.

I do know that the DWR recently planted 20,000 fingerling trout there: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?s...7226030569

However, it will be awhile obviously until they grow. But with so many chubs that have infested the river, I wonder how well those stocked trout will do. However, you would think that a few big monster trout might be in there since there are so many chubs to eat. [laugh]

If you go, give us a report on the conditions, and if you actually do catch any trout. I used to fish Lower Fish Creek frequently, and I am absolutely sickened by the chub infestations that have taken over in the past 5 years or so. Personally, I won't go again unless I hear that the chub problem has dramatically decreased, and I doubt that will happen without a poisoning of the river - although I am no biologist so (hopefully) I am wrong and it can recover.
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[kochanut]

correct me if i am wrong, but didn't they shut the water from the outflow off for several days down there around 2 or so years ago?
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[arctic_grayling]

If you like chubs, finger-length trout, and more chubs, that stream is the place for you.
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[Envenomation09]

Guess I'll go someplace else. Thanks for the info.
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[Browntrout]

Each year the flows are shut off from around Nov. through April but with a gradual draw down. In October 2012 during the spawn the dam was shut off for 3 days cold turkey. The result: Massive fish kill.
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[Lonnie]

Apparantly a lot of people don't know how to fish that river. First if you fish from the dam down there is a real chub issue. But if you go through the fishermens access off hyway 6 (you will need 4 wheel drive) It is just after you cross the river headed to price. You don't have those problems, I was there a month ago and did very well on 14-18" browns. They have stocked the lower sections of the river and down through price canyon with about 20000 4" browns for atleast the last 10 years. What few chubs decide to swim down below the first train bridge below the dam (there are 3 in the canyon) Those chubs make excellent feed for the big browns in there. With that in mind think about minnow imitating flies and lures. Muddlers are a personal favorite for me. If you take the downstream access off hyway 6 and stay below the second train bridge area (just up stream from where that road hits the river) There is excellent fishing. Scofeild and the upper level of the stream has always had chub issues off and on between poisonings (3 in the last 50 years) But the lower stream is always good. I would recommend it if you like to target large browns. Good Luck
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[a_flyfishin_kid]

I went today to check it out for the first time without any prior knowledge of this thread or of what people posted on it. I started at the dam and hiked down about two miles along the railroad tracks. Along the way I saw the river was very slow moving and was infested with chubs. It also was choked with weeds. There were still lots of weeds where we stopped hiking but we had limited time so we tried it anyway. Didn't catch or see a single trout as we walked back towards the dam but we did see some massive carp. I was wet wading and the water felt very warm. It felt barely colder than a swimming pool which worried me about trout being able to survive in it. Saw some hoppers and a couple golden stones flying around. There must me something I'm missing about this creek.
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[jhebbert]

A couple friends and I fished it for the first time a few weeks back. The area right below the dam is infested with chub as mentioned, but if you walk down to where the current picks up you can find plenty of trout. In the evening we got into a great caddis hatch and during the day we had a ton of fun throwing hoppers in the riffles and runs.
The best fish we landed was a 16" cutthroat, but I hooked and lost a 20"+ brown. If you ask me, then it's definitely worth the trip out and the hike to get to the better fishing.
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[albinotrout]

I run down through price canyon weekly and I never seem to see people fishing that any more. Used to 8-9 years ago though.
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[Lonnie]

You really need to get down to the area by the 2nd train bridge, Did you get that far down?. It is easier to access from the fishermans access off hyway 6 ( dirt road through the private ground, marked with a dwr sign on the fence)
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