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Utah DWR Northwastern Region Fishing Report - August 8, 2008
#1
Warning: Whirling disease was found in the northeastern region of the state. Please make sure you clean, dry and sterilize waders, livewells and other fishing gear before venturing to another water.

Cleaning fish: Biologists now believe the disposal of fish parts, especially the head and skeleton, is one of the primary reasons whirling disease has spread to new waters. To avoid moving whirling disease and other undesired organisms, you should clean fish at home and send the parts to a landfill. If that isn't possible, please clean the fish and bury the parts at least 100 yards away from the water's edge. Do not move fish or fish parts from one water to another.

BIG SANDWASH RESERVOIR: Anglers report good fishing for rainbows. The cool spring extended the season for trout in the upper waters, but now they are starting to move deeper. During the cool hours, try fishing top-water flies and lures, and use either a bubble or floating baits to clear the submerged vegetation and boulders. As the water warms, go deeper. The water is being drawn down, but there is still plenty of good fishing. Big Sandwash is one of three reservoirs participating in The Fox Family Fishing Event. Specially marked fish may be turned in for a prize. If you catch a fish marked with a red tag, bring the fish or its clipped tag (if you caught and released the fish) to one of the following locations: the main gate at Steinaker State Park, one of several local businesses advertised on the radio or the Division office in Vernal. For more information, contact KIFX radio at 435-789-5101.

BULLOCK / COTTONWOOD RESERVOIRS: We have only had a few reports, and they indicate slow fishing for rainbows and fair success for warmwater fish at Bullock. Few tiger muskie are being taken. Remember, there's a special regulation on tiger muskie: you may keep one fish that's 40 inches or over; anything under 40 inches must be released. Division biologists recently moved smallmouth bass into Cottonwood to supplement the breeding population, which was decimated when the reservoir was drained. If you catch a smallmouth bass, please release it quickly. Small boats can be launched from undeveloped sites near the dams. The reservoirs are located approximately five miles north of the town of Gusher.

BROUGH RESERVOIR: Fishing has continued to remain slow for rainbows and browns. Fish have moved deeper to avoid the warm surface waters. The best time to fish seems to be early morning, when the waters are cool. You may see slow catch rates on this "trophy" fishery because to get large fish, management has to restrict the population numbers. To get to Brough, take State Route 88 south from US Route 40 (Ouray Road). Turn west at the second dirt road past the high power lines; there should be a sign. Follow this road approximately two miles and pay attention to the signs. The road can be quite rutted.

BROWNIE / SPIRIT LAKE: The road is open to Brownie and to Spirit. Recent reports from Brownie are of slow to fair fishing. Success is fair to good at Spirit. Stream fishing in the area is also good. Warning: whirling disease was found in this area. Please make sure you clean, dry and sterilize waders, livewells and other fishing gear before venturing to another water. Do not move fish or fish parts from one area to another. Cleaning fish: Biologists now believe the disposal of fish parts, especially the head and skeleton, is one of the primary reasons whirling disease has spread to new waters. To avoid moving whirling disease and other undesired organisms, you should clean fish at home and send the parts to a landfill. If that isn't possible, please clean the fish and bury the parts at least 100 yards away from the water's edge.

CALDER / CROUSE RESERVOIRS: Anglers report slow to fair fishing for some nice-sized, heavy fish. Recent surveys indicate a healthy population of fish survived the winter in Calder. Crouse was a complete kill, but it was restocked with catchable fish. The winterkill will only accelerate the Calder fishery change to trophy management. Under the previous management scenario, the water was stocked with considerably more fish to provide faster fishing for smaller fish. Calder has special regulations: you may use flies and lures only, no baits; all fish under 22 inches must be released immediately; the bag limit is one fish over 22 inches.

CURRANT CREEK RESERVOIR: Recent reports from anglers are of fair to good fishing. All access roads are open.

EAST PARK / OAKS PARK: The roads are open to East Park and Oaks Park. Anglers report slow fishing during the day and faster fishing in the cooler hours. Reports indicate most lures and baits are working; no particular technique is outfishing the others.

FLAMING GORGE: Surface water temps range from 68-71° F. Please be sure your boat and equipment are free of aquatic nuisance species before you launch in the reservoir. With the recent spread of quagga and zebra mussels in the West, it is important that you do not transport these destructive species into new waters.

Lake trout fishing: Anglers continue to report good to excellent fishing for 16- to 24-inch lake trout in the canyon. Areas to try are points next to deep water in Sheep Creek, Red Canyon, the Skull Creeks and Jarvies Canyon. Lures to try include tube jigs in white, chartreuse, glow or brown-all tipped with a small chunk of sucker or chub meat. Airplane jigs and jigging spoons are also working well. No-stretch line will help anglers feel strikes and set the hook better. Use a graph to see suspended fish and put your jig right in front of them. If trolling, use downriggers to get lures like needlefish, other spoons and Rapalas down near the bottom. Try and keep the lure within 10 feet of the bottom, unless you see suspended fish on the graph. If you see suspended fish, raise the lure to the correct depth. Fishing is usually best early in the morning or later in the afternoon. Unlike their larger relatives, the smaller lake trout are excellent table fare when grilled. There's an overabundance of lake trout under 28 inches in the Gorge, so do your part to help the fishery and keep a limit of eight fish. Larger lake trout fishing was fair to good at traditional structure spots from Big Bend south to Sheep Creek Bay. Big lake trout eat big food, so lures and jigs should be big also. Try larger tube jigs and jigging spoons, or if you're trolling, use large plugs, spoons or flatfish on a downrigger. Remember, only one fish over 28 inches may be kept.

Kokanee fishing: Anglers report good fishing around the Pipeline, Sheep Creek and Jarvies Canyon. Try fishing in depths of 40-55 feet or anywhere you see fish on the graph. Downriggers, long lining, lead weights and planer boards can get the small spoons like needlefish, triple teasers, or other erratic-moving lures down to the right depths. Troll at speeds from 1.5-2.5 miles per hour. Kokanee will move deeper as water temperatures warm. Once the surface temperature reaches 70°F, the fish will be in more than 45 feet of water, so look for them on your graph.

Rainbow fishing: There's good fishing on most areas of the reservoir. Almost 400,000 rainbows were recently stocked here. These fish are about eight inches long and can easily be caught by casting from shore or by trolling spoons, pop gear and spinners in shallow water. Anglers can use marshmallows and worms, flies such as woolly buggers, minnow imitation plugs, spinners and jigs to catch fish from shore. If you're fishing from a boat and looking for larger fish, try fishing in 30-40 feet with downriggers. Don't be afraid of harvesting some rainbows, as they are really tasty from the cold waters of the Gorge.

Burbot (Ling) fishing: For those interested in fishing for burbot, try the following techniques. If you're fishing from a boat, go out at night in water from 20-50 feet using glow jigs. Areas like Firehole, Lost Dog, Sage Creek, Confluence, Buckboard, Holmes Crossing, Anvil Draw, Skunk Cliffs and Marsh Creek are good places to try. Try fishing with jigs late in the afternoon, early morning or at night on points coming into reservoir. Use glow tube or curly tail jigs that are two to three inches in size and about 1/8 to 1/4 ounce in weight. Jigging spoons and jigging Rapalas also work well. Tipping with sucker or crayfish meat and using smelly jelly or similar scents in crayfish also seems to help. These fish are in depths from 40-90 feet but seem to be caught in 40-60 feet, mostly in the Wyoming end of the reservoir. During the day, these fish will move deep (70-100 feet), so jigging in deep water may produce some fish during the day. If you're fishing in Utah, try rocky points on Antelope Flat, Linwood Bay or Sheep Creek. Netting in the Wyoming end of the reservoir has shown a large increase in the number of burbot present. Larger fish are 30 inches and up to four or five pounds. These fish must be harvested if caught in Utah to help control their population. They were illegally introduced to the upper Green River drainage and could have a major impact on other fish species. There is no limit on burbot. You cannot waste the burbot in the Wyoming end of the reservoir, and they can be released there. However, please don't release any of these fish. They have been eating large amounts of crayfish and are also consuming kokanee salmon, smallmouth bass and critical food sources for other fish species. They could have an extreme impact on the reservoir fishery and should be removed by fishermen whenever possible. Burbot are an excellent eating fish with white, flaky flesh that is similar to a perch. They can be breaded and fried, or boiled and dipped in melted butter.

Smallmouth bass fishing: Smallmouth fishing is very good now that water temps are up. Fish early in the shallow, rocky areas where crayfish will be and then move deeper as the surface waters warm. Use twist-tail grubs on lead-head jigs or try small plastic worms, sinkos, twitch and crankbaits in about 5-20 feet of water off rocky shorelines and points. Crayfish imitation colors will work the best. Drop shot techniques will also work. If you're fishing in the canyon, keep a limit of 10 fish smaller than 10 inches to help thin out the population and increase growth on remaining fish.

GREEN RIVER (UPPER): The flows on the river have returned to normal, averaging 1,500 cfs with one peak per day. Visit the Bureau of Reclamation Web site at www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/cs/fgd.html for the latest information on flows. Anglers are reporting good to excellent fishing in most sections of the river. Of course, the 25,000 recently stocked rainbows are greatly helping the catch rates. Please remember the slot-limit size range has changed from 13-20 inches to 15-22 inches to make regulations more consistent statewide. Grasshoppers and other top-water imitation fishing lures work well. Also, try match the insect hatches, including baetis, midges and flying ants. Be aware of what's emerging and adjust accordingly. Nymphing is still a good technique, and streamers are also working. Try size 2-4 buggers such as Goldilox and patterns in olive, pink and white. Spin fishermen should try small Rapalas (floating, countdown and husky jerk); small spinners; black, brown or olive marabou jigs; and small jigs. Please check to see that your tube jigs do not contain fish-attracting scents; they are illegal to use in the river. New Zealand mudsnail densities have dramatically increased in several localized areas near Little Hole, and have been documented in most areas of the river. Please thoroughly clean mud and vegetation from waders, boats and fishing gear. If possible, completely dry equipment before leaving the area. A hot water bath (120°F) will kill mudsnails, and spraying equipment with 409 or a similar soap solution before drying will increase effectiveness. Anglers also need to be aware of those who are floating the river and not block the passage of their boats by standing in the deepest passages. A little courtesy can go a long way to stopping a potentially hazardous encounter for both anglers and boaters.

GREEN RIVER (LOWER): The water level is going down. There haven't been any recent reports from anglers.

MATT WARNER RESERVOIR: Anglers report fishing was much slower than usual. There have been quite a few reports of slow to fair fishing, although the fish seem to be larger. The cause of the slow fishing is yet another fishing mystery. Spring netting indicated a healthy population of fish survived the winter, plus the population was further supplemented with additional catchable rainbows.

MOON LAKE: The newest reports indicate fair to good fishing success. Moon Lake contains a variety of trout and kokanee, and fishing for all of these species should continue to be fair to good, especially in the cooler hours.

MOOSE POND: Moose Pond was drained to make some much-needed enhancements. The goal is to create a walking/fishing structure along the north end to provide safe access and places to fish. Eventually, visitors won't have to use the highway as a path. Part of this new walkway will be accessible to people who are physically disabled. Also, the inlet and outlet structures will be rebuilt; the pond will be made deeper (by dredging in some areas and stabilizing a crack in the bottom to create better fish habitat); and a nature/access trail will be created to the south. If everything goes as planned, the new Moose Pond access should be ready, the pond filled and the fish stocked again by early next summer.

PELICAN LAKE: Anglers continue to report fair to excellent fishing for bass and bluegill. The fish are moving deeper, so it's generally a matter of finding the schools.

RED FLEET RESERVOIR: Anglers are reporting good fishing for trout, bass and bluegill. Bass and bluegill are moving into deeper waters. Try fishing off rocky points, moss beds and other structures. Rainbows are also near the structure, but you should try fishing on the outside edge and in deeper waters. Note: During the warmer hours, there was an increase in waterskiing, wake boarding and jet ski activities this summer, so be prepared for large waves. Redfleet is one of three reservoirs participating in The Fox Family Fishing Event. Specially marked fish may be turned in for a prize. If you catch a fish marked with a red tag, bring the fish or its clipped tag (if you caught and released the fish) to one of the following locations: the main gate at Steinaker State Park, one of several local businesses advertised on the radio or the Division office in Vernal. For more information, contact KIFX radio at 435-789-5101.

STARVATION RESERVOIR: Anglers have been reporting mostly good fishing for walleye, bass and yellow perch. A few rainbows and browns have also been reported.

STEINAKER RESERVOIR: Anglers report good fishing for rainbows, bass and bluegill. Fishing was hot in and around the submerged vegetation and rocky structures. Note: During the warmer hours, there was an increase in waterskiing, wake boarding and jet ski activities this summer, so be prepared for large waves. Steinaker is one of three reservoirs participating in The Fox Family Fishing Event. Specially marked fish may be turned in for a prize. If you catch a fish marked with a red tag, bring the fish or its clipped tag (if you caught and released the fish) to one of the following locations: the main gate at Steinaker State Park, one of several local businesses advertised on the radio or the Division office in Vernal. For more information, contact KIFX radio at 435-789-5101.

UINTA MOUNTAIN LAKES AND STREAMS: The mountain trails are accessible, and fishing success is usually good. Fishing on mountain lakes and streams can be spotty, so if one isn't producing, try moving to another. With over 400 managed fisheries on the South Slope alone, it's easy to find a new place to fish. For current access information, please call the appropriate U.S. Forest Service office. Always go prepared for serious weather, as the Uinta Mountains are well known for frequent, unexpected storms and high winds. The Uinta Mountains have a four-trout limit with a bonus of four more brook trout (see the 2008 Fishing Guidebook for details).

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