Fishing Report for Southeastern Utah

A tiger trout and three rainbow trout at a fish cleaning station at Scofield Reservoir.

Photo by Randall Stilson

ABAJO MOUNTAINS: (October 28) A week ago, Conservation Officer Paul Washburn reported good fishing at Lloyds Lake with a gold or silver Jakes Spin-A-Lure. Caught rainbows ranged from 7 to 13 inches. Try fishing the area around the dam.

BOULGER RESERVOIR: (October 28) Fly-fishing is good with a floating line and a midge or caddis pattern.

ELECTRIC LAKE: (October 28) The lake was sampled by the DWR on Oct. 15. Nets contained a fairly even balance of tiger and cutthroat trout, indicating good survival of stocked fish. Most trout ranged from eight to 18 inches. More fish were netted this year than the last time sampling occurred. Trout appeared healthy and well fed. Fortunately, no zebra mussels were found during this year's sampling. The primary prey species is the redside shiner. Anglers should try using dead minnows, lures or crankbaits that imitate the three-inch baitfish. Good lure choices include silver/red Kastmasters, or the silver/red Rapala X-Rap or Husky Jerk.

HUNTINGTON CREEK: (October 28) Try a size 10 beadhead Montana nymph with one split shot 12 to 18 inches above the fly. The catch in this creek will consist mostly of brown trout with a few cutthroat trout. Most fish are smaller than 14 inches.

HUNTINGTON RESERVOIR: (October 28) Fly-fishermen should try sinking line with a black and green soft hackle fly on a size 8 hook. Spincasters should use a silver spoon or Jakes Spin-A-Lure. This water has special regulations. It is closed to the possession of cutthroat trout.

JOES VALLEY RESERVOIR: (October 28) Joes Valley Reservoir is closed to fishing to protect spawning splake from Nov. 1 until Saturday, Dec. 12. The largest splake are more vulnerable during the spawn, so the temporary closure will be implemented to protect these voracious chub predators. A week ago, Aquatics Program Manager Paul Birdsey reported fair fishing. He fished the rocky east shoreline with a black and silver three-inch Rapala. Birdsey's catch consisted mostly of 15-inch tiger trout.

LAKE POWELL: (October 28) For an in-depth look at Lake Powell fishing conditions, read this week's full report from Wayne Gustaveson, the DWR's Lake Powell project leader.

LA SAL MOUNTAINS: (October 28) Aquatics Biologist Darek Elverud fished Kens Lake on Oct. 19. He used black and brown plastic worms to catch several 10-inch bass. The trout limit at Kens Lake has been increased to eight with no size restrictions. This increase allows anglers to harvest trout that would otherwise be lost when the lake is drawn down to 100 acre feet of storage by Nov. 1. There is no change in the daily limit for bass.

SCOFIELD RESERVOIR: (October 28) Tom Ogden reports good fishing from a tube on the west side. In five hours, he caught 26 fish. His biggest fish was 22 inches, but most were cutthroats in the 12- to 14-inch range. He used slow sinking line in 6 to 12 feet of water with a black and green tinsel soft hackle fly in sizes 2 and 4. Boaters also report good success trolling gold or silver lures with red spots or stripes. The best bait choices are worms, dead minnows or chartreuse PowerBait. Boaters report the best luck around the island. Most shoreline anglers have been fishing in the dam cove or along the east side. Scofield Reservoir has special regulations. Please see page 28 in the Utah Fishing Guidebook for details.