Great spring fishing is just around the corner

With recent warmer temperatures, anglers are looking forward to hitting the open water for that magical, early spring fishing when fish are hungry and more active.

Ice off is the best time of the year to fish for trout from the shore. Hungry and ready to bite, the trout are near shore this time of the year.

Photo by Ron Stewart

Biologist Chris Penne, who oversees the management of reservoir fisheries in northern Utah, gives a long list of early spring fishing possibilities for eager anglers. These waters include:

• Lost Creek Reservoir
• East Canyon Reservoir
• Echo Reservoir
• Mantua Reservoir
• Birch Creek Reservoir
• Rockport Reservoir

Penne adds that trout aren't the only fish that provide good early spring fishing.

"I would definitely add Willard Bay and Cutler Reservoir to the list. Early spring fishing at Willard can be hot for walleye and our data collected last year suggests this year could be particularly good as the walleye population in Willard has increased in numbers. Cutler Reservoir also has walleye in it and fishing could be hot for them this time of year as well. Further, I've seen a lot of good reports of anglers doing well for catfish at Cutler in the early spring," noted Penne.

With rapidly changing spring weather, a good way to get information on fishing conditions is to subscribe to the DWR fishing report. Over 2,300 anglers subscribe to the Northern Region report to receive updated fishing information via email. Subscribe to a weekly fishing report.