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Northeastern Region report

Information compiled by Ron Stewart
Northeastern Region Conservation Outreach Manager

Warnings: Several lakes in northeastern Utah may contain quagga and/or zebra mussels. Learn more about these destructive mussels and how to decontaminate your boat.

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.

Waterbody	Report
Big Sandwash Reservoir 2009-10-29 Good	Fishing for rainbows has been fair to good. The surface waters are cool, so you'll catch fish throughout the day. You can find fish at any depth, but you might want to start fishing near the surface. If you don't have any luck, then switch to deep-diving lures and baits near the bottom. The reservoir level is low, so watch for exposed snags and rocks.
Brough Reservoir 2009-10-29 Good	A secondhand report indicates good fishing. Water temperatures are cool, which usually improves fishing success. Note: Proper catch-and-release techniques are critical, especially for large fish. Bring the fish in quickly and release it without letting the gills clear the water. Studies show that when fish are removed from the water — for even a few seconds — they have much higher mortality rates. The more time a fish spends fighting on the line or in an angler's hand, the less likely it will survive, even if it swims away.
Browne Lake 2009-10-29 Good	Anglers report fair to good fishing. Now that the higher-elevation waters cool down at night, fishing success has improved. You'll find good access to Brownie, Spirit and Sheep Creek reservoirs but watch out for sudden storms.
Bullock Reservoir 2009-10-29 Fair	There haven't been any recent reports. Fishing should be fair to good as the surface temperatures cool.
Calder Reservoir 2009-10-29 Good	Anglers report good fishing. They've caught some larger fish from both the shoreline and their boats. Notes: 1) Calder has special regulations; see the Utah Fishing Guidebook for details. 2) Proper catch-and-release techniques are critical, especially for large fish. Bring the fish in quickly and release it without letting the gills clear the water. The more time a fish spends fighting on the line or in an angler's hand, the less likely it will survive, even if it swims away.
Cottonwood Reservoir 2009-10-29 Slow	There haven't been any recent fishing reports from anglers. Fishing has been slow. Note: Smallmouth bass and tiger muskie have been stocked this year, and both should be handled carefully and released. The small tiger muskie must be returned due to the regulations and the DWR is asking anglers to voluntarily return all bass. The DWR stocked 320 smallmouth this summer to provide brood stock [breeders] for future years. If anglers catch and keep the brood stock, it will take much longer for Cottonwood to become a quality smallmouth bass fishery.
Crouse Reservoir 2009-09-21 Good	There haven't been any recent reports.
Currant Creek Reservoir 2009-10-29 Good	Anglers report that fishing has been fair to good for cutthroat and tiger trout. Anglers are catching fish at all depths. Try fishing with small, brightly colored lures or baits such as a worm. Add a marshmallow to keep your lure off the bottom or use a bubble to float it a few feet below the surface.
East Park Reservoir 2009-10-29 Good	An angler recently reported good fishing. The improvement is likely due to the cooler nights.
Flaming Gorge 2009-11-19 Good	The reservoir level has remained high. Water temperatures are dropping into the mid 50s. Lake trout: Anglers report incredible fishing for pups (lake trout up to 3.5 pounds) on most areas of the reservoir. Try looking for schools and then jigging, casting or trolling a lure through them. Anglers report locating schools as shallow as 10 to 20 feet but most are in the 60- to 100-foot range. Anglers have caught larger fish in deeper water using traditional trolling and jigging techniques. Try points, humps and rock walls next to deep water in Sheep Creek, Red Canyon, the Skull Creeks, Jarvies Canyon, Hideout Canyon and in the Antelope Flat/Lucerne area. If you are jigging, try tube jigs in white, chartreuse, glow or brown. Tipping the jig with bait or a small chunk of sucker or chub meat may increase interest, especially for smaller fish. Use two- to three-inch jigs for smaller fish and four- to eight-inch jigs for larger fish. Bites are often light and may occur on the way down. Using no-stretch line will help you feel strikes and set the hook better in deep water. Use a graph to see where fish are located and place the jig at the same depth. When trolling, check your graphs and use downriggers to get lures like needlefish, other spoons and Rapalas down near the bottom. Kokanee salmon: Kokanee fishing has been fair with spotty conditions. Sheep Creek, a tributary stream south of Manila, is closed through October to protect spawning kokanee. Release any kokanee you catch in the reservoir through Nov. 30. Despite stocking millions of kokanee over the last few years, the population remains low due to predation by lake trout and burbot. Anglers need to harvest more small lake trout and burbot to reduce their consumption of kokanee. Rainbow trout: Boat and shore fishing have been good in most areas of the reservoir. You'll find fish from the surface to approximately 70 feet deep. If you are fishing from a boat, try trolling spoons or small lures like Rapalas. Look for the schools near cliffs, points and submerged ridges. Use downriggers to target larger fish at about 30 to 60 feet deep. Jigging works well when you locate a school. If you're fishing from shore, try casting brightly colored spoons and other lures or try bait fishing. PowerBait or a worm-and-marshmallow combo works well on the bottom. Fish can be deep or shallow, so try different depths. Shore anglers should try areas like Mustang Ridge, Sheep Creek, Lucerne Bay and Antelope Flats. Do not be afraid of harvesting some rainbows. They are really tasty from the cold waters of the Gorge. Burbot: An angler who recently targeted burbot caught 15 fish in just over an hour. The recommended technique is similar to that used for ice fishing. From a boat, try using glowing jigs and jigging spoons tipped with sucker meat, crayfish, smelly jelly or similar scents in crayfish. Depths of 40 to 60 feet should hold the most fish from dusk until a couple of hours after dark. Shore anglers should try baits fished just off the bottom from the points in Antelope Flat, Linwood Bay or Sheep Creek in Utah. In Wyoming, you'll find burbot in the Buckboard, Holmes Crossing, Anvil Draw, Skunk Cliffs and Marsh Creek areas. Smallmouth bass: Smallmouth fishing has declined with the cooler water temperatures, but anglers are still catching a few fish. Try fishing the rocky areas where crayfish will be and adjust depth until you find the fish (likely 20 or more feet down). Crayfish-colored grubs on leadhead jigs or small plastic worms, senkos, twitch and crankbaits may work, if you can get the lure right in front of the fish. Keep a limit of 10 fish smaller than 10 inches to help thin out the population and increase growth on the remaining fish.
Green River below Flaming Gorge dam 2009-10-29 Good	Daily flows on the river will be fluctuating from 1,440 to 2,320 cfs. Try fishing scuds, nymphs and small fish imitations. Browns should be spawning soon, so you'll have an excellent opportunity to catch fish. Be careful, however, and try to avoid wading in the redds and damaging the eggs. Spin anglers will have success with Rapalas (floating, countdown and husky jerk); spinners; spoons; black, brown or olive marabou jigs; and plastic jigs.
Matt Warner 2009-10-29 Good	Anglers report good fishing from the shore and from boats. Anglers can expect to catch several age classes of fish. Try casting brightly colored lures or use common trout baits like a worm-and-marshmallow combination and PowerBait.
Moose Pond 2009-10-29 Good	The Moose Pond is refilled and stocked, and it offers good fishing. The pond's recent enhancements give anglers considerably more room to fish. Other enhancements deepened the pond, particularly in areas near the angler access. The pond now has paved access for people with physical disabilities.
Pelican Lake 2009-10-29 Fair	Fishing has slowed, and anglers are being replaced by duck hunters. A couple of anglers have reported slow fishing for both bass and bluegill. Watch out for high winds in the afternoon. Note: This is a water that the DWR is monitoring closely for invasive mussels. Be sure to clean and dry your boats — and any other equipment exposed to the water — both before and after launching.
Red Fleet Reservoir 2009-10-29 Good	Anglers report good fishing for rainbows and slow fishing for bass and bluegill. You'll find rainbows at any depth. Because of cooler water temperatures, they may be active at any time of day. The bass and bluegill have moved offshore, so anglers should target deeper areas. Anglers have also caught a few walleye. Note: Boaters and other reservoir users will be asked to clean and dry their boats, trailers, fishing gear, toys and other equipment when leaving the reservoir. These steps will help prevent the spread of invasive quagga mussels.
Starvation Reservoir 2009-10-29 Fair	Anglers report slow fishing for bass and fair fishing for trout and walleye. Some anglers have caught fairly large fish. Recommended techniques include bottom bouncing and slow trolling your deep-diving lures. To bottom bounce, rig your line so it keeps your jig, crankbait or bait right on the bottom (so it stirs up some sediment as you bring it in). When you locate a school of walleye, try switching to a small, brightly colored jig tipped with a nightcrawler and jig it vertically. Note: Recent surveys show no small perch in the nets, which biologists believe is a clear indicator of too much predation. To save your fishery, catch and keep the small walleye.
Steinaker Reservoir 2009-10-29 Good	Anglers report good fishing for trout, but bass and bluegill catch rates are dropping. The bass and bluegill have moved into deeper waters. Rainbow fishing has been good at most depths from the shore and from boats. Roughly 13,000 white rainbows have been recently stocked into the reservoir.