Utah: Fishing Fish Lake, Puffer Lake, Panguitch Lake, Navaho Lake,

Despite water shortage caused by the diversion of streams for irrigation and hydroelectric power, Utah has an annual trout catch in excess of 200,000 pounds. Native and brook trout are plentiful in the remote lakes and headwaters; rainbows, German browns, and mountain herring are more frequently found in stocked waters; catfish, carp, and suckers are common wherever streams enter the lower valleys. The San Juan, Green, and Colorado teem with catfish and a species of whitefish, locally called "minnows," that attain weights up to thirty pounds. Fly fishing is popular, though the heavy undergrowth along many of the streams makes casting difficult. Lake trolling with fifty yards of light line and a small spinner is top sport when the two-pounders bite. In northern Utah, Strawberry Reservoir, Moon Lake, and Mirror Lake are favorite trout waters.

In the High Uintas Primitive Area, the Grandaddy Lakes and some 700 unnamed lakes and ponds afford excellent opportunities for creel limits to fishermen who do not mind a short hike or a pack trip. No roads have been or will be built into this area, and many of the lakes and streams have been fished only a few times. The Weber River is renowned for its occasional "big ones," though the world record German brown trout, a twenty-five pound veteran, was taken from Logan River. Provo River, from the mouth of Provo Canyon to its headwaters in the Uintas, is the most frequently fished stream in the State. Within the forest reserves, almost any of the myriad small streams will yield trout from eight to fourteen inches long.

In the southern part of the State, Fish Lake, Puffer Lake, Panguitch Lake, Navaho Lake, Pine Valley Reservoir, and the ponds of Thousand Lake Mountain are the most popular waters. The headwaters of the Sevier River, though difficult to reach, make fine stream fishing. The streams draining into the Colorado River are usually too muddy for trout, but they yield good catches of catfish and whitefish. The increased interest in fishing among Utah sportsmen has made necessary a rigid control of all waters. However, the creel and cumulative limits are generous and the season on game fish is a long one, usually from June through October. Specific dates and special regulations are printed on licenses or are posted on waters affected by them.

No comments: