Kokanee, rainbow, lake trout are plentiful at Flaming Gorge

Part of the lure of Flaming Gorge is variety . . . go deep for lake trout or shallow for smallmouth bass; go trolling for kokanee or jigging for rainbow.

And expect to catch any of the underwater residents on any cast.

Roger Schneidervin, special projects biologist at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, reported that fishing has been good this summer "and remains good."

Even though the number of kokanee salmon in the reservoir is down, fishing has been good. And, said Schneidervin, "What this translates into is better growth with fewer fish. Fishermen are catching some large kokanee."

Some of the best fishing has been around Sheep Creek, Pipeline and the Red Wall area. There are also good reports for kokanee around Anvil Draw and Squaw Hallow.

Those catching kokanee are fishing at depths of 60 to 65 feet using florescent lures, such as needle fish and Kokanee King with a flasher or dodger between 1 and 1 1/2 feet in the lead to give the appearance of more action.

Lake trout fishing is picking up. There have been reports of several fish in the 30-pound range being caught.

"I can't explain why, but some of the best fishing, for some of the larger lake trout, has been in August. It used to be the best fishing was in June and early July. Now it's August," said Schneidervin.

Lake trout are being caught jigging in 70 to 100 feet using a tube jig or a white jigs tipped with sucker meat.

The smallmouth are moving away from shore into water 15 to 20 feet deep. Anglers are casting jigs in shallow and pulling back into deeper water. The smaller fish are shallow; the larger fish are in deeper water.

The latest report from the DWR shows:

FISH LAKE: Fishing for rainbow has been fair to good. Fishing for splake and lake trout has slowed. Best fishing is by boat. Catching rainbow still fishing with bait or trolling spinners or pop gear with a worm. They're trolling deeper for lake trout. For splake, try anchoring and jig with a spoon or plastic jig tipped with sucker or perch meat. Shore fishing for rainbows has been slow but is best near Twin Creek using worms or wet flies/streamers.

FORSYTH: Some good fishing for some nice splake and tiger trout.

OTTER CREEK: The reservoir is being drained, but there is still a small pool left and anglers are still catching some fish. The limit through Oct. 1 is eight fish.