Fishing warming up along with the weather

More than the weather has been warming up lately. The loss of safe ice on mid-elevation reservoirs is proof of that.

Fishing has also been warming. Higher fishing pressure on the banks and in the rivers, and a higher bite ratio in recent weeks, is proof.

A few weeks ago ice augers and light fishing tackle were in vogue with anglers.

The only safe ice now is on higher waters, like Strawberry. Most of the mid- to lower-elevation lakes are either ice-free or show signs of receding ice.

One of the better fishing spots in recent weeks has been Jordanelle Reservoir. A few weeks ago, ice fishermen on the eastern arm were doing well for perch and trout. Now the ice is vacant and unsafe.

Now the pressure is around the personal watercraft launch ramp and open water within the state park.

Tito Arnold of Salt Lake City fished the banks on Saturday and, after a couple of hours throwing rainbow PowerBait, he left with four nice trout, all around 2 pounds.

Loyal Bennett, also from Salt Lake, left Jordanelle with a friend and seven fish last week. "One was 19 inches, four were around 16 inches and the other two about 12 inches," he said.

Monday he and his wife, Dorothy, had two nice fish, caught on rainbow PowerBait, and several bites.

Calvin Hjorth of Spanish Fork and Kent Wheeler of Springville took pontoon boats on the lake and "did OK."

Each caught three nice fish. "But last week fishing was better. I think we caught 18 or 19," said Hjorth.

The two were using black Woolly Buggers.

Last week, one angler reportedly caught a 3 1/2-pound brown out of Jordanelle.

Rainbow or lime-colored PowerBait has been working best in recent days. Fly fishermen have been using black, olive and green Woolly Buggers.

Strawberry has been producing mixed reports. There is so much slush and snow on top of the ice, however, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles are getting stuck. Also, the combination of snow, slush and ice is often deeper than an ice auger can dig.

There have been some bluewing and midge hatches on the Provo River in recent days. Below Jordanelle, the bluewings have been coming out around noon to 3 p.m., which has resulted in some good dry-fly fishing.

The Weber River has been a little off-color, which has resulted in some good nymph fishing.