Idaho Fish Report

Surface temperatures in the lower reservoir are in the low 40s. The reservoir dropped 9 feet this summer and fall to the current elevation of 6,009 feet. All boat launches are open except Firehole, Buckboard and Anvil Draw. Some launches, such as Antelope Flat, are partially covered with sediment after being inundated for so many years. Ice has formed from Firehole down to the confluence with varying thickness from 8–9 inches near Firehole to 2–3 inches at the confluence.

Lake trout: Recent fishing reports indicate that lake trout fishing success has been good. Lake trout have been caught using a variety of methods, including casting jigs toward shore, jigging deep and even trolling baits throughout the water column. This is a great time of year to target lake trout, specifically small ones, which are overabundant. If casting toward shore, use white tube jigs, Berkley Gulp or PowerBait minnows (3-4 inches) and 3/8-ounce weights. Let the jig fall while giving it occasional twitches. Most of the hits come on the fall. Good lures to vertically jig in the open water or through the ice are jigging spoons (such as Crippled Herrings), jigging raps, blade baits like Berkley Vibratos and 3.5-inch tube jigs in 1/4- to 3/8-ounce weight and tipped with sucker or chub meat. White and chartreuse are good colors to start with. Trolling with crankbaits has been good near the surface at about 1.6 to 1.8 mph. If you mark fish deep, try dropping and trolling spoons in silver, rainbow trout and chartreuse colors. Please help the resource by harvesting some of the overabundant lake trout under 25 inches. This size class of fish makes exceptional table fare.

Kokanee salmon: These opened to harvest on Dec. 1, but there are no recent reports.

Rainbow and cutthroat trout: Fishing has been very good near shore using lures like spinners, spoons and jigs or with bait presentations. Tip the lures with Gulp maggots or a small amount of bait for more enticement. Anglers are also catching some nice rainbow trout (up to 22 inches) while casting jigs toward shore to target small lake trout. 

Smallmouth bass: Recent reports indicate success has slowed but a few fish are still being caught using jigs and swim baits. Remember: The limit in Utah is three fish and catch-and-release only in Wyoming. In Utah, please minimize harvest of the larger bass as they're older, slow-growing fish. 

Burbot: There haven't been many angling reports, but with cooling water temperatures and new ice coverage on the north end of the reservoir, burbot fishing has picked up and should be good. The best time period to target burbot is at night. Anglers should fish rocky points and shorelines using glow-in-the-dark lures like Yamamoto grubs, Radical Glow tubes and Northland Buckshot spoons. Tip the lure with sucker or chub meat, recharge the glow frequently, and jig or deadstick the presentation a couple of inches from the bottom. Please remember all burbot must be killed.