A Utah license is good for 365 days from the day it is bought. No kokanee may be kept anywhere in the state through November 30, and from November 1 every walleye caught at Mantua Reservoir must be killed. The rules the Wildlife Board approved in September arrive with the 2027 guidebook, expected on January 1, so read the new one before a trip after New Year.
What to fish for in early November
Utah's winter is ice from the Wasatch to the Uintas and open water below its dams. Strawberry, Scofield and Fish Lake draw the ice crowds, the northern reservoirs from Echo to Causey give perch and trout once the state parks call the ice good, the Bear Lake cisco come inshore in January, and the Green below Flaming Gorge Dam fishes through the cold. Down at St. George the desert reservoirs stay open all winter.
These notes cover the whole winter, the ice included. In early November, the four lakes in the season tables that get near freezing are usually still open water, at 44 to 52F.
Cutthroat Trout
Stays active under the ice and makes up much of the catch on the plateau reservoirs, Strawberry's Bear Lake cutthroat under a slot that protects the middle sizes.
Where. Strawberry and Scofield, and Bear Lake.
The cutthroat trout waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Strawberry Reservoir about 48F Best Thu, Nov 12, A+Today's forecast Scofield Reservoir about 46F Best Thu, Nov 12, A+Today's forecast Lake Trout
Grows very large on a diet of smaller fish, and is jigged over deep water through the ice.
Where. Flaming Gorge, Fish Lake and Bear Lake.
Yellow Perch
Crowds some lakes so thickly that a full bucket is welcome.
Where. Fish Lake, Deer Creek and Jordanelle, and the northern reservoirs, Echo and East Canyon among them.
The yellow perch waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Fish Lake about 44F Best Mon, Nov 9, BToday's forecast Brown Trout
Holds in the slow pools and feeds on midges in the warmest hours.
Where. The Green below Flaming Gorge Dam and the Provo below Deer Creek and Jordanelle.
The brown trout waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam about 49F Best Mon, Nov 9, A+Today's forecast Provo River near Charleston not modeled Best Mon, Nov 9, B+Today's forecast Rainbow Trout
Stocked into the desert reservoirs and taken in open water there through the winter, and under the ice with the cutthroat on the high lakes.
Where. Sand Hollow, Quail Creek and Gunlock around St. George, and Strawberry and the plateau reservoirs.
Usual water now is that water's normal for this point in the season: a lake's modeled seasonal curve or a river gauge's long-run average, not this year's reading. The forecast link reads this week's.
What changes soon
The next six weeks of this report's calendar for Utah.
- Mon November 30Utah's statewide ban on keeping kokanee ends at midnight.
In the last two weeks
- Sun November 1Utah's Mantua Reservoir has no walleye limit from today, and every walleye caught there must be killed.
Every date for Utah from November to February (3)
- Sun November 1Utah's Mantua Reservoir has no walleye limit from today, and every walleye caught there must be killed.
- Mon November 30Utah's statewide ban on keeping kokanee ends at midnight.
- Fri January 1Utah's 2027 guidebook is expected, carrying the 2027-28 rules.
This week's fishing reports
This report covers the season. For what was caught this week, read the people who report on this water.
The Division of Wildlife Resources publishes no weekly report. It posts water-by-water forecasts to SportfishingReport each season instead: last year its winter ones came on November 10 and 11 for the south and on December 4 for the north, and its spring ones in March. Through the winter itself the dated record is the state parks' conditions posts, Bear Lake, Echo, East Canyon, Rockport and Scofield among them, with Strawberry Bay Marina's posts and the Orvis river pages for the Provo and the Green, both of which thinned out after December.
Where to fish in Utah, area by area
Each water links to its live forecast. The engine outlook in these areas was generated November 3, 2026, for the 14 days from that date; good hours are the hours at or above a B+.
Strawberry Reservoir
Strawberry Reservoir · Soldier Creek
The big high-country reservoir southeast of Heber on the Wasatch Plateau, one of the most fished waters in the state, managed for Bear Lake cutthroat under a slot limit, with rainbows and kokanee, and one of the main ice fisheries in Utah once the cold sets in.
Who reports here. Strawberry Bay Marina posts dated reports on the ice and the bite to a fishing-report site: regularly through the winter before last, but only once in January and once in March last winter.
Engine outlook
- Best: Thu, Nov 12, A+7 good hours50F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 7h
The Provo and the Green
Provo River · Green River · Weber River
The two famous trout rivers: the Provo through Heber Valley and its canyon below Jordanelle and Deer Creek dams, close to the Wasatch Front, and the Green below Flaming Gorge Dam, a clear tailwater through red rock canyon holding thousands of trout to the mile.
Who reports here. Orvis's pages for both rivers are kept by local reporters, an outfitter on one and a guide on the other, and were updated into early winter; no January or February update was captured.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, A+10 good hours52F measured Nov 3 at GREEN RIVER NEAR GREENDALE, UTbest run 7h1910 cfsat GREEN RIVER NEAR GREENDALE, UTon this water
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, B+6 good hours47F measured Nov 3 at PROVO RIVER NEAR CHARLESTON, UTbest run 6h161 cfsat PROVO RIVER NEAR CHARLESTON, UTon this water
Bear Lake, the Utah side
Bear Lake
The Utah half of Bear Lake, from Garden City and the state park marina on the west shore to Rendezvous Beach at the south end and First Point and Cisco Beach on the rocky east side, where the cisco come in to spawn in midwinter and may be dip-netted on this side too. Either state's license covers the whole lake.
Who reports here. Bear Lake State Park posted seven conditions reports between December 1 and February 9 last winter, with the water temperature at its marina, the lake level and which ramps were open. The Division of Wildlife Resources posted its winter forecast for the lake on December 4.
Flaming Gorge, the Utah side
Flaming Gorge Reservoir
The Utah end of Flaming Gorge, the canyon water from Lucerne Valley and Sheep Creek Bay down to the dam at Dutch John, deep and walled in red rock, for lake trout, kokanee and smallmouth. Wyoming holds the open northern reach, and a reciprocal stamp or permit opens the other state's water.
Who reports here. No dated winter report from the Utah end could be found. Cowboy State Daily's account of last winter, given under Wyoming, found the reservoir never fully froze.
Lake Powell, the Utah side
Lake Powell
The upper reaches of Lake Powell, most of the reservoir by length, from Hite down past Bullfrog and Halls Crossing to the Arizona line, striped bass, smallmouth and walleye water in canyon country that stays open all winter. Either state's license covers the whole lake.
Who reports here. Arizona Game and Fish posts a report on the lake to SportfishingReport; the last before winter came on November 30, and none followed from December to February.
Willard Bay and the northern reservoirs
Willard Bay · Pineview Reservoir · East Canyon Reservoir · Echo Reservoir · Rockport Reservoir
The reservoirs of the north end of the Wasatch Front: Willard Bay on the shore of the Great Salt Lake for wipers, walleye and crappie, Pineview and Causey up Ogden Canyon, and East Canyon, Echo and Rockport on the Weber side of the mountains, perch, crappie, tiger muskie and trout water, much of it fished through the ice.
Who reports here. The state parks post the ice as it comes: Echo eight times between November 30 and February 10 last winter, East Canyon four times in January and February, and Rockport three. The Division of Wildlife Resources posted its winter forecasts for the area's waters on December 4, one for each.
Engine outlook
- Its best day in this outlook has passed.
Utah Lake and the Heber reservoirs
Utah Lake · Deer Creek Reservoir · Jordanelle Reservoir
Utah Lake, the broad shallow lake beside Provo and Orem, for white bass, walleye and channel catfish, and up the Provo River in the Heber Valley the two reservoirs that hold it back, Deer Creek and Jordanelle, for perch, trout and smallmouth.
Who reports here. No dated winter report could be found for the big lake. Deer Creek State Park posted once, on November 24, with the water temperature.
Engine outlook
- Best: Tue, Nov 10, B+8 good hours46F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 4h
The Uinta Basin reservoirs
Starvation Reservoir · Steinaker Reservoir · Red Fleet Reservoir · Pelican Lake
The reservoirs of the basin below the south slope of the Uintas, Starvation near Duchesne for walleye and smallmouth, Steinaker and Red Fleet north of Vernal for trout and bass, and Pelican Lake for bluegill and bass.
Who reports here. Steinaker State Park posted one ice update, on January 23 last winter, and the Division's forecasts for these waters came in March, with the thaw.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A+7 good hours52F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
Scofield and the Wasatch Plateau
Scofield Reservoir · Joes Valley Reservoir · Electric Lake · Huntington Reservoir
The high reservoirs of the Wasatch Plateau above Price and Huntington, Scofield above all, with Joes Valley, Electric Lake and Huntington, cutthroat and tiger trout water that freezes early and stays frozen into spring.
Who reports here. Scofield State Park posted on the ice as it formed on December 13 and warned of an unsafe stretch by the Mountain View dock on January 6. The Division's forecasts for the plateau came on March 2.
Engine outlook
- Best: Thu, Nov 12, A+7 good hours48F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 7h
Fish Lake and the southern high lakes
Fish Lake · Otter Creek Reservoir · Panguitch Lake · Minersville Reservoir · Piute Reservoir
The mountain lakes and reservoirs of south-central Utah, Fish Lake on its plateau for lake trout, splake and perch, Otter Creek and Piute on the Sevier, Panguitch Lake above its town, and Minersville near Beaver, trout water under ice for much of the winter.
Who reports here. The Division posted forecasts for three of these waters on November 11 and for the rest in March, as the ice came off; nothing was posted from inside the winter.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, B6 good hours46F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
St. George and the southwest
Sand Hollow Reservoir · Quail Creek Reservoir · Gunlock Reservoir
The desert reservoirs around St. George, Sand Hollow, Quail Creek and Gunlock, low and warm enough to fish open water through the winter, for largemouth bass and stocked rainbows.
Who reports here. The Division posted winter forecasts for all three on November 10 last year, and its spring forecasts for them in March.
Engine outlook
- Best: Tue, Nov 10, B+6 good hours59F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 3h
The rules from November to February
What changed this time
- Approved by the Wildlife Board on September 17, 2026, for 2027 and 2028, among other changes: a walleye slot at Starvation Reservoir, Willard Bay walleye of at least 18 inches, two trout a day instead of four at the Lower Stillwater Ponds, no largemouth to be kept at eight Wasatch Front community ponds, northern pike 40 a day (two over 36 inches) at DMAD, Gunnison Bend and Redmond and in the Sevier River, and 14 native fish and white sturgeon made game fish with a limit of zero.
- From November 1, 2026, Mantua Reservoir has no walleye limit, and every walleye caught there must be killed. The rest of the changes take effect with the 2027 guidebook, expected on January 1, 2027.
Read on October 20, 2026, from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (its 2026 fishing guidebook, its fee page, its ice fishing advice and its news release on the Wildlife Board's September decisions).
Licenses, and which state's rules apply
- A Utah license is good for 365 days from the day it is bought. Residents pay $40 a year ($5 at 12 and 13, $16 at 14 to 17, $31 at 65 and older), $19 for three days or $30 for seven; nonresidents $120 a year ($18 at 12 and 13, $44 at 14 to 17), $44 for three days or $91 for seven. Anglers under 12 need no license, and may use two poles and keep a full limit.
- On Bear Lake a Utah or Idaho license covers both states' water, under the rules of the state you are in; on Lake Powell a Utah or Arizona license covers both. Either way one daily limit is the most. On Flaming Gorge a Utah or Wyoming resident license covers that state's part, and the other state's reciprocal permit adds the rest.
Bait, gear and fish you cannot keep
- Any licensed angler, and anyone under 12, may fish two poles on any open water; a second pole does not double the limit. Stay within sight of the gear and no more than 100 feet from it, unless fishing a setline with a permit.
Lakes, ponds and rivers
- Statewide daily limits: four trout, kokanee and grayling combined, and no kokanee may be kept anywhere from September 10 to November 30; six bass; ten walleye, only one over 24 inches; 20 northern pike, only one over 36 inches; 50 crappie; one tiger muskie over 40 inches; eight channel catfish. Burbot must be killed, never released. Many waters have their own rules.
Through the ice
- No ice hole wider than 12 inches, except on Bear Lake, Flaming Gorge and Fish Lake; on Bear Lake the limit is 18 inches, and a hole for dip-netting cisco may be any size. On Flaming Gorge, Causey and Porcupine reservoirs and Pelican Lake an angler may fish up to six lines through the ice, each carrying the angler's name once more than two are in use.
- DWR's rule of thumb is to stay off ice less than 4 inches thick, and not to trust one reading for the whole lake, least of all on big reservoirs or near inflows. Drill test holes or use a spud bar as you go, spread people and gear out, and wear ice picks.
Read on these agency pages: Utah DWR: Fees, Utah DWR: Utah Fishing Guidebook, current edition (PDF), Utah DWR news, December 10, 2025: Planning to go ice fishing this winter? What anglers should know.
The season at a glance
What these months usually do
Each lake's own seasonal curve, the one the engine scores the lake on: what these dates usually do, modeled rather than measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Lake | 45F | 39F | 36F | 35F | 35F |
| Sand Hollow Reservoir | 61F | 52F | 45F | 46F | 50F |
| Scofield Reservoir | 47F | 39F | 35F | 35F | 34F |
| Starvation Reservoir | 53F | 44F | 36F | 35F | 36F |
| Strawberry Reservoir | 49F | 41F | 35F | 35F | 34F |
| Utah Lake | 52F | 43F | 39F | 38F | 40F |
Each river's own gauge: its average for these dates across the years it has recorded, measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green River below Flaming Gorge DamGREEN RIVER NEAR GREENDALE, UT, 1987 to 2026 | 50F | 45F | 41F | 39F | 38F |
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
Daylight in each area from November to February
Worked out for one place in each area, on its own clock.
| Area | Shortest day | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strawberry Reservoirat Strawberry Reservoir | 9h 18m, Dec 21 | 5:00pm, around Dec 8 | 7:48am, around Jan 4 |
| The Provo and the Greenat Provo River near Charleston | 9h 16m, Dec 21 | 5:00pm, around Dec 8 | 7:51am, around Jan 4 |
| Bear Lake, the Utah sideat Garden City, on Bear Lake | 9h 7m, Dec 21 | 4:56pm, around Dec 9 | 7:55am, around Jan 3 |
| Flaming Gorge, the Utah sideat Dutch John | 9h 14m, Dec 21 | 4:51pm, around Dec 8 | 7:44am, around Jan 4 |
| Lake Powell, the Utah sideat Bullfrog | 9h 34m, Dec 21 | 5:06pm, around Dec 7 | 7:39am, around Jan 5 |
| Willard Bay and the northern reservoirsat Willard Bay | 9h 11m, Dec 21 | 5:00pm, around Dec 8 | 7:56am, around Jan 3 |
| Utah Lake and the Heber reservoirsat Utah Lake | 9h 18m, Dec 21 | 5:03pm, around Dec 8 | 7:51am, around Jan 4 |
| The Uinta Basin reservoirsat Starvation Reservoir | 9h 18m, Dec 21 | 4:57pm, around Dec 8 | 7:46am, around Jan 4 |
| Scofield and the Wasatch Plateauat Scofield Reservoir | 9h 21m, Dec 21 | 5:01pm, around Dec 8 | 7:47am, around Jan 4 |
| Fish Lake and the southern high lakesat Fish Lake | 9h 28m, Dec 21 | 5:07pm, around Dec 7 | 7:46am, around Jan 5 |
| St. George and the southwestat Sand Hollow Reservoir | 9h 36m, Dec 21 | 5:18pm, around Dec 6 | 7:49am, around Jan 5 |