Bear Lake fishing is beginning to heat up now that the cold weather has arrived. Water levels are looking good -- they are just about the same as last year at this time. You can still launch boats at the Utah State Park marina and off the east side at the First Point and Rainbow Cove boat ramps. Courtesy docks are in the water at all locations. We recently completed our fall gillnet sampling on the lake and found cutthroat and lake trout at depths ranging from 15 to 60 feet. Anglers who have fished over the last two weeks have reported catching mainly cutthroat trout. The lake trout are just beginning to bite now that their spawning season has ended. Anglers are catching both cutthroats and lake trout while trolling with downriggers and flatfish in the U-20 and T-4 sizes. The best spots to fish this time of year include the rockpile area off Ideal Beach Resort (in 40 to 60 feet of water) and along Cisco Beach northward to North Eden. Good starting speeds range from 1.4-1.9 mph, but you can try faster or slower, depending on what the fish want that day. Remember, in order to keep a cutthroat trout from Bear Lake, it must have a healed fin clip (usually the adipose fin). Cutthroat trout with all fins intact have to be released, including fish that are tagged with all of their fins. You may also want to consider releasing large lake trout to help maintain the fishery. Lake trout are very slow-growing and can easily live more than 35 years in Bear Lake. For those anglers anticipating the Bonneville whitefish run, it should begin around Thanksgiving weekend and continue for the first two weeks of December. Use light-action spinning rods with four- to six-pound line and 1/16- to 1/8-ounce jigs tipped with a one-inch piece of nightcrawler. Cast along the rock shoreline on the east side and off the Utah State Park marina for the best results. Other fishing opportunities in Rich County include:


Garden City Pond: Stocking is completed for the year. Recent improvements at the pond include a paved sidewalk and a dock. Anglers report fair fishing for rainbow trout (up to 12 inches) using nymph flies, nightcrawlers under a bobber or PowerBait. Garden City Pond is a community fishery, and the daily limit is two fish.

Laketown Reservoir: The pond is full, and anglers are catching rainbow trout and a few cutthroats with small spinners (#1 size) or with a worm-and-marshmallow combination under a bobber. At Laketown Reservoir, the daily limit is four trout.