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Utah fishing in January

Deep winter: ice fishing peaks, tailwaters keep flowing.

January is the heart of Utah's ice season. Nearly every reservoir above 5,000 feet is capped, and the lower-elevation reservoirs like Yuba, Deer Creek, and Jordanelle usually have safe ice by mid-month. The tailwaters — the Green below Flaming Gorge, the Provo below Jordanelle and Deer Creek, the Weber below Echo — stay open and fish well on midges, small nymphs, and sculpin patterns during the warmest part of the day. Community ponds are either frozen or stocked lightly; the DWR does almost no stocking this month.

Where to go in January

Strawberry, Scofield, Fish Lake, Panguitch Lake, and Flaming Gorge are the marquee ice destinations. For open water, the Green, Middle and Lower Provo, and Lower Weber are the reliable bets; Bear Lake's cisco run typically fires late in the month.

Species in season

What the DWR stocks in January

Historically January is the #11 stocking month in Utah — about 1% of the year’s plants (112 recorded events across 24 waters). These are the waters stocked most often in January:

• Razor Ridge Pond — 14 plants over 6 years · 5,066 fish · Washington Co.
• Towa P, Upper — 13 plants over 6 years · 8,167 fish · Washington Co.
• Towa P. Lower — 13 plants over 6 years · 4,788 fish · Washington Co.
• Virgin River Park Pond — 13 plants over 6 years · 4,253 fish · Washington Co.
• Stratton Pond — 12 plants over 6 years · 5,748 fish · Washington Co.
• Skyline Pond — 11 plants over 5 years · 5,021 fish · Washington Co.
• Salem Pond — 5 plants over 4 years · 2,156 fish · Utah Co.
• Willow Park Pond — 5 plants over 3 years · 1,945 fish · Salt Lake Co.
• Deer Creek Reservoir — 3 plants over 2 years · 39,035 fish · Wasatch Co.
• Meadow Creek Pond — 3 plants over 3 years · 1,107 fish · Weber Co.
• Jensen Nature Park Pond — 3 plants over 3 years · 957 fish · Davis Co.
• Starvation Reservoir — 2 plants over 2 years · 27,385 fish · Duchesne Co.
• Bountiful Pond — 2 plants over 2 years · 1,379 fish · Davis Co.
• Kidney Pond — 2 plants over 2 years · 272 fish · Salt Lake Co.
• Midas Pond — 2 plants over 2 years · 269 fish · Salt Lake Co.

River flows in January

Across Utah’s gauged rivers, January flows typically run about 55% of each river’s year-round median (period-of-record USGS data). Low, clear water: wade carefully, fish early, and watch water temperature.

• Lake Fork River — typically ~0 cfs (0% of annual median)
• Diamond Fork — typically ~28 cfs (21% of annual median)
• Ogden River — typically ~11 cfs (23% of annual median)
• East Fork Sevier River — typically ~15 cfs (25% of annual median)
• Ashley Creek — typically ~21 cfs (27% of annual median)
• Upper Weber River — typically ~55 cfs (29% of annual median)
• American Fork River — typically ~15 cfs (30% of annual median)
• Upper Provo River — typically ~57 cfs (30% of annual median)
• Mammoth Creek — typically ~11 cfs (31% of annual median)
• South Fork Ogden River — typically ~38 cfs (39% of annual median)
• Lower Weber River — typically ~169 cfs (40% of annual median)
• Beaver River — typically ~18 cfs (42% of annual median)

January tips

• Ice thickness is never uniform — 4 inches of clear ice for foot travel, and check every 50 yards on reservoirs with inflows.
• On tailwaters, fish 11 AM to 3 PM; water temps barely move but the midge hatches cluster in the warm window.
• Perch at Fish Lake and Jordanelle bite best on tiny jigs tipped with a wax worm, fished right on bottom.

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