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Utah fishing in October

Brown trout spawn, fall stocking peaks, big fish on the bank.

October is many Utah anglers' favorite month. Water temperatures fall into the prime 50s, browns spawn and eat aggressively, rainbows and cutthroat feed up for winter, and the DWR runs its second-largest fall stocking push — a thousand-plus plants, heavy on community ponds and lower reservoirs so the fish are catchable through fall. Crowds thin out, the aspens turn, and the biggest trout of the year are caught from shore at Strawberry, Scofield, and Jordanelle. Walleye bite again at Willard Bay and Utah Lake. The high country closes with the first real storms.

Where to go in October

Strawberry, Scofield, Jordanelle, Deer Creek, the Provo and Weber (browns), the Green, Fish Lake, Panguitch Lake, Willard Bay for walleye.

Species in season

What the DWR stocks in October

Historically October is the #6 stocking month in Utah — about 7% of the year’s plants (1,011 recorded events across 227 waters). These are the waters stocked most often in October:

• Strawberry Reservoir — 83 plants over 5 years · 1,373,177 fish · Wasatch Co.
• Panguitch Lake — 31 plants over 4 years · 106,179 fish · Garfield Co.
• Flaming Gorge Reservoir — 27 plants over 3 years · 58,135 fish · Daggett Co.
• Scofield Reservoir — 26 plants over 5 years · 78,015 fish · Carbon Co.
• Deer Creek Reservoir — 25 plants over 4 years · 211,280 fish · Wasatch Co.
• Otter Creek Reservoir — 23 plants over 5 years · 227,759 fish · Piute Co.
• Starvation Reservoir — 21 plants over 5 years · 147,349 fish · Duchesne Co.
• Bountiful Pond — 21 plants over 5 years · 32,598 fish · Davis Co.
• Smith Family Park Pond — 18 plants over 5 years · 13,843 fish · Weber Co.
• Jordanelle Reservoir — 17 plants over 4 years · 319,851 fish · Wasatch Co.
• Meadow Creek Pond — 17 plants over 5 years · 7,030 fish · Weber Co.
• Wellsville Reservoir — 16 plants over 5 years · 14,368 fish · Cache Co.
• Jackson Flat Reservoir — 16 plants over 5 years · 13,939 fish · Kane Co.
• Steinaker Reservoir — 14 plants over 5 years · 52,859 fish · Uintah Co.
• Jensen Nature Park Pond — 13 plants over 5 years · 7,856 fish · Davis Co.

River flows in October

Across Utah’s gauged rivers, October flows typically run about 60% 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 ~11 cfs (10% of annual median)
• Diamond Fork — typically ~20 cfs (15% of annual median)
• Ogden River — typically ~11 cfs (25% of annual median)
• East Fork Sevier River — typically ~20 cfs (34% of annual median)
• Upper Provo River — typically ~66 cfs (35% of annual median)
• Upper Weber River — typically ~73 cfs (38% of annual median)
• South Fork Ogden River — typically ~40 cfs (41% of annual median)
• American Fork River — typically ~21 cfs (43% of annual median)
• Lower Weber River — typically ~198 cfs (47% of annual median)
• Beaver River — typically ~22 cfs (52% of annual median)
• Mammoth Creek — typically ~18 cfs (52% of annual median)
• Ashley Creek — typically ~41 cfs (53% of annual median)

October tips

• Avoid wading through gravel redds on the rivers — spawning browns are on them from mid-month.
• Big streamers on overcast days; egg patterns behind the redds for the rainbows and whitefish following.
• Lake trout come shallow at Flaming Gorge and Fish Lake as the surface cools — jigging tubes in 30–60 feet.

← September · November →