Want to Rate Utah’s Fishing Holes? Now You Can

DWR News Release

SALT LAKE CITY — If you enjoy fishing in Utah’s beautiful outdoors but aren’t quite sure where to fish, now you can easily find out what anglers are saying about each local waterbody.

In late April, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources launched a new website that offers an in-depth, interactive fishing map. While the DWR has provided online fishing reports for nearly 20 years, this interactive map will provide a lot more details. It includes improved mapping technology, which allows users to find a place to fish near their current location. The new map also gives the public a chance to rate waters based on their recent fishing trips. The public feedback will help the DWR improve the management of the state’s fisheries.

Along with allowing anglers to rate the waterbodies, the new page was designed to be a one-stop shop for anyone going fishing: It includes updated forecasts of fishing conditions from the DWR, details on what types of fish are at each waterbody, specific directions to each fishing hole, stocking reports, fishing regulations and the amenities in each area.

“This new fishing map caters to the fact that anglers are diverse, and not all anglers want the same fishing experience,” DWR sportfish coordinator Randy Oplinger said. “Our concern is that some anglers are turned off from fishing when they go to a water and find an experience that doesn’t match their expectations. The new page provides a lot more information about the waterbodies. Hopefully, anglers can use it to better find waters that provide the fishing experience they’re looking for.”

The new fishing web page is also mobile friendly, so it provides a better user experience on smartphones. There is also a new alert feature that informs anglers of important updates like access and ice conditions in an area.

“Fishing is looking really good for this spring,” Oplinger said. “Fishing is currently really good at many of our lower elevation reservoirs that are ice free and will pick up at other reservoirs as the ice melts. The large snowpack will make spring streamflows higher than normal this year, which could create tough stream fishing conditions. However, the streams should have good water levels throughout the summer, so summer fishing should be better than average.”

Because rivers are running high and fast this spring, anglers should be very cautious in and around the water. If going out on the water via a boat or float tube, anglers must have a personal floatation device.