Early Summer Salt Lake Fishing: Dawn and Dusk Magic on Reservoirs

This is Artificial Lure with your Salt Lake City area fishing report. We don’t worry about tides up here along the Wasatch Front—everything’s on reservoirs and rivers—so focus your plans around weather and light instead of tidal swings. Around the valley this morning, the National Weather Service calls for clear to partly cloudy skies, light winds, and cool early temps warming into the 70s and low 80s by afternoon. Sunrise is right around 5:55 a.m. with sunset near 9:00 p.m., giving you a long window of low‑light fishing on both ends of the day. Those dawn and dusk periods will be your best bet for surface or shallow presentations; midday, expect fish to slide deeper or tuck into shade. Water temps on the popular waters—Utah Lake, Jordanelle, Deer Creek, and Strawberry—are running in that early‑summer range where trout are still active in the mornings and evenings, while warm‑water species like bass, walleye, and catfish are really waking up. Fish activity has been solid right at first light and again the last hour before dark, with a noticeable lull mid‑day unless you’re fishing deep structure. Recent reports from local anglers and shops around the valley mention: - Rainbow and cutthroat trout being caught consistently at Strawberry and Jordanelle, mostly 14–20 inches, with a few bigger cutts in the mix. - Smallmouth bass at Jordanelle and Deer Creek in good numbers, lots of 10–15 inch fish with the occasional 3–4 pounder. - Channel catfish and white bass showing steady action on Utah Lake, especially evenings, with cats in the 2–6 pound class and big schools of smaller white bass. Best lures right now: - For trout: small silver or gold spoons, 1/8 oz marabou jigs in white or brown, and simple spinners in silver/green or silver/black. Trolling folks are doing well with small crankbaits and wedding‑ring style spinners tipped with a worm. - For bass: 3–4 inch soft‑plastic stickbaits and tubes in green pumpkin, craw, or black/blue, worked slow along rocks and points. Small swimbaits and spinnerbaits in shad colors are good if there’s a breeze. - For walleye and cats: bottom bouncers with nightcrawlers for walleye; slip sinker rigs with cut bait, nightcrawlers, or shrimp for catfish. Best bait: - Trout: nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, and PowerBait in natural or chartreuse off the bottom near inlets and points. - Warm‑water: nightcrawlers and minnows on slip bobbers or simple Carolina rigs around weeds, drop‑offs, and channel edges. - White bass: small pieces of worm or cut bait on tiny jigs or plain hooks under a bobber when you find schooling fish. A couple of hot spots to put on your list: 1. Jordanelle Reservoir Hit the Rock Cliff and main‑lake points early. Work smallmouth along rocky shorelines with tubes and ned rigs, then slide out a bit deeper mid‑morning. Trout anglers trolling 15–30 feet down with small cranks and spinners have been reporting steady rainbows. 2. Utah Lake – Lindon Boat Harbor and Provo River inlet area Evening is prime time here. Anchor up near the channel edges for catfish with cut bait, and watch for surface activity from white bass. A small jig or inline spinner tossed into jumping schools can mean fast action. Closer to town, the community ponds along the Wasatch Front are still getting regular plants of trout and sometimes catfish. Simple rigs with PowerBait or worms a couple feet under a bobber will keep kids and casual anglers into fish. Focus on low‑light hours, fish a bit deeper when the sun gets high, and keep your presentations on the slower side as fish adjust to the early‑summer pattern. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn