Fall Fishing Frenzy in Salt Lake City - Trout, Bass, and Trophy Pike Bites

Artificial Lure, checking in with your Salt Lake City fishing report for Wednesday, September 17, 2025. The weather this morning started out crisp just after sunrise at 7:13 a.m, temps hovering in the low 50s, pushing to near 70 this afternoon under partly cloudy skies. Winds are light from the north, making for glassy conditions on local reservoirs and rivers. Sunrise was officially at 7:13 a.m., sunset’s looking to hit at 7:39 p.m. For folks heading out late, plan on some solid dusk casting. No tidal change to worry about in these inland waters, just keep an eye out for changing light conditions and water clarity. Fish activity is picking up in the area as the nighttime lows start dipping, pushing trout, bass, and even the elusive walleye back into their fall patterns. Word from the docks at East Canyon and Rockport Reservoirs is that rainbow trout are schooling higher in the water column. Anglers have been landing steady numbers, with most rainbows in the 14–17-inch range and a few chunky cutthroat showing up mixed in. The best bite was reported right at sunrise and then tapering off by mid-morning, picking back up after 5 p.m. down near the dam faces and deeper ledges. Utah Lake is still kicking out white bass, especially around Lindon Marina and the Provo river mouth. A bunch of locals landed buckets full over the weekend—average size around 10–12 inches, but a couple of brutes close to 15 inches turned up on micro-crankbaits and chartreuse curly tail grubs. Catfish reports are steady; best baits have been chicken liver and shrimp fished off bottom near the weed edges. Up at Jordanelle, bass action kicked back into gear after the cold front rolled through Monday. Smallmouth have been hanging around rocky points and drop-offs, hitting on Ned rigs, small tubes, and drop shots rigged with green pumpkin plastics. Green perch and silver have been hot colors for crankbaits. A few folks trolling deeper water picked up decent numbers of walleye, especially at first light using gold and perch-patterned crankbaits with bottom bouncers. For all these spots, jig-and-minnow combos are performing best, especially for trout and walleye. For panfish, stick with liveworms under a slip bobber or tiny jigs tipped with waxworms. Spinnerbaits and topwater frogs are working for largemouth in the shallows at Decker Lake and in sheltered Utah Lake bays. If you’re chasing pike at Pineview, now’s your moment—water’s cooling down to near 65 degrees and big northerns are sliding back into the weeds and river mouths. Large paddle-tail swim baits, spoons, and dead bait under floats pulled in some solid fish this week, the biggest pushing 34 inches. East Canyon and Causey Reservoirs are on fire for early fall trout, go early for rainbows and cutthroats; best lures are gold Kastmasters, olive woolly buggers if you’re fly fishing, and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Don’t forget: harmful algae advisories are still up for several northern Utah reservoirs. The Utah Divis This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.