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Show Where vo cerJch Urou? By Hartt Wixom Vernal Express Outdoors writer Deciding where to go for the Utah general trout opener on May 28 could require more than the usual planning. For one thing, few streams will be fishable. Then, there is the trout stamp. Some waters won't require the stamp: Streams and lakes yielding species other than trout such as the Jordan River, Pelican Lake, Cutler Reservoir in Cache County etc, plus those fishing holes open year around like Powell, Flaming Gorge, and Bear Lake. Where needed it's $3.30 (adult), and $2.30 (juveniles) for stamps. Check with sporting goods dealers for further licensing information, including in-cluding legal definition of adult-juvenile adult-juvenile categories. Those under 12 need no stamp or license. Cost of the licensing is not included in fishing proclamations. It is $23 for combination fishing-hunting, $10.50 fishing only, resident adult. Now to the where. You can pretty well forget steeper sectors of all Wasatch Front streams. Most are not quite in the condition of Thistle Creek or Hobble Creek. But any flooding not only makes fish nearly impossible to find-it can be dangerous even getting near these waters. Concentrate on controlled con-trolled flows such as those below dams, or springs, Otherwise, hike to the lakes and reservoirs. In the meantime, usually busy hatchery hat-chery personnel are perplexed where to plunk their planters. Maybe they should hold them until the 24th of July, Ju-ly, or Labor Day holidays when streams show signs of subsiding. However, chances are the trout earmarked ear-marked for creeks and rivers will wind up sweetening the readily accessible lakes like Deer Creek, East Canyon, Strawberry, Scofield, Rockport, Steinaker, the Logan River dams, and Vernaon Reservoir. However, there are many open waters to hold you until May 28. All the special whitefish streams, including Logan, Blacksmith Fork, Duchesne, Provo, Weber, closed April 30. But sectors sec-tors of those streams are legal year-round, year-round, including Little Bear below Hyrum Dam, Blacksmith from Utah 101 bridge downstream (mouth of canyon), ca-nyon), Logan west of U.S. 91, Price River below Scofield (this is a little-known little-known "sleeper" for nice browns), Starvation Reservoir, Pineview Reservoir Reser-voir and downstream Ogden River to name a few near populations in northern nor-thern and eastern Utah. A tip: shoreline and boat anglers last week took 4-8 lb. cutthroats from Bear Lake in 10-20 feet of water. You could still be in time. Use a red-white spoon. Also, try fishing east Fork Sevier River below Antimony, Fremont River, upper Sevier near Circleville-Panquitch Circleville-Panquitch in south-central Utah, if you can catch them within their banks. One of the better lunker streams this time of the year is East Fork upstream from Kingston. There are also a few fine post-spawning walleye waters now, including Willard Bay's west wall; for bass, Pineview's broken south shoreline, Utah Lake's reedy dropoffs, besides Pelican and Powell. Things you'll want to check ahead: leaks in boots you forgot about since the last outing in 1982, reels which need oil and new monofilament, sharp knives, bait containers, guides in need of wrapping, tackle boxes or creels which need new offerings for hungrier spring trout-those dainty dry flies won't do now. Make sure you also have a copy of the 1983-64 proclamation with you. If planning to fish private property you'll want to check for trespass permission. per-mission. Strawberry and some lakes with private lands require a boat launch fee (you'll want to get that ahead of time or miss opening morning) morn-ing) and on some shorelines a camping camp-ing permit. In the next few years, when Strawberry comes under U.S. Forest Service authority, we can forget about the old "water users" red tape. For now, the Straberry permit is obtained from headquarters in Payson. In nearby states, Montana's general trout tryst beckons third Saturday in May. For Idaho, it is May 28, same as Utah. That includes the popular Island Park country on Henrys Fork, Blackfoot River below Slug Creek, Bear River in the Oneida Narrows. Most Wyoming streams were open year around, or bid anglers April 1. Looks like there is ample angling oportunity. rrrr- .v- "" ' - A . .it 'p f ' . . - j V li - - - I r i ! ( j f V - ; SHERATON'S EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH were announced announc-ed Tuesday, May 3. Don Adair (left) from the janitorial department, depart-ment, was named April Employee and Patty Patton, from the front desk, was named March Employee. Roger Burns (right), general manager, presents them with a $25 gift certificate and dinner for two. Their names will also be placed on a plaque pla-que at the front desk. |