Otter Creek Reservoir - Slow fishing but great weather

[gofish435]

A buddy and I decided to give Otter Creek a try today in our tubes. There haven't been any recent reports and that either means the fishing is hot and nobody wants to talk about it or the fishing stinks and no one wants to talk about it.[]

We started about 10:15 and fished until 2:30 using fly tackle. We used medium sinking lines and size 6-8 bead head crystal buggers and soft hackles. The weather was great with temps in the 20's - 40's and no wind. The lake had some small patches of ice from the night before but all the big stuff is gone. The water temperature was 39 degrees and the visibility in the water of about 3' - 4'. The reservoir level is 70% full and rising. There were very few shore fishermen and one boat with two anglers that were trolling.

The fishing was pretty slow for us and I didn't see anyone from shore catch any fish. We caught all rainbows from 12" to 20" long. The best part is when you hook one of the larger rainbows, they really have an attitude. They will let you know if you tied a poor knot.[]

There are some nice fish in Otter Creek and the fishing is only going to get better as the water warms.
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[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for posting your report and pics, sounds like it was a fun day even though the catching was slow. Do they ever stock any other fish in there besides bows?
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[gofish435]

The DWR has stocked tiger trout, smallmouth bass, brown trout, wipers, and cuttroat trout besides the rainbows.

I'm not sure how the other species are doing because you seldom hear reports on anything besides the rainbows.

This was the first time I've fished Otter Creek in fifteen years so there weren't any wipers or smallmouth when I fished it last.
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[brookieguy1]

I fished it today (Sat) and the bloody wind was horrible. Caught 5 fish on purple marabou jigs. You're right though them rainbows are STRONG!
P.S. the jigs were 1/16 ounce "Purple Peril" from Tubedude.
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[gofish435]

We were lucky, we caught a day without much wind. It can be brutal there[:/].

I have done well with some of [#0000ff]TubeDudes [#000000]trinkets also. I have had good luck with his Captain Midnite and Green Meanie patterns. I use his hot heads which are made with hot glue. They are effective, durable, and easy to cast on a fly rod.[/#000000][/#0000ff]
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[brookieguy1]

Awe, the Green Meanie. Love that color, especially at the Gorge.
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[wormandbobber]

[quote gofish435]The DWR has stocked tiger trout, smallmouth bass, brown trout, wipers, and cuttroat trout besides the rainbows.

I'm not sure how the other species are doing because you seldom hear reports on anything besides the rainbows.[/quote]

Tiger trout and brown trout have been stocked in the past but in relatively few numbers. Bear lake cutthroat were also stocked in the past as a fish that could utilize utah chubs as forage....but, they don't show up much in creel surveys or with fisherman and are not stocked in high numbers either. Smallmouth bass are probably an underutilized sport fish at Otter Creek...the reservoir grows some really big smallies, but they seem to be confined to a few areas and are not super high in numbers. The wipers are just starting to get high enough in numbers that they are showing up in fishermen's catches...they haven't been around very long or in high numbers. Otter Creek is mostly utilized by people looking to catch bows, that is why you rarely see anything else reported about it.
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[gofish435]

Thanks for the information.

I got curious about the fish stocked in Otter Creek and put together a spreadsheet of the historical stocking. The information was collected from the DWR's stocking report. I was like you, didn't think they stocked many cutthroat but you will be as surprised as I was about the total numbers that have been stocked.
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[wormandbobber]

You are right in the total numbers of cutthroat stocked...they have actually stocked a lot; however, you must also look at the sizes they have stocked them at. One of the big reasons that most of the rainbows--almost all--stocked at Otter Creek Reservoir and others is because of the devastation fish-eating brids like cormorants put on fry. You have to realize that the survival rates of those 1-2 inch cutts being stocked will not be high. So, even though they are stocked in significant numbers, the survival rates don't lead to large numbers of cutts within the reservoir. That is also why even the gill netting samples usually don't yield lots of cutts.
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[PBH]

[quote wormandbobber]... the devastation fish-eating brids like cormorants put on fry. You have to realize that the survival rates of those 1-2 inch cutts being stocked will not be high. [/quote]


and pelicans.


Anybody ever look at the PeliTrack? it is very interesting to see the migratory patterns of pelicans. When coming back from the winter grounds in Mexico, reservoirs in Utah are on their path -- Otter Creek, Piute, and Minersville are destination stop-overs for pelicans. They certainly out-harvest anglers!!



https://wildlife.utah.gov/pelican_webmap/#


this is a major reason why Minersville has the regulations it does, and major reason why trout stocking is often done using larger fish (ie: rainbow trout catchable size fish).
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[gofish435]

I agree about the low survival rates of the smaller sized stocked fish and I did see a number of cormorants and mergansers the day we were there. That was the reason they started stocking larger fish in Minersville, to increase their chances of them making it past the predatory bird migrations.

We didn't see any pelicans the day we were there. Are there many of them showing up down there like there is on many of the northern reservoirs?
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[PBH]

looking at PeliTrack, the majority are still in Mexico. But it won't be long before they start moving up to the GSL. They might be molting right now.
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[gofish435]

Thanks for the Pelican tracker. It is cool to see where they are at. Looks like one of them is on Yuba Reservoir.

Idaho Game & Fish did a study on Chesterfield Reservoir and they figured that pelicans ate nearly half of the fish that were stocked. There is a colony of pelicans that reside around nearby Blackfoot Reservoir.[:/]
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[PBH]

When dad did the study on Minersville they figured cormorants "out fished" anglers 3:1!


When we fish Minersville, he still counts cormorants. He also looks at the number of pelicans in the spring / summer months. Those birds have a huge impact on those fisheries. Have you ever wondered why you don't see more cutthroat from Minersville? My guess is that those fish run up the stream in the spring, then either get decimated by pelicans, or are unable to return to the reservoir due to water diversion once irrigation season starts...
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[brookieguy1]

Are pelicans good eating?😎
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[PBH]

I couldn't say.

I know that cormorants are full of parasites! Maybe pelicans are too, I don't know.

But they are a migratory bird, and thus protected under federal laws. It seems Strawberry has had pelican issues in the past (feeding on spawning cutthroat) and getting permission to do anything about it was a significant challenge...
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[Fishrmn]

When you get the chance, park your boat, float tube, backside, or whatever right where the pelicans want to be.



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[Saltslam]

I often see them (pelicans) on Panguitch lake as well. Generally in the fall, possibly migrating back south?
The Herons are great at fishing also. One slow day on Newcastle I watched a pair catch two in about five minutes. I went all day without a bite.
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[MSM1970]

I know strawberry has a pelican problem, I have worked with Alan Ward the biologist over strawberry, I have hazed pelicans and gill net surveys to get my dedicated hunter hours, he is doing a great job up there, he is the one to thank for fishery we have.
the last time I hazed Alan told me the bulk of the fish the pelicans are eating are suckers, I have personally chases and scared the fish right out of them, most where suckers spit out to get off the ground,
hopefully the study going on with the pelicans will help to control the problem.
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