Strawberry Reservoir is one of the premiere trout fisheries in the state of Utah and has some of the best kokanee salmon fishing. Although I am a rookie when it comes to targeting kokanee salmon, I was fortunate enough to be invited on a fishing trip by Shawn Lindsey who is an experienced pro and we had great day out on the water catching these beautiful fish. Here are some of the details of where we fished, what we fished with, and how we caught some kokanee salmon at Strawberry Reservoir.
Strawberry Reservoir Fishing Conditions
- Date: July 19th, 2019
- Weather: Sunny, 83 degree temperatures
- Wind: Little wind 1-5 mph
- Water Clarity: (1-10 ft visibility)
- Time of Day: 5:45 am -1:45 pm
About Strawberry Reservoir
Strawberry Reservoir is located just an hour and a half from Salt Lake City and is well known as being one of the best trout and kokanee fisheries in Utah. It offers some great fishing opportunities all year round.
No other Utah reservoir is more consistently productive year over year. Its consistency and large population of trout and kokanee make it one of Utah’s most popular fishing destinations and a must visit for all Utah anglers.
Anglers enjoy both size and quantity at Strawberry Reservoir, as it supports a healthy population of both rainbow and cutthroat trout as well as kokanee salmon.
Key Species: Rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and kokanee salmon
Best Ways to Fish: Trolling, spinners, lures, bait, jigs and flies
Strawberry Reservoir Fishing Report
This was my first time trolling for kokanee salmon at Strawberry Reservior, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I knew Shawn knew what he was doing and we were going to have a great time. As with most days spent fishing, Strawberry Reservoir didn’t disappoint.
Overall fishing was a success. We were fishing with three people and with a little work we were able to limit out and catch 12 kokanee salmon. We also caught around 30 cutthroat trout (none of them were very big) and landed a small rainbow. All of the fish we caught were trolling with pink and orange micro hoochie behind a 4.5” pink sling blade in 30-45ft with an average speed of 1.8mph.
Strawberry Reservoir Fishing Spots
East of the Strawberry Marina
We kicked the day off by starting out fishing just east of the Strawberry marina in the “triangle” and worked are way back toward the marina. At first we couldn’t keep cutthroats off fast enough, but after a bit we were able to get into some nice kokanee and ended up catching 7 kokes and several cutts before the bites seemed to die down a bit around 10:00 am. The fish seemed to be in about 41 ft of water and had the most success in the 35-45ft range in this area with 41 being the ideal depth.
Hawes Point
When things seemed to shutdown we headed behind Haws Point where we were able to fill our limit. This was a shallower spot but had some great action around 11:00 am. We were catching kokanee in 20-30ft range in this area. We also got into a few small cutthroats and a rainbow fishing at this spot.
Strawberry Reservoir Baits
A pink micro hoochie behind a 4.5” pink sling blade was our best set up, but we caught a couple on orange and some on pink hoochies with blades behind 5.5” sling blades.
Trolling Speed
Speed and direction always plays a big factor. For us 1.8mph seemed to be the most productive. But we tried anywhere from 1.5mph to 2mph, but 1.8mph was the sweet spot.
Kokanee Salmon Fishing Tips
Shawn Lindsey, an experienced angler, took us out on his boat and also wrote a great article on our site called, Kokanee Salmon Fishing in Utah. Go check his article out for some great information about catching kokanee salmon in the summer. He is also is an active member on bigfishtackle.com and can be found under the name: obifishkenobi
This was my first outing targeting kokanee salmon and I am by no means an expert, but here are a few things I learned during our trip that might help you catch more kokanee at Strawberry Reservoir:
Keep Your Rod Tip Down – Kokanee are a fun fish to catch but if you are not careful you might end up loosing one if you don’t keep your rod tip down when they start to jump. They tend to go airborne now and again so be ready.
Pinks, Orange and Greens– These are some of the best colors to use while fishing for kokanee, but the main thing is having confidence in whatever tackle you are using. Everyone has different opinions on what works best, but its about finding your own confidence and trying new things.
Mix it Up – Everyone has their own preference and if you are not catching fish on a particular set up don’t be afraid to switch it up and experiment. Fishing is all about find the right recipe and kokanee fishing is no different. Speed, color, sent, leader length, etc can all play a big role in your success.
For more information on catching kokanee salmon go check out these tips from KSL Outdoors.
Final Thoughts
We had a great time fishing for kokanee salmon at Strawberry Reservoir. We were able to spend some time in the great outdoors and catch some nice fish. Strawberry Reservoir is a one of the best places to catch kokanee in Utah and it gets really good in the summer. I hope you have found this information to be insightful and that it encourages you to get out there yourself and catch some fish.
Tight Lines!
