SALT LAKE CITY — Memorial Day weekend and Free Fishing Day are just around the corner, and if you are itching to get outdoors to enjoy the warm weather, there are several great Utah fishing destinations that are worth checking out this time of year.
Memorial Day weekend, which starts Saturday, May 23 this year, often kicks off many summer activities. It is typically a great time of year for fishing, as many locations are starting to warm up, and fish are hungry and biting.
Just two weeks later is Free Fishing Day — Saturday, June 6 — which allows anyone to fish at any public waterbody in Utah without a license. It makes for a great family activity and offers an easy way to get outdoors and introduce your kids (or your neighbors and friends) to fishing! It's an ideal day for beginning anglers to give fishing a try, and it's also a fun time for experienced anglers who have been too busy to fish in recent years.
"Because you don't need a license to fish on Free Fishing Day, it's the perfect time to take someone with you and introduce them to fishing," Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Sportfish Coordinator Trina Hedrick said. "All of the fish in the state, both warmwater and coldwater species, are active and willing to bite this time of year, making early June one of the best times to fish in Utah. With the drought conditions this year, we are also encouraging people who want to go fishing to do so early in the season — due to potential impacts later in the year — so these two weekends are a great time to get out!"
If you are taking someone fishing for their first time, you can commemorate their first catch with a fun DWR certificate. You can print out the certificate at home and fill in the details to document the occasion.
If you are looking for some ideas of where to go fishing over Memorial Day weekend or on Free Fishing Day, here are a few great options:
Beginner fishing spots: community ponds
Local community ponds are a great option for beginners and offer a quick, close-to-home fishing spot. These ponds are an ideal place to take kids and other less-experienced anglers.
There are 57 community ponds located around Utah, and more information about each one can be found on the DWR website. These ponds are stocked by the DWR each year with trout and catfish, but also have many other warm and coolwater species, depending on the location. Anglers can search the Utah Fish Planner by community ponds or by species to find a place to fish nearby.
Advanced fishing spots
For more advanced anglers who want to visit a larger waterbody with additional fishing opportunities, there are a variety of options across the state:
Joes Valley Reservoir (Emery County): This is a prime fishing destination because it offers trophy tiger muskie fishing, as well as good fishing for splake, rainbow and cutthroat trout. You can have success fishing for all of these species from the shore or by boat.
Lake Powell (Garfield, Kane and San Juan counties): Known for its beautiful scenery and awesome boating, this waterbody is also a great fishing destination, particularly from a boat. This time of year offers outstanding fishing for striped bass, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish. If you use a boat or other watercraft, be sure to follow the decontamination requirements for quagga mussels and other aquatic invasive species. Anglers should also note that, due to low water levels, launching a boat is currently only available at the Wahweap Stateline Auxiliary Launch Ramp and the Bullfrog North Launch Ramp. Visit the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area website for the latest boat ramp conditions.
Fish Lake (Sevier County): With its close proximity to Capitol Reef National Park, this is already a fun area to explore, but Fish Lake also offers some excellent fishing, particularly from a boat. Fishing for rainbow trout and yellow perch can be good in the early summer. Anglers can also find lake trout and splake at Fish Lake.
Strawberry Reservoir (Wasatch County): Located only about an hour and a half from Salt Lake City, this waterbody offers exceptional fishing that's relatively close for residents along the Wasatch Front. Anglers will find pretty consistent fishing all summer long for kokanee salmon, rainbow and cutthroat trout.
Utah Lake (Utah County): Located in the heart of Utah County and with a lot of different access points, this waterbody provides great close-to-home fishing for white bass and catfish.
Deer Creek Reservoir (Wasatch County): Ranked as a Blue Ribbon Fishery in Utah, this reservoir is well-known for providing great fishing for rainbow trout. Anglers also frequently catch large and smallmouth bass at this scenic waterbody.
Middle Provo River (Wasatch County): This waterbody provides great, close-to-home stream fishing for residents along the Wasatch Front. June and sometimes through July are an ideal time to fish the Middle Provo River, which is when the green drake hatch is happening. (It's a larger fly that hatches this time of year and provides an exciting fishing opportunity for fly anglers.) Whitefish and brown trout are the best species to target this time of year. Anglers should note that on the section of the river from Legacy Bridge on Midway Lane (state Route 113) upstream to Jordanelle Dam, the daily fish limit for trout is two trout under 15 inches, and fishing is restricted to artificial flies and lures only.
Bear Lake (Rich County): Stretching between Idaho and Utah, this large waterbody provides a lot of different areas to fish. Well-known for its iconic Caribbean blue water, this scenic lake is also home to some species of fish that are found nowhere else in the world. Anglers should target cutthroat trout and lake trout this time of year, and will have the best success from a boat.
Starvation Reservoir (Duchesne County): Rainbow trout over 20 inches are relatively common right now at this waterbody, making for a fun fishing experience. Anglers will typically have the most success while fishing from a boat. This time of year offers good fishing for walleye, in addition to rainbow trout.
Long Park Reservoir (Daggett County): This secluded reservoir offers fast fishing from shore or from a small watercraft, and anglers can expect high catch rates. Using dry flies can work exceptionally well, and this time of year offers great fishing for rainbow and brook trout and Arctic grayling.
Pelican Lake (Uintah County): Pelican Lake is a popular fishing destination in northeastern Utah and offers great bass fishing from a boat. Fly anglers should target bass using frog patterns in the late spring months and then switch to minnow patterns in the summer.
Visit the Fish Utah map on the DWR website to find other waterbodies to fish throughout the state.
Learn the rules
Aside from Free Fishing Day on June 6, anyone 12 years old or older needs a fishing license to fish anywhere in Utah. (And even on Free Fishing Day, Utah's other fishing rules will still be in effect, besides the license requirement.) Fishing licenses are valid for 365 days from the date of purchase and can be purchased online, at any DWR office or from a DWR license agent. Fishing license dollars go toward fish and wildlife conservation in Utah.
Make sure you know the daily fish limits and other rules for the waterbody you are fishing. You can find the rules in the 2026 Utah Fishing Guidebook. And wherever you go fishing, remember to recreate responsibly by packing out what you pack in and keeping the area free of trash.