Flaming Gorge Reservoir is an awesome small mouth bass destination in the northeast corner of the state of Utah. Most people target the Lake Trout and Salmon in the lake, but the bass fishing can be exceptional. Here is a brief description of the lake, and what you can expect to find Flaming Gorge bass fishing. Plus, I’ve included some different suggestions on what to try at different times of the year to “Krak” some bass!
Flaming Gorge lies in the northeast corner of the state of Utah, and crosses over into the state of Wyoming. There are a couple main places to access the lake in both Wyoming and Utah. Here is a map of the lake to help you in getting directions to find the closest point for you to access the reservoir.
The majority of fisherman who spend time on Flaming Gorge chase the trophy Lake Trout and Kokanee Salmon. Don’t overlook the bronze backs cruising the rocky shorelines of this deep clear lake. The smallmouth bass are abundant and can be a blast to catch. Flaming Gorge is a big body of water. It is 90 miles long, and has 42,000 acres of water to comb through. The lake sits at a high elevation around 6,000 feet. The water stays pretty cool all year. The growing season for the smallmouth is really small because of the colder water. It takes quite a few years for them to mature into beasts. The big ones can be found though. You just have to do some hunting for them.
The main forage in the lake are crayfish. Although, The bigger smallmouth have been known to make a meal of the regularly stocked trout and salmon. Also, chubs can be found in the lake which can be another good diet for the bass. There is plenty of food for these bass to stay alive and well. You can have some fun days doing some Flaming Gorge bass fishing.
Here is a seasonal guide in your quest to help you know what to try for Flaming Gorge bass fishing.
Once the water hit’s 50 degrees, the fish are ready to be caught in the spring. Great techniques this time of year are the carolina rig, crankbaits, and texas rigged soft plastic craws. The water is crystal clear. This makes the drop shot a very effective technique even when fishing shallow. May and June can be some of the best months for catching bass on this lake. Look for 10 – 20 foot rockpiles adjacent to good spawning areas, and prepare to get your line stretched!
The smallmouth love topwaters this time of year. Early morning and late evening can be awesome if you are in an area with fish. Some of the best topwaters are small “walk the dog'” baits, and poppers. Flukes can also work well this time of year, along with your other traditional crankbaits. Don’t get married to any particular area. If you aren’t getting bites, then move on to the next spot. Sometimes you have to weed through the little ones, to get down to the beasts.
In the fall water temperature starts to drop fast, and the bass respond by feeding up before the go more dormant during the winter months. Crankbaits are always a good bet to draw some reaction strikes. Also, big profile baits such as swimbait can get hit. Big meals are the ticket before winter. Big texas rigged soft plastic craws are guaranteed winners. Once the water get’s below 50 degrees, sometimes the fishing can get really tough. Look for schools off fish off of deeper rock piles and ledges.
Fish can be caught in the winter, but it is a tough roe to hoe. Use your electronics to find them, and bust out the drop shot when you locate fish. Who knows what could happen.
Flaming Gorge is a fun smallmouth fishery. The key to getting bites a lot of times is downsizing your bait. There are a pile of little smallmouth swimming around, and they can be easy to catch. This makes it a great place to get your family “stoked” on bass fishing. Remember there are a ton of crawfish in the lake, and they are the primary forage of the smallmouth on this body of water. When in doubt throw craw imitations. It’s what they are used to eating. Good colors of baits to use are green pumpkin, brown, and black. Don’t under estimate the power of pink in the clear water!
Here is a decent video clip from hooked on utah, to show you how awesome flaming gorge bass fishing can be!
For more information and regulations for fishing Flaming Gorge Reservoir here is a link to the Utah Division of Wildlife’s page on the lake: Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Feel free to leave any comments about your experience’s with Flaming Gorge bass fishing. Hope this helps you in your next trip “Kraken” Bass!
As Always,
Stay Stoked!!!
Here are some of my affiliate links of good baits for the techniques mentioned above for catching bass at flaming gorge.
Storm Original Wiggle Wart 05 Fishing lure (Brown Crawdad, Size- 2)
Megabass POPX
Megabass Giant Dog-X
Zoom Bait Salty Super Fluke Bait-Pack of 10
Gary Yamamoto Fat Baby Craw, 3.75″- Pumpkin with Black & Green Flake
Bass Pro Shops River Bug
You need a system to know where to go, what to use and how to work your lures to catch more bass in every situation.
Use this lure color selection chart and perfectly match the color of your lure to what bass are wired to eat without trial and error so you can catch the monsters!
Discover how to perfectly match the color of your lure to what bass are wired to eat so you can catch the monsters!
This is how to entice bass to bite and catch bass on every fishing trip!
Discover how to perfectly match the color of your lure to what bass are wired to eat so you can catch the monsters!
2 Responses
We are planning our first trip to Flaming Gorge from Colorado to do some bass fishing. Mustang Ridge seems to be the closest ramp/campground for us to drive to. Are we able to navigate to the main waters from there with our Ranger Cherokee 125? Is there somewhere else you recommend we launch/camp? Thanks so much!
You totally can catch from bass from there. It’s a great spot!