Where to Go Ice Fishing Near Salt Lake City, Utah


Utah, home of the Great Salt Lake. This is a great place. No doubt you have heard of people doing normal water activities here but have you ever heard of the ice fishing in the area? I have a few places you should try out.

  • Koosharem Reservoir
  • Mill Meadow Reservoir
  • Yankee Meadow Reservoir
  • Anderson Meadow Reservoir
  • Kents Lake
  • Little Reservoir
  • Twin Creeks Rec Site
  • Johnson Valley Reservoir

Most of these places that you can ice fish are in the Fish Lake National Forest area. Ice fishing does not seem to be as big in Utah as in some other areas. It is a great past time though and I hope that it becomes more popular in this wonderful state!

Koosharem Reservoir

Types of Fish: cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, splake trout, tiger trout, Utah chub

Koosharem Reservoir is a place that gets overlooked. Fish lake is only about 30 minutes further of a drive, more popular and it has a larger amount of big fish. I find that kind of sad because Koosharem is a really great place. Well, the reservoir anyways. I do not know much about the town.

Koosharem is surrounded by hills and mountains, which I guess that is most of Utah, isn’t it? The valley that the reservoir is in stretches out a little ways and it looks magnificent there.

You can find trout here during the ice fishing season. This is honestly the best time of the year for catching them.

Mill Meadow Reservoir

Types of Fish: brown trout, rainbow trout, splake trout, tiger trout, yellow perch

To the east of Fish Lake National Forest is the Mill Meadow Reservoir. This combined with Koosharem Reservoir are great places to jump back and forth on. If one is not going so hot, try out the other. They are only 17 miles from each other.

Now, Mill Meadow is not as good as Koosharem or has as big of fish constantly but they have a really good brown trout population that you won’t be disappointed by. You can still get your fill of ice fishing here.

If you get tired of Koosharem or things are not going the way you planned, check out Mill Meadow Reservoir. It is a great place for a backup or a change of pace. Maybe even show it to your friends!

Yankee Meadow Reservoir

Types of Fish: brook trout, rainbow trout

In Dixie National Park, is Yankee Meadow Reservoir. I think that is a weird name but hey, I don’t make the names. I just fish.

The reservoir is stocked annually. The fish are good sized and they will give you a good bit of fun when catching them. I always welcome the challenge. It makes for a more exciting day. Big fish make for an exciting catch, what can I say?

A great thing about this place is that you can bring your snowmobiles! Or your ATVs. Whatever works for you. Either of them will be really useful in reaching the reservoir. The great thing about these smaller areas is that there are fewer people. Yeah, you have to have some sort of smaller transportation to make it easier but it is so worth it.

Anderson Meadow Reservoir

Types of Fish: brook trout, rainbow trout

We have made our way back to the many places to ice fish in Fish Lake National Forest. Anderson Meadow Reservoir is surrounded by trees. I might have mentioned before that I love being surrounded by trees. I love this place!

Ice fishing here is a great time. You will find rainbow trout and brook trout here. Those tend to be the most common of fish in the area. Bring some wax worms and you are set to fish!

It is a nice, secluded area that I really enjoy. If you find comfort being among the trees and want to bring a few friends along to this new place you have found, go to Anderson Meadow Reservoir.

Kents Lake

Types of Fish: brown trout, tiger trout, rainbow trout

Kents Lake is similar to Anderson Meadow in that it has lots of trees around, mainly aspen and fir. It is not has secluded. There are family campsites and sites for back-ins and pull-throughs. You could potentially stay here overnight or a couple of days.

I think that this area has great potential for family ice fishing. I think that is something that people do not do enough of. With the campsites sites, it becomes a lot more family friendly. Hopefully, your family likes the cold.

I would not bring an RV here obviously, but at least you can go camping. Bring people with you, teach them how to ice fish, have a meal together, etc. It is a great place to be.

Little Reservoir

Types of Fish: rainbow trout, brook trout

As you might have guessed by the name, Little reservoir is, well, little. You get there by the paved trailhead. Not that you will know because the whole area will be covered in snow.

This is a great area to go snowmobiling too. It is a great idea while you are up in the area. There may be cross country skiers so watch out for that.

Even though this is one of the smaller reservoirs, do not let it deceive you in thinking that it is not worth your time. It is a great place to bring the family and friends and catch some great trout.

I personally am always down to try out a new area. It is about a 10-minute drive away from Kents Lake. Once you finish up at the lake come over to Little Reservoir and see what you can get here.

Twin Creeks Rec Site

Types of Fish: rainbow trout, lake trout, splake, yellow perch

So Twin Creeks is a place to stay along the GIANT Fish Lake. This is the place that the national forest is named after, so yeah, it is big! There are plenty of places to stay but I felt like choosing this one. No particular reason. Twin Creeks in smack in the on the more west side of the lake. I guess that is a reason if you wanted one.

The lake will generally freeze over at the end of December which is perfect timing. I usually do not ice fishing until after the holidays. It is too much of a hassle beforehand. January is really the prime time to ice fish.

Trout come in abundance here. You can catch some yellow perch as well. The main grab for this place is the trout though.

Johnson Valley Reservoir

Types of Fish: tiger muskie, yellow perch

Johnson Valley Reservoir is my last pick for this list. That does not mean it is not good because I frankly like this place. This one is also in the Fish Lake National Forest. There is not a lot of anglers here because it is difficult to access in the snow. So if you get here, consider being alone your reward!

You will find tiger muskie and yellow perch here. In 2000, tiger muskie began to be stocked here. They were actually put here to get rid of some other fish that were not wanted. But now they have a home here and they are a popular fish to catch.

They are trying to get to the point where they have their own homegrown tiger muskies in Utah but for now, they will keep bringing them in. People have found some monstrous tiger muskies here. Some have reached about 36 inches. This is a great place to be if you want to catch bigger fish.

I really hope that you like all of these places and find that they are useful. I do not think that ice fishing in Utah is as big as it could be and I hope that more people will give it a try as the years go on.

There are plenty of amazing places, especially in the Fish Lake area! I really hope I shed some light on places you have not heard about. Tell your friends and family! Enjoy the wonders that a winter Utah brings.

Tim Butala

My name is Tim and I have been a fisherman my whole life. My favorite fish to go after is a Striped Bass.

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