Millsite Reservoir

MILLSITE RESERVOIR


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There's something I find charming about catching trout in the desert. Millsite Reservoir lies at the mouth of Ferron Canyon in central Utah. The state park also has a unique golf course that I hear good things about.

Rainbows, tigers, cutts, and splake swim the sapphire blue waters. People I've spoken to have reported fish over 20 inches, so there's definitely some motivation for the drive.

The main problem fishermen will find is the constant, nagging wind. It seems to always blow and can make fishing from shore very difficult. My recommendation would be to bring a boat with a good motor and troll all day. There's plenty of space for that.









The water level fluctuates dramatically every year, giving late season anglers a view of usually hidden bottom features. The northern and southern shorelines are walled in by steeper slopes and narrow winding corridors leading to deeper water.





The splake and tigers have been stocked for several years now and there's a good chance that some lunkers are hanging out somewhere. I haven't personally caught a tiger, but I've done alright for the splake. Most of mine were around 14 inches.



The rainbows I've caught have been mostly small planters, but my first was nice at 16 inches and pretty round. Bigger ones exist and I'm sure I'll find a few someday.

The cutthroat are somewhat rare, but if someone is lucky enough to hook into a wild one, it'll make their day.

My first cutt from Millsite, I believe, was a wild one from the creek. It was 18.5 inches, but fought harder than almost anything I'd ever caught. No joke, it took me about 8 minutes to horse it in. I was worried about breaking my line or my rod, the way this guy fought! I couldn't believe a fish of that size could fight so hard! Unreal.


I caught another one at a little under 17 inches and it didn't even compare, but it was still a pretty cutt to catch.


Just upstream is Ferron Creek, the major tributary for Millsite Reservoir. This is a smaller stream, but it cuts through some beautiful country on its way up the canyon.











Fishing the creek can be tough with runoff discoloring the water from early spring, into the summer. There are wild cutthroat and possibly several other species (from Millsite) present. The cutts I've caught have been very small, but also very beautiful.



Further up the canyon, the landscape is quite different and plenty of high mountain lakes and ponds litter the hills in every direction. Study your maps before taking on these roads, because a wrong turn could take you quite far off course.

Most of the main lakes are on roads that are passable in a passenger car, but they can change almost as quickly as the weather. I'll create a separate highlights section for the waters of Ferron Canyon.