Ah, the thrill of the catch! Strawberry Reservoir is Utah’s foremost place for trout fishing. It is a reservoir in the Uintah National Forest about an hour and a half drive from Salt Lake City. It is on Highway 40 and is between Heber City and Duchesne.
What can you catch there? Rainbow trouts up to twenty-four inches long. Cutthroat fish weighing over 20 pounds. Kokanee salmon.
Fishing from a boat is generally more successful than for those standing along the shore. That is because the fish seek cool water levels that are below the warm surface water in the summertime. However, fishing in the spring and fall provides good fishing for fishermen on the banks of the reservoir. That is when the water is cold overall.
The daily limit at Strawberry is four fish. You can’t catch more than 2 cutthroat fish that are smaller than 15 inches long. You can only hae one cutthroat that is over 22 inches long. Any cutthroat fish that are between fifteen to twenty-two inches long have to be immediately thrown back into the water.
There are four developed marinas around the reservoir. They all have paved boat ramps. Soldier Creek Recreation campgrounds are full service facilities. They have day use and picnic areas, group pavilions, and sanitary dump stations. Strawberry Bay has a marina store, restaurant, and full service lodge. There are various spots around the reservoir that have been developed for day use fishing and picnicing.
Fishing is open all year-round. Because of the high mountain location, winter time is mainly ice fishing.
The area receives lots of snow during the winter. There are many snowmobile trails that are widely used. (Snowmobiles are even used to get to spots for ice fishing on the reservoir.)