East Canyon Reservoir, UT Kokanee Fishing

East Canyon Reservoir is a smaller reservoir in Northern Utah that has been providing some hot kokanee fishing. At 14-16 inches long, the fish aren’t quite as big as they are in Strawberry, Jordanelle, Flaming Gorge, or Rockport Reservoir, but they’re still good eating size, and the fishing has been reported as good.

The reservoir was initially stocked with kokanee in 2018, and in 2021, biologists saw the first spawners, leading biologists to believe that the kokanee population will be self sustaining, and should provide good opportunities for years to come.

About East Canyon Reservoir

East Canyon Reservoir is a 608-acre reservoir. The Reservoir is a part of East Canyon State Park, and is located northeast of Salt Lake City in Morgan County, Utah. The reservoir has historically had kokanee in the reservoir, but drought activity can be hard on them. The Utah DWR continues to stock additional kokanee though, so if there have been a few good water years in a row, this place could be promising. If there have been droughts, as Utah is prone to, the kokanee population will really suffer. Kokanee here are also really only likely to grow up to 14-16 inches. If you’re looking for the 5 pounders or bigger, you’ll probably want to check out the larger kokanee fisheries in the state.

Where is East Canyon Reservoir

How to Fish for Kokanee in East Canyon Reservoir

The most popular way to fish for kokanee at East Canyon Reservoir is trolling with a downrigger. You’ll want to troll at 1-1.8 mph with a kokanee rig, and I list the most popular gear below for that. You can also jig for kokanee but trolling is definitely the more popular option. You need to find the kokanee, get on them, and then work that school of kokanee until they move on. Then you find them again.

East Canyon Reservoir is really big, and there are a lot more places where you can find kokanee, but these are the most commonly reported areas of success in the forums, social media groups, and fishing reports. If you’ve got a fish finder, you should be able to find schools of kokanee throughout the lake in deeper water, as long as you know what kokanee look like on a fish finder.

Most Common Depth for Finding Kokanee on East Canyon Reservoir

As it gets warmer, kokanee salmon go deeper. They can be hard to find, but depending on the water temperature, you can find Kokanee salmon from 30’ to 200’ with an average being around 80’, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to consistently find them at 80’. Electronics are very important, and especially at East Canyon Reservoir where the water is REALLY deep and kokanee depths can vary so drastically

About Kokanee Salmon

Kokanee salmon are sockeye salmon that are landlocked in fresh water. They primarily feed on Zoo plankton and are generally found in larger lakes that can maintain a cool temperature, or have enough depth to maintain a cool temperature. Kokanee are native to many lakes in the western United States and Canada including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho in the United States and British Columbia and Yukon in Canada. Populations of kokanee salmon are also found in Japan and Russia. 

Additionally, kokanee have been introduced to many other lakes in the United States including in those states mentioned above as well as in Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico in the west, as well as in New England, New York and North Carolina in the east. Kokanee have also been introduced to lakes in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada.

Most Popular Kokanee Salmon Rig for Fishing East Canyon Reservoir

I combed through several forums, fishing reports, and social media groups to figure out what most people were reporting having success with. Your most common kokanee trolling setups will probably work, but a little refinement and knowledge from locals never hurts. This is what people are reporting success with.

Most Popular Lure or Hoochie at East Canyon Reservoir

Squid hoochies are the most popular type of lure used on East Canyon Reservoir, though wedding ring lures are pretty popular as well as well. Pink was by far the most popular lure color on the water, with green and orange as secondary choices. Any of the lures below will work well. I personally prefer the double hook kokanee lures, as kokanee strike out of aggression, and the two hooks provides twice the opportunity to hook into a kokanee.

Most Popular Dodger at East Canyon Reservoir

There were several popular kokanee dodger colors according to the forums. According to the forums and groups, a pink dodger is the way to go. People also liked pink combos. Pink and silver, pink and orange, etc. Watermelon, pink and green, also falls into that category.

Most Popular Bait for Kokanee At East Canyon Reservoir

The most popular bait to tip the hooks with at the end of your lure or hoochie is shoe peg corn, though gulp maggots are also popular. Shoe peg corn is a more firm and resilient type of corn that can stay on the hook better and longer than regular sweet corn. The corn can also absorb scent and flavor, and it provides a kokanee something soft to bite into. If they aren’t hit on the first strike, they’re more likely to strike again. I’m a fan of fire corn, which is a dyed and scented corn.

Most Popular Scent at East Canyon Reservoir

Kokanee are extremely sensitive to scents, so many anglers use a scent spray or gel to help both cover the human scent, and attract the kokanee. Gulp maggots or scented shoepeg corn can help cover that scent, but others like adding a gel as well. According to our analysis of the forums, the most popular scent is Anise, with Bloody Tuna coming in second, and a variety of garlic options coming in third at East Canyon Reservoir for kokanee fishing.

Video of Kokanee Fishing on East Canyon Reservoir

This video showcases the reservoir, and a trip that some kokanee fisherman had on it.

Other Fish You Can Catch Trolling for Kokanee at East Canyon Reservoir

Rainbow Trout

There are quite a lot of rainbow trout stocked regularly in East Canyon. If you’re looking for table fare, I personally like the taste of kokanee vs rainbow trout, but they’re both a lot of fun to catch.

Utah Kokanee Fishing Regulations

• The state of Utah considers kokanee to be a part of the trout bag limit
• You Cannot have any kokanee salmon in your possession at any body of water from September 10 through November 30
• Bag Limit is a total of 4 kokanee salmon or trout, with additional kokanee bag limits at some specific bodies of water.

Fishing regulations can change at any time, so we recommend that you check on the latest Utah fishing regulations before you hit the lake.