Strawberry Reservoir Kokanee Salmon Fishing

Strawberry Reservoir is my favorite place in the world to kokanee fish. It’s where I caught my first kokanee, and its where I’ve caught my biggest kokanee to date. In this article, I’ve pulled from both my experience, and the experience of dozens of others and their experience fishing for kokanee on Utah’s Strawberry Reservoir.

Kokanee Fishing on Strawberry Reservoir

Strawberry reservoir is at 7,612 feet above sea level, and it gets cold at night and in the mornings. The reservoir is located high in the Utah mountains, and its an absolutely beautiful place to fish for kokanee salmon. It’s about an hour drive from Salt Lake City or Provo, Utah, and is one of the best kokanee salmon fishing destinations in the state, and arguably one of the best in the USA. In this article on kokanee salmon fishing on Strawberry Reservoir, we look at the best locations on the lake, boat speed, depth, and what most people are having the most success with. We’ve pulled this data from multiple forums, tabulating averages and what most people are reporting success with, and then we put it to the test, and tried it out for ourselves. If you want to catch Kokanee at Strawberry, Here’s what you need to know.

Where is Strawberry Reservoir?

How to Catch Kokanee at Strawberry

Catching kokanee can certainly be challenging. The most popular way to catch kokanee at Strawberry, by far, is by trolling. Trolling for kokanee is active and you’re touching a lot of water which can greatly increase your chances of hooking into a kokanee. Another popular way of catching kokanee is by jigging for kokanee. You can do this from a boat, or through the ice. If you’re lucky, you might also be able to catch a kokanee from shore at Strawberry, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Most Popular Kokanee Salmon Rig for Fishing Strawberry Reservoir

I combed through several forums and social media groups to figure out what most people were reporting having success with. We’ve also fished Strawberry and put Kokanee in the boat with these suggestions as well. Your most common kokanee trolling setups will probably work, but this is what people are reporting success with.

Most Popular Lure or Hoochie at Strawberry Reservoir

Shrimp and squid hoochies are the most popular type of lure used on Strawberry Reservoir, though some also use wedding ring lures as well. Pink is by far the most popular color that people have had success with, followed by green and orange.

Kokanee fishing at Strawberry, you catch a lot of cutthroat trout. In my experience, out of all the colors I’ve tried, I’ve personally caught more cuts on green than on any other color. If you’re targeting cutthroats, then cool. If you’re chasing kokanee, that’s been my experience. Stick with pink for most of the year.

Rocky Mountain Tackle Squid Hoochie Lures for Kokanee

Most Popular Dodger at Strawberry Reservoir

There were several popular kokanee dodger colors according to the forums. By the forums, the winner was the Rocky Mountain Tackle Watermelon Dodger. It was also notable to point out that, generally speaking, the most popular colors were also pink and (fill in the blank). Pink and silver, pink and orange, etc. Watermelon, pink and green, also falls into that category.

Rocky Mountain Tackle Watermelon Dodger

Most Popular Bait for Kokanee At Strawberry

The most popular bait to tip the hooks with at the end of your lure or hoochie is the gulp maggot. Gulp maggots are small enough that they don’t hinder the action of the lure, hoochie, or dodger. Shoe peg corn in a variety of scents and colors are also popular, but slightly more people are using the Gulp! Maggots. Pink Maggots are especially popular for kokanee fishing at Strawberry. If you want those pink maggots, buy them online. People snatch them up fast in every store I’ve been to within a hundred miles of Strawberry.

Most Popular Scent at Strawberry

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. 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.

Most Common Depth for Finding Kokanee on Strawberry Reservoir

You can start trolling for Kokanee salmon once the ice comes off the lake. Strawberry is usually one of the last in the state to thaw- usually some time in May. As it gets warmer, kokanee salmon go deeper. Depending on the water temperature, you can find Kokanee salmon from 10 feet to 45 feet deep. If you don’t have a fish finder, I would start around 30 feet, and then go up or down from there based on what success you have.

Areas of Strawberry Reservoir Where You Can Find Kokanee Salmon

There are many areas around the reservoir that you can find kokanee. Common places include the area in front of Mud Creek Bay, Soldier Creek, and by the Narrows. One of the times we were there, we recorded where we caught salmon. Normally we would stick with a school of fish, but we spent the day going all over the lake and this is where we had success.

Another popular area to troll is what’s called the Strawberry Reservoir trolling triangle. This runs from the marina, to Haws Point, and out towards the narrows, sending you through most of the central and deep areas of the reservoir.

Another simple and successful method for getting into the salmon is to follow the other boats. Strawberry is probably the most popular Kokanee fishing destinations in the state of Utah, and it’s always busy. If you see a boat with all the bells and whistles having success, be considerate, but follow them. Try to match their speed and path and you can have some good success. If you’re not having success, just pick another boat to follow.

Video of KSL Outdoors Kokanee Fishing at Strawberry Reservoir

Other fish you can catch trolling for kokanee at Strawberry Reservoir

Cutthroat Trout

Cutthroat trout are the other most likely fish you’ll catch when out fishing for Kokanee Salmon. These cutthroat trout are attracted by the same things as Kokanee Salmon. They’re a lot of fun to catch, and Strawberry Reservoir is one of the only places you can catch this specific species of cutthroat, the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout.

Rainbow Trout

You probably won’t catch a ton of these while trolling, but there are a ton of rainbows on Strawberry, and there are no size limits. I’ve had a lot of success with Powerbait suspended about 2-3 feet from the bottom. I’ve had luck with chartreuse, rainbow, and pink, but I’ve had the best luck with plain corn Powerbait.

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.

Strawberry Reservoir Cutthroat Trout Regulations

• No more than 2 of your limit of 4 trout/kokanee may be cutthroat trout under 15 inches, and no more than 1 may be a cutthroat trout over 22 inches.
• All cutthroat trout from 15 to 22 inches must be immediately released.
• Anglers are encouraged to voluntarily release all cutthroat trout.
• trout and salmon may not be filleted, and the heads or tails may not be removed in the field or in transit.
• Any trout with cutthroat characteristics (not necessarily jaw slashing) is considered to be a cutthroat trout.

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

About the Author

Hi, I’m Lance. I grew up fishing Strawberry. When we were kids, my parents would park off the road by Renegade, usually by places most people wouldn’t go, and we’d hike a half mile down to the lake to fish away from people. It wasn’t until I was in the boy scouts that I learned about the kokanee salmon at Strawberry Reservoir. Our scout leader took us to the spawning area. It was at Strawberry that I really got hooked on kokanee fishing, and I’ve caught more kokanee in this reservoir than anywhere else in the world.