Causey Reservoir Kokanee Salmon Fishing

Causey Reservoir kokanee salmon fishing has been growing in popularity since the fish were stocked there in the early 90s. Here’s everything you’ll need to know in order to net one of these land locked salmon.

Kokanee Fishing on Causey Reservoir

Causey Reservoir is a small body of water located in Weber County, Utah. Causey is only a 142 acre body of water. Although its small, it gets down as to 182 feet deep, which is why such a small lake can support a population of kokanee. You can’t really put a boat in at Causey, but its an extremely popular place to kayak fish for kokanee. The fish generally aren’t as big as the kokanee in Strawberry or the Gorge, but its still a fun place to go chase kokanee. The fish generally aren’t as big as the kokanee in Strawberry or the Gorge, but its still one of the most beautiful places to fish for kokanee in the state of Utah.

Additionally, you should know that this is an extremely popular place for recreational kayakers and paddle boarders. Because of that, Causey is a great place to hit in the early morning for fishing. If you go to try to catch kokanee mid day, you’ll be mixed up with a lot of other people, and the kokes don’t bite as well mid day. That said, the fishing there is fantastic. Other things to note- there isn’t any drinking water there, so bring your own.

In this article on kokanee salmon fishing on Causey Reservoir, we look at where people are catching fish on the lake, 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 Causey, here’s what you need to know.

Best Time to Fish for Kokanee on Causey Reservoir

The best time to fish for the kokanee at Causey is right at first light. If you can have your kayak or float tube on the water early you won’t have to compete with kayakers, and the fishing is better. My gauge is to be on the water 30 minutes before sunrise. That’s when there’s just starting to be enough light to see. The bite is good, and there’s no competition.

Most Popular Kokanee Salmon Rig for Fishing Causey 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 Causey and put Kokanee in the kayak with these suggestions as well. Your basic kokanee trolling setups will probably work, but I’ll lay out what people are actually reporting success with.

Most Popular Lure or Hoochie at Causey Reservoir

Squid and shrimp hoochies are the most popular type of lure used on Causey Reservoir. Pink and orange are the most popular lure colors on the water, at least as far as people are reporting. Shrimp lures only seem to be popular in Utah. I have had much better luck with the squid lures. I pay more attention to color rather than shape. These options from Mack’s lure have been doing really well for me lately.

Most Popular Dodger at Causey Reservoir

There were several popular kokanee dodger colors according to the forums. According to the forums and groups, a pink dodger is the clear favorite.

Most Popular Bait for Kokanee At Causey

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 the majority of kokanee anglers use gulp maggots at Causey. You will want something that is pre-scented. Because you’ll be fishing from a kayak if you’re trolling at Causey, gear space will be at a premium, so a scented gulp maggot will be the way to go.

Most Common Depth for Finding Kokanee on Causey Reservoir

You can start trolling for Kokanee salmon once the ice comes off the 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 20 feet to 60 feet deep. Most people don’t have a fish finder on their kayak. If you do, great, use it and get right into the salmon. If not, here’s my advise. In March I’d start at 20 ft deep. April-May I’d start at 30. June through the end of the season I’d start around 35-40 feet and then I’d obviously adjust from there as needed to find the salmon.

Areas of Causey Reservoir You Can Find Kokanee Salmon

Causey Reservoir is long and thin, nestled in a fairly deep canyon. It’s also a fairly small reservoir in terms of capacity. The thing to do, as long as it isn’t too crowded with recreational kayakers, just go from one end of the reservoir to the other, essentially going right down the middle. Kokanee like deep water, and the middle of the reservoir channel is where it’ll be the deepest.

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.

Other fish you can catch trolling for kokanee at Causey Reservoir

Rainbow Trout

There are a ton of rainbows on Causey, and you’ll hook into them fairly often while you’re trolling for kokanee. 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. I haven’t gone there specifically targeting trout from shore, but other reports online say that the trout here don’t respond as well to powerbait as they do at other fisheries, but they do respond well to lures, so trolling you’ll do fairly well with Rainbows and other trout.

Brown Trout

There are some big brown trout in Causey, and they can be a lot of fun to catch. They bite on about the same thing as a kokanee and a rainbow trout. They don’t taste as good as kokanee or even rainbow, but they’re 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.

Causey Reservoir can offer some great fishing and if you hit it early in the day, or if you want to battle kayakers or paddle boarders, you can net some nice fish.