Upper Enterprise Reservoir, Utah Kokanee Salmon Fishing

Upper Enterprise Reservoir is located in Washington County, Utah. The state of Utah began stocking kokanee salmon in enterprise reservoir in the spring of 2020. Fishermen shouldn’t expect to catch any salmon from the reservoir until about 2023, assuming they survive and take to the lake. Upper Enterprise Reservoir has been developing into quite the location for kokanee salmon fishing.

I should call the state and ask them for more information on this.

About Upper Enterprise Reservoir

The elevation is 5,764 feet and the depth of the Upper Enterprise Reservoir is 59 feet deep. Upper Enterprise Reservoir is located in Washington County, Utah. This reservoir is a popular place for fishing, and has been primarily a place for targeting rainbow trout.

Where is Upper Enterprise Reservoir

How to Fish for Kokanee in Upper Enterprise Reservoir

The most popular way to fish for kokanee at Upper Enterprise Reservoir is trolling with a downrigger. You’ll want to troll at 1.2-1.8 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.

Upper Enterprise Reservoir isn’t small, and there are a lot more places where you can find kokanee, but these are the most commonly reported area of success in the forums, social media groups, and fishing reports is in front of the dam, in the deepest water. 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 Upper Enterprise 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 the surface to 50’ with an average being around 30’, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to consistently find them at 30’. Electronics are very important, and especially at Upper Enterprise Reservoir where the water is fairly 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 Upper Enterprise 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 Upper Enterprise Reservoir

Squid hoochies are the most popular type of lure used on Upper Enterprise 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 Upper Enterprise Reservoir

Dodgers create flash and vibrations in the water. They also provide action for the lure or hoochie. 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 Upper Enterprise Reservoir

The most popular bait to tip the hooks with at the end of your lure or hoochie is overwhelmingly shoe peg corn. 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 Upper Enterprise 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.

Video of Kokanee Fishing on Upper Enterprise Reservoir

This video showcases a good snapshot of the fishing conditions on Upper Enterprise Reservoir, as well as how hot the fishing can be on the water. They’re fishing for trout in this episode, but it gives you a good idea of what to expect.

Other Fish You Can Catch Trolling for Kokanee at Upper Enterprise Reservoir

Rainbow Trout

Fishing for the rainbows in Upper Enterprise Reservoir is about as popular as kokanee fishing, and there’s a chance you’ll hook into one when fishing 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.

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.