Glendale Reservoir - A new comprehensive fishing report

[10_ft_Jon_boat]

Yesterday (Thursday Sept. 18) I fished Glendale from about 8:30 a.m. until around noon.  When I first arrived the reservoir was calm and there were a lot of fish working the surface.  Most appeared to be rainbow trout, some of which were quite large.  My target fish was crappie and as soon as I started tossing my jig it was non stop action.  It didn't matter which point or bay I was fishing on, the crappie were there and biting.  Unfortunately, the fish are small - borderline keepers.  I caught and landed over 90 hoping so sort out some larger ones, however, I am convinced that bigger ones are simply not there, at least in any numbers.  All of the crappie were between 8 and 9 inches.  I don't know if the crappie have overpopulated the reservoir and they are lacking for food or if they are just a younger size class (the only size class from what I observed).  They look a little thin and underfed when compared to the crappie that were caught there in previous years.

About 9:30 a.m. the bluegill started hitting my crappie jig.  I caught several nice ones in the 9 to 9 1/2 inch range and those were healthy, stocky fish.

I switched to night crawlers and fished those on both the bottom (slow retrieve) and under a bubble.  Hooked and landed several nice, 14 to 15 inch bass on the bottom presentations.  The rainbows would hit the suspended nightcrawlers usually within a few minutes but I also caught several on the bottom as well.

I kept two rainbow that were deep hooked and we had them for dinner last night.  The quality of the bright silver one, which was 15 inches, was excellent and tasted almost a good as a May or June rainbow.  The other, more colorful 16 incher, wasn't as good and had a more earthy, mossy taste.

To summarize, I think that you can do pretty well right now on whatever species you're targeting at Glendale.  I think that it would benefit the fishery if several thousand crappie were harvested, which technically could be done under the current fish salvage order that expires on Oct. 1.

[wiperhunter2]

That sounds like a great day, thanks for the update on the conditions and the pics. Were there many people there fishing?

[10_ft_Jon_boat]

I was the only person on the reservoir from 8:30 a.m. until about 11:15 a.m. Three people then arrived (an individual and a pair) and began fishing near the dam. All appeared to be bait fishing and it looked like they were catching rainbows.

Several of my fishing friends here in northern Utah would like to fish Glendale and the surrounding reservoirs but the cost of a non-resident license for one day is too high at $27.56 ($22.75 for the license and $4.81 for the online convenience fee).

There've been concerns about losing the Glendale fishery this fall due to the lowering of the water levels but I don't think that that is going to happen. It is still rising and the fish are doing fine.

[Panchodog]

It seems like those Preston lakes all get scary low and then irrigation season ends and they recover enough to make it through winter. The guy who goes around and moves the ramps told me earlier this summer that they were taking a few lakes down to redo boat ramps this fall.

[duksnfish]

Wow, I am so glad to hear your report. It sounds like days past. I used to fish Glendale all the time, but due to health issues, I havent been able to fish there the past 4 years. What you got into, I had similar days that I would just load up on great slabs, gills and perch with a few bows mixed in. Question is, is the ramp for Glendale useable? In times past, even after the ramp got to almost unusable, I was still able to launch my jon boat over my bigger boat which was great. 

Several years ago, I fell through the boat dock that was using a couple of old rickety 2x8s to get on to the dock. I took a pretty good gash in my left leg so I had enough of not having handicap accessible facilities for the dock so I pushed F&G to replace what they had and put in a good, stable dock and walkway. I hope it's still there and working.

Anyhow, did you notice of anyone fishing from the bank was able to get any slabs or was the mud ring soft enough that you couldnt get next to the water?

Here's a couple pics of the last fishing at Glendale I was able to do with the bow in the picture hitting over 27" long and weighed in at just under 6lbs.

Glendale, inspite of the high costs to get on the water, was my favorite spot to fish in Idaho. I hope the fish, I've had reservations, make it through the work that the Canal company is doing. It has my favorite tag on it so here's to the future of fishing for Glendale

[10_ft_Jon_boat]

Those are great looking fish and that 27 inch rainbow is impressive!

The main boat ramp has been pulled out and so there are no launching facilities. You could carry a small boat or kayak down to the water where the ramp normally is and launch with no problem although you'd have to carry it a fair way, maybe 80 yards or so. You can get pretty close to the waters edge all around the reservoir, within 2 feet, as the bank has had time to dry out. The boat launch area would also be a good location to access the shore for bank fishing. You could also easily access the dam itself by going through the trees of the parking lot located west and above of the boat ramp (the first dirt road before the turnoff to the boat ramp).

The other anglers that I saw were still fishing from the bank (with bait I presume) and catching rainbows. They were on the east end of the dam and close to the concrete overflow chute that comes down the south side. One guy was using multiple poles. No one was throwing jigs for panfish or bass. There were no watercraft on the reservoir (boats, kayaks, or float tubes).