Salt Lake City Spring Fishing Report: Rainbows Biting Best at Sunrise and Sunset

Artificial Lure here with your Salt Lake City area fishing report for Saturday, May 17, 2025.

We’re set up for a classic spring day along the Wasatch Front. This morning started off cool but pleasant, with sunrise at 6:19 a.m. and the sunset coming up at 8:29 p.m. Highs today are expected in the upper 60s to low 70s, and you can expect partly cloudy skies with a light breeze picking up in the afternoons. No tidal swings in our lakes and ponds, so you can focus on the bite windows triggered by morning and evening light.

Fishing has been solid thanks to consistent rainbow trout stocking across Salt Lake County’s community fisheries. Just this past week, the Sandy Community Fishery received another load of rainbows—right around 500 fish, averaging about 10 inches each—bringing the total to several thousand stocked since the end of March. Anglers working local ponds like Sandy Community Fishery and Cove Pond are reporting good catches of rainbows in the 9 to 12-inch range, with a few larger ones now and then. Brown trout have been spotted at places like Cove Pond, but it’s the rainbows that are most active right now[1][5].

The best bet for bait this week is chartreuse or pink PowerBait, salmon eggs, or a classic nightcrawler fished off the bottom. If you prefer to cast lures, try a small gold or silver Panther Martin or Rooster Tail spinner. These flashy lures are bringing in rainbows when cast along the shoreline. Fly anglers are having success on olive woolly buggers or beadhead nymphs worked slow, especially during the early morning and as evening settles in[5].

For hot spots, Sandy Community Fishery is absolutely loaded and fishing well after the latest stocking[1]. Cove Pond is another good choice, especially if you want a shot at a brown trout mixed in with the rainbows.

To sum it up, fish are biting best right after sunrise and in the last hour of daylight. Rainbow trout are the main attraction, with a few browns and cutthroat possible in the right streams. Stick with bright bait, small spinners, or woolly buggers, work the shorelines, and you should be in for some steady action. Good luck out there, and tight lines!