Strawberry Reservoir
Toxic algae bloom at Strawberry
- Keep dogs out of the water — blooms can be deadly for them
- Don’t swim, and steer clear of scum when wading or boating
- Don’t drink the water
- Keeping fish? Discard the guts and rinse fillets in clean water
- Aspen Grove Day Use AreaWarning
- Soldier Creek Marina Day Use AreaWarning
- Renegade Point Day Use AreaWarning
- Strawberry Marina Day Use AreaWarning
- Jake's Bay Boat RampWarning
Today’s report
Strawberry Reservoir is under a Warning advisory today. The advisory is for a harmful algal bloom at 5 monitored sites and replaces the fishing rating until it’s lifted — keep dogs out of the water and check habs.utah.gov before you go. The reservoir is 76% full, about normal for the date, and holding steady over the last month. The DWR last stocked rainbow trout (4,532 fish) on October 5. This Afternoon's forecast: mostly sunny, 55°F, 7% chance of precip.
- Warning advisory posted (algal bloom) — it replaces the fishing rating until it’s lifted
- pool is healthy (~76% of capacity)
- stocked 15 days ago
- calm, fishable weather
Fishing Strawberry Reservoir: what to know
Strawberry is Utah's most-fished water and its cutthroat flagship: 17,000 acres at 7,600 feet in the Wasatch back-country east of Heber, an hour and a half from Salt Lake. Four main access areas — Strawberry Bay (marina, lodge, and the biggest ramp), Soldier Creek, Renegade, and Haws Point — plus miles of drivable shoreline on the Soldier Creek arm and Chicken Creek. It's a Bear Lake-strain cutthroat fishery by design, managed to keep the Utah chub in check, with rainbows and a growing kokanee run on top.
Ice-out in late April or early May is the single best week of the year: big cutthroat cruise the flooded shoreline and the Soldier Creek arm and are catchable from the bank. Summer pushes fish deeper and the bite goes to early and late; the kokanee turn red and stage at the inlets by late August. Fall is the other peak — October cutthroat and rainbows feed hard in the shallows, and the biggest fish of the year come from shore. Ice arrives in December and Strawberry is the state's premier ice destination through March.
From shore: tube jigs and marabou jigs under a bobber, or a fly rod with a leech, a chironomid, or a small crayfish pattern on a sinking line along the drop-offs. Trolling pop gear and a worm, or a needlefish, covers water in summer; kokanee want dodgers and hoochies at 20–40 feet. Through the ice, small jigs tipped with a nightcrawler or wax worm in 8–20 feet near the Soldier Creek arm and Chicken Creek. Strawberry carries a cutthroat slot limit that protects mid-size fish and a seasonal kokanee closure in the fall — read the water's regulations section below before keeping anything.
Current conditions
Stocking
Last stocked Oct 5, 2026 — rainbow trout (4,532 fish).
| Date | Species | Quantity | Avg length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 5, 2026 | rainbow trout | 4,532 | 6.24" |
| Oct 5, 2026 | rainbow trout | 4,520 | 6.05" |
| Sep 23, 2026 | cutthroat trout | 2,546 | 10.3" |
| Sep 23, 2026 | cutthroat trout | 900 | 9.9" |
| Sep 23, 2026 | cutthroat trout | 706 | 10.16" |
| Sep 23, 2026 | cutthroat trout | 228 | 10.16" |
| Sep 22, 2026 | cutthroat trout | 20,815 | 9.84" |
| Sep 22, 2026 | cutthroat trout | 4,432 | 10.25" |
Best time to fish Strawberry Reservoir
The DWR has stocked Strawberry Reservoir 330 times over the last 6 seasons, and 81% of those plants landed in June, September, October — the freshest fish and the easiest bite usually follow within a week or two of a stocking.
Species
Location
Nearby waters (within ~25 mi):
Guides & shops for this water
From our independent directory — no booking relationship.
Regulations
- Limit 4 trout or kokanee salmon (a combined total).
- No more than 2 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.
- Trout and salmon may not be filleted, and the heads or tails may not be removed in the field or in transit.
- Anglers are encouraged to voluntarily release all cutthroat trout.
- Any trout with cutthroat characteristics (not necessarily jaw slashing) is considered to be a cutthroat trout. To learn how to identify cutthroat trout in this water, see the graphic on page 49 and the description of Bear Lake cutthroat trout on page 52.
Special rules from the 2026 Utah Fishing Guidebook. Statewide daily limits apply to anything not listed. Rules change — always verify in the current guidebook before you fish.