The Other Fall Color
Every September, Utah's kokanee salmon turn a startling red — and you don't need a boat, a license or a long drive to watch it happen.
Utahns will drive two hours up a canyon to look at maples. Fewer know that the same weeks bring an equally vivid color change underwater, one that plays out in creeks and rivers within easy reach of the Wasatch Front.
Kokanee salmon spend most of the year a plain, unremarkable silver. Then, sometime in early September, they transform. The fish go a deep crimson, the males develop humped backs, hooked jaws and lengthened teeth, and the whole population begins pushing out of the reservoirs and up into the tributary streams to spawn. Some travel as far as twenty miles to reach the gravel where they'll lay eggs. Against a shallow creek bed, they are impossible to miss.
By late autumn the run is over and the fish are gone. It's a narrow window, and this year it's open right now.
Two guided events, both free
The Division of Wildlife Resources hosts viewing days at two locations, each staffed by biologists who will explain what you're looking at.
Strawberry Reservoir — Saturday, Sept. 19, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Forest Service visitor center off U.S. 40, roughly 20 miles southeast of Heber City. A few fish are visible in the Strawberry River right beside the visitor center, but the real show is behind it, at the fish trap and egg-taking facility, where the salmon stack up in numbers. DWR outreach manager Michael Packer says the fish are easy to spot there, and that the up-close look has become a favorite autumn tradition for a lot of Utah families. Overflow parking sits southwest of the visitor center if the main lot fills.
Fish Lake — Saturday, Sept. 26, 3 to 7 p.m., about 40 miles southeast of Richfield. The viewing happens from the newly renovated boardwalk near Fish Lake Lodge, looking down into Twin Creeks. The DWR's Adam Kavalunas points out that the water here runs exceptionally clear, which makes it the better of the two spots for photography. Park at the Twin Creeks picnic area northeast of the lodge, along State Route 25.
Both events are free, but the DWR asks that you register in advance through Eventbrite. Questions about the Strawberry event go to the Springville office at 801-491-5678.
Can't make either date? The agency livestreams the Strawberry fish trap on its YouTube channel from Sept. 13 through Sept. 20 — worth knowing about if you've got kids who'd rather watch from the couch.
Five places to go on your own
The events are convenient, not necessary. These waters are open to anyone willing to show up at the right time.
Jordanelle Reservoir / Provo River (Summit County). Jordanelle's kokanee spawn in the Provo above the Rock Cliff recreation area, two miles west of Francis on the reservoir's eastern tip. Trails lead down to the water and a footbridge crosses the river, giving you a clean overhead look. The run holds through September and peaks mid-month. For most Wasatch Front readers, this is the shortest drive on the list.
Causey Reservoir (Weber County). The prettiest option and the most work. Fish gather at the left- and right-hand forks of the South Fork of the Ogden River. The left-hand fork can only be reached by paddleboard, kayak or canoe. The right-hand fork was historically hikeable from the Skullcrack Canyon lot, but that lot is closed for the Causey Improvement Project — check before you commit. Peak is mid-September.
Smith and Morehouse Reservoir (Summit County). Fish run up both Smith and Morehouse Creek and Red Pine Creek. Late September into mid-October is your window.
Stateline Reservoir (Summit County). On the Uintas' north slope, a half-mile shy of the Wyoming line. The fish here run small but turn out in real numbers, moving up the east fork of Smith's Fork into the reservoir's north end. Mid-September.
Electric Lake (Emery County). At the lake's north end the main tributary splits into Boulger Creek and Upper Huntington Creek, and salmon run both from early September through October — though the first half of October is generally the best viewing. Upper Huntington parallels State Route 264 for several miles with frequent pullouts, making this the easiest creek on the list to see from a car.
Look, don't touch
A few things are worth taking seriously.
Kokanee cannot be kept anywhere in Utah between Sept. 10 and Nov. 30. Some waters close their tributaries even earlier, so check the current Utah Fishing Guidebook before you go.
More to the point for spectators: stay out of the water. Most of Utah's kokanee populations depend on natural spawning, and walking across a gravel bed destroys eggs that have already been deposited. Don't try to handle the fish, and keep dogs from chasing them. DWR sportfish coordinator Trina Hedrick notes that people who disturb spawning fish can be cited for harassment.
At Sheep Creek in Daggett County — where the Flaming Gorge population supplies eggs for the state's entire hatchery program — there's an additional ask. A DWR fish trap sits in the creek for the duration of the run, collecting eggs and milt that supply kokanee fisheries in both Utah and Wyoming. Leave it alone and avoid the stretch of stream below it. Spawned fish get released upstream, where they'll continue on to more accessible viewing water.
The leaves will still be there in October. The salmon won't.