Fishing forecast (December through February): Deer Creek Reservoir typically has open water through December and January, and the wedge ramps are left in place for boat anglers. Boat and float tube anglers typically see good rainbow trout catch rates trolling squid rigs, white tube jigs and balanced leech fly patterns. We recommend anglers trolling for trout target fish in the 10-20 feet water column in December, and the 15-30 feet water column in January. Shore anglers tend to see fair to good rainbow trout catch rates in December, and fair catch rates in January. We recommend using garlic- or corn-scented trout dough bait fished 3 feet behind a with a casting bubble. DWR's fall stocking efforts of catchable-sized rainbow trout in October and November should provide anglers fair to good trout fishing this winter. Thin ice starts to develop during the first half of January near the dam, in the Wallsburg arm, along the shore in Rainbow Bay and The Island, and in the North Charleston portion of the reservoir. Deer Creek can freeze/cap completely during the latter part of January. However, the reservoir doesn't typically remain fully capped/frozen for very long. By early February, it's fairly common to have a mixture of ice and open water, with some fishable ice (ice that is at least 4 inches thick) from the Island day-use area north toward the Provo River. Ice conditions deteriorate quickly in late February. An ice safety guide is available here. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are challenging to catch in winter. Walleye and yellow perch can be caught through the ice. We recommend fishing using tungsten ice jigs tipped with nightcrawler fished off the bottom and targeting deep water (45-55 feet)