Utah fishing rules, water by water
Ranger Hawk is a free phone app for fishing in Utah. Type the name of a water and it shows that water’s own rules, the statewide limits that apply, and any emergency change in force today, all in Utah DWR’s words and readable with no signal.
Places near you
435 places to fish from Utah DWR’s own map layers, nearest first by road drive time from a Utah town you choose, each marked with what the app found for it today.
Every water with rules of its own
All 179 entries of the guidebook’s rules for specific waters, and the 64 community fishing waters.
Statewide limits and rules
The daily limits table, 39 of the general rules, and the general rules for spearfishing.
Closures and emergency changes
Every emergency change in force, with the days it has left, and any statewide closure while it runs, with its dates.
What opening a water shows
From the top down: anything wrong with the rules as a whole today, any closure or emergency change, the water’s own rules stretch by stretch, the statewide limits with the rows that apply marked, and the rules for groups of waters that may also cover it. Where the app cannot be sure which rule applies, it shows every candidate and says so.
Where the rules come from
Rules come from Utah DWR’s fishing guidebook and the emergency changes Utah DWR posts beside it; places come from Utah DWR’s map layers. A job runs every day that watches for a new emergency change or a reissued guidebook. A new emergency change is flagged in the job’s log and shown in the app as unread, word for word, until a person has read it into the rules; the rest of the data keeps refreshing every night. A reissued guidebook holds the day’s update until a person has checked it. If the list of changes has not been checked for more than three days, the app says so. Signs at the water govern where a rule says “as posted”.
Questions
Where are the fishing rules for a particular Utah water?
In Utah DWR’s fishing guidebook, under the rules for specific waters, together with the statewide limits and any emergency change. Ranger Hawk shows all three together for the water you pick.
Does it work without cell signal?
Yes, once it has been opened online. The rules for every water, the statewide table and the emergency changes it last downloaded are on the phone.
Is Ranger Hawk a Utah DWR app?
No. It is an independent app, not part of or endorsed by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. It shows Utah DWR’s own words and links to the source so you can confirm them.
Does it cover Flaming Gorge, Bear Lake and Lake Powell?
Only Utah’s rules for them. Those waters are shared with Wyoming, Idaho and Arizona, whose rules are not in the app.