03-21-2025, 02:40 PM
Yuba used to be one of my fave Utah fishin' holes...open water or ice. I first fished it in the late 70's...up until I moved to Arizona in 1984. Never more than a few other anglers on the lake and always lots of BIG perch, nice walleyes, a few pike and sometimes a big cat. And in those days you could also fish the big pool below the spillway for all of the above...plus occasionally some nice rainbows.
But, as you will read in the attached PDF files, the big drought of the early 2000s completely emptied the lake. When I drove back to Utah in 2004 I detoured off the freeway to look at Yuba. Only a small trickle of the Sevier River running down the middle of a big mud flat. And even with a few brief flashes of life, Yuba has never been the fishery it once was.
In the attached file on Yuba History I only cover up to about 2009. Since then there have been new species added to the lake...like smallmouths and wipers. And they have provided good fisheries...even if only for a short time. The ups and downs of the water levels...from drought and downstream water users...keep Yuba from stabilizing and maintaining any kind of good fishery for very long.
Whimper...Whimper.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS.pdf (Size: 2.83 MB / Downloads: 25)
YUBA HISTORY.pdf (Size: 312.34 KB / Downloads: 12)
But, as you will read in the attached PDF files, the big drought of the early 2000s completely emptied the lake. When I drove back to Utah in 2004 I detoured off the freeway to look at Yuba. Only a small trickle of the Sevier River running down the middle of a big mud flat. And even with a few brief flashes of life, Yuba has never been the fishery it once was.
In the attached file on Yuba History I only cover up to about 2009. Since then there have been new species added to the lake...like smallmouths and wipers. And they have provided good fisheries...even if only for a short time. The ups and downs of the water levels...from drought and downstream water users...keep Yuba from stabilizing and maintaining any kind of good fishery for very long.
Whimper...Whimper.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS.pdf (Size: 2.83 MB / Downloads: 25)
YUBA HISTORY.pdf (Size: 312.34 KB / Downloads: 12)