Smallmouth in Utah

[gstott]

I think slot limits can be good in some situations, but it does seem like other factors besides over harvest are more of a factor in the intermountain west. I mostly fish southeast Idaho, and there is a lake there where you are only allowed to keep 2 fish with a slot limit of 12-16". The lake experiences severe draw downs and is often quite low heading into winter. It doesn't really have much in the way of brush and trees along the banks, though many springs the water doesn't get high enough to reach them anyway. Couple that with only invertebrates, perch and baby bass as forage and you find a shortage of large fish. Large fish do turn up on occasions (likely from fish that grew large enough to prey on stocked trout), but the vast majority are in the 12-14" range.

Not far away is another lake that tends to have much more water heading into winter and a sizable population of bluegill. It also has extensive areas of willows and cottonwoods that flood every spring. It has general regulations, and while I don't typically catch as many fish as at the first lake, I do find a decent population of larger fish such as these two.

I used to be a pretty diehard catch and release fisherman when it comes to bass, but I'm beginning to see the light so to speak. I still don't keep larger bass, but I don't think it's as damaging to the water if an occasional larger fish is kept as I once thought.
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