15lb 14 oz wiper caught at Newcastle

[wiperhunter2]

Watched the snapshot of the week just now, saw a huge wiper was caught there recently, 30 and 1/2 ", sure wish they got that big up North. Not sure how many of you saw the fish but it was a pig.

[elkantlers]

That should be a new state record.

Previous Record
WIPER 2017 14 lbs. 28 ½" 22 ½" Haydee Bullard Newcastle Reservoir

[wiperhunter2]

@elkantlers

That should be a new state record.

Previous Record
WIPER 2017 14 lbs. 28 ½" 22 ½" Haydee Bullard Newcastle Reservoir

The guy that caught it did not want to keep it and they did not have a certified scale, so it won’t be a state record unless it’s for catch and release.

[jjannie]

Saw that as well. Had to be a fun fight, and no matter the record it was likely a record catch for the guy.

[wiperhunter2]

@jjannie

Saw that as well. Had to be a fun fight, and no matter the record it was likely a record catch for the guy.

Agreed, it was really amazing how fat it was too, they eat good in that little lake.

[Saltslam]

Kudos to the guy who let it go. It takes forever for a fish to achieve that size. I showed a friend how I catch those larger fish last year and he later went back by himself and kept two over eight pounds. Breaks my heart I clued him in, only to have him kill fish like that. Especially when there are smaller ones if you’re looking to eat them.
I don’t begrudge people keeping them on occasion, but it’d be nice for others to have an opportunity to catch such a fish themselves.

[wiperhunter2]

@Saltslam

Kudos to the guy who let it go. It takes forever for a fish to achieve that size. I showed a friend how I catch those larger fish last year and he later went back by himself and kept two over eight pounds. Breaks my heart I clued him in, only to have him kill fish like that. Especially when there are smaller ones if you’re looking to eat them.
I don’t begrudge people keeping them on occasion, but it’d be nice for others to have an opportunity to catch such a fish themselves.

I feel the same about wipers but that is mainly due to the fact that I don’t enjoy eating them but smaller fish, like you said, are better eating IMO. Wish I could get a pic of that fish to post but KSL did not have one, other than the video they showed on TV. When you are fishing for them there, do you fish from a boat or shore?

[AFDan52]

Wow that 's a Pig for sure . So I have a question pertaining to that, What are the Wipers feeding on in Newcastle Reservoir to make them get so big? I wish Willard Bay could grow them like that. :huh:

[Slabslayer666]

@AFDan52

              Wow that 's a Pig for sure . So I have a question pertaining to that, What are the Wipers feeding on in Newcastle Reservoir to make them get so big? I wish Willard Bay could grow them like that. :huh:

Answer is way the wiper get so big in New castle is because they feed on trout that is in there

[wiperhunter2]

@AFDan52

              Wow that 's a Pig for sure . So I have a question pertaining to that, What are the Wipers feeding on in Newcastle Reservoir to make them get so big? I wish Willard Bay could grow them like that. :huh:

Hey Dan, haven’t heard from you in a while, hope you are doing good. Newcastle might have other things they are feeding on but from what I’ve heard the main minnows that they feed on is shiners. From what I’ve read the depth of the lake is what lets them get so big, the problem with the Willard is the lake isn’t deep enough to allow them to grow to the size they get at Newcastle. In lake powell, the stripers there cannot survive to get really huge when they get in shallow water for longer than a few minutes. The really big stripers and by big I’m talking 30 pounds and bigger, in Powell stay in deep water and make brief trips to shallow water to feed, then they have to retreat to the deeper colder water. If Willard was just ten foot deeper they could get as big as they do in Newcastle.

[AFDan52]

Thanks Slabslayer666 , I was wondering what type of baitfish they were feeding on.

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@wiperhunter2

“AFDan52, post:8, topic:321629” wrote:

              Wow that 's a Pig for sure . So I have a question pertaining to that, What are the Wipers feeding on in Newcastle Reservoir to make them get so big? I wish Willard Bay could grow them like that. :huh:

Hey Dan, haven’t heard from you in a while, hope you are doing good. Newcastle might have other things they are feeding on but from what I’ve heard the main minnows that they feed on is the emerald shiner. From what I’ve read the depth of the lake is what lets them get so big, the problem with the Willard is the lake isn’t deep enough to allow them to grow to the size they get at Newcastle. In lake powell, the stripers there cannot survive to get really huge when they get in shallow water for longer than a few minutes. The really big stripers and by big I’m talking 30 pounds and bigger, in Powell stay in deep water and make brief trips to shallow water to feed, then they have to retreat to the deeper colder water. If Willard was just ten foot deeper they could get as big as they do in Newcastle.

Hi Curt , we’ve had a rough last couple of weeks as my wife took a fall while she was out feeding the chickens hurt her tailbone pretty good then I came down with some Gastrointestinal Stomach bug that lasted for a week. But everything is good now. As for Willard I would like to see them deepen that reservoir to the proper depth for the Wipers , but I don’t see that happening.

[PBH]

@wiperhunter2

“elkantlers, post:2, topic:321629” wrote:

That should be a new state record.

Previous Record
WIPER 2017 14 lbs. 28 ½" 22 ½" Haydee Bullard Newcastle Reservoir

The guy that caught it did not want to keep it and they did not have a certified scale, so it won’t be a state record unless it’s for catch and release.

that’s not the info I saw. In fact, the picture I saw was the fish in Cedar City. Not sure it could have survived the trip to town, then back for a release…

I think it is in the process of becoming the new state record.

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“Slabslayer666, post:9, topic:321629” wrote:

“AFDan52, post:8, topic:321629” wrote:

              Wow that 's a Pig for sure . So I have a question pertaining to that, What are the Wipers feeding on in Newcastle Reservoir to make them get so big? I wish Willard Bay could grow them like that. :huh:

Answer is way the wiper get so big in New castle is because they feed on trout that is in there

well, that isn’t entirely true. The real reason is golden shiners. That’s the whole reason that wipers are in New Castle. The success of the wiper program at New Castle is why we have seen wipers used as a management tool at at so many other lakes in Utah. They have done a marvelous job at controlling the golden shiners – illegally introduced in New Castle many years ago. Sure, those wipers might feed on a few trout as well. But shiners and crawfish are the primary food source for those wipers.

The great thing about the wipers is that they have kept New Castle alive as both a trout and smallmouth bass fishery as well. The trout fishing has been fun the last few years, and there are always nice smallmouth there too.

Why can’t Willard produce wipers like that? That’s easy. Predator vs. prey populations. How many predator species live in Willard? The balance is out-of-whack. You might grow some nice fish, but you won’t grow slobs.

[Big_Sky]

They might eat the occasional trout, but that really isn’t a wiper’s main target food source. From every stomach content check that I know of it’s mostly crawfish and smaller fish like chubs and shiners. In fact, I haven’t talked to anyone down here that has seen a trout in the stomach of any of the wiper’s they have kept.

[richyd4u]

@Big Sky

They might eat the occasional trout, but that really isn’t a wiper’s main target food source. From every stomach content check that I know of it’s mostly crawfish and smaller fish like chubs and shiners. In fact, I haven’t talked to anyone down here that has seen a trout in the stomach of any of the wiper’s they have kept.

Yeah, doubt many trout are taken by wipers. However, I’m sure some of the smaller smallies in there get gobbled up, which is good…too many of them anyways, helps thin the heard and grow bigger smallies. These Southern UT lakes are truly amazing wiper fisheries! And most of them, at the same time, are trophy trout fisheries! Fun combo!

[MrShane]

They could get even bigger than that in Utah Lake.
Utah Lake could grow ‘em like the Texas impoundments, say 50 lbs or so.
Just sayin…

[Freakyfisherman]

I think the best potential for a big wiper will be at East Canyon or Jordanelle. They need deeper water than Willard has to get big. I am guessing within 5 years, one of those two lakes will have wipers pushing 30 inches.
Gabe

[wiperhunter2]

@Freakyfisherman

I think the best potential for a big wiper will be at East Canyon or Jordanelle. They need deeper water than Willard has to get big. I am guessing within 5 years, one of those two lakes will have wipers pushing 30 inches.
Gabe

It will likely take longer than that, if I remember correctly they have been in New castle for well over ten years. Along with the deeper water they need lots of food, which is in short supply in East canyon but maybe Jordanelle has a chance. Of course when people keep 12 inch wipers, that does not help.

[wormandbobber]

@wiperhunter2

Watched the snapshot of the week just now, saw a huge wiper was caught there recently, 30 and 1/2 ", sure wish they got that big up North. Not sure how many of you saw the fish but it was a pig.

I saw pics last fall of a wiper that was pushing 18 pounds from Minersville…and Otter Creek is putting out some monsters too right now. That wiper record will be beat quite regularly for the next few years!