Hey everybody,
Just moved down here to Utah and I live about a half mile from the Jordan River. I went down tonight for a couple of hours and threw tubes and curly tail jigs and didn’t have any luck. I saw fish but could not get anything to bite, just wondering if anybody can give me any tips.
Thanks
If you can see the fish then you have got to be fishing inside of Salt Lake valley. The water runs more clear in the northern stretches due to water from Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood canyons as well as Mill Creek. The water that comes from Utah Lake is muddy and when a lot of water is being released it can make the whole river muddy. Strangely enough, a lot of people think of muddy water as being unhealthy and inhospitable for fish. Conversely, people tend to equate clear water with cleanliness. The upper stretch of the Jordan where it exits Utah Lake is actually teaming with white bass, crappie, bluegills, green sunfish, bullhead and channel catfish, largemouth bass, carp, and has a small but existent population of perch and walleyes. Though the river may appear cleaner inside of Salt Lake valley, it has been polluted heavily for years and is very slowly improving with clean up efforts. Fish that are more susceptible to jigs such as white bass, crappie, perch, and walleyes are not nearly as abundant in the north Jordan. I have fished the 6200 S diversion dam 4 times now for a grand total of 2 white bass. I’ve never caught a crappie in the lower Jordan and I catch thousands a year near the head waters where the Jordan begins. I know that there are some trout present but I have never caught one in Salt Lake City. A worm on the bottom using a slip sinker rig is the only consistent way to catch fish inside of Salt Lake City. You will get a bunch of light bites from Utah suckers which will mouth at a small piece of worm forever if and rarely pick it up. Carp will take a worm much more aggressively and give you a good fight but they are still just nasty. Bullheads will do a bunch of pecking but not a whole bunch of taking. There are channel catfish present and they will take a worm but they prefer sucker meat so catch one of those and then chunk him up. Jigs and spinners will be a better bet once the spring run off is over and the river clears and warms up.
Fishguru has it right. I have fished all parts of the Jordan River and have caught all types of fish, mostly by using a slip sinker rig (3/16 to 1/2 oz.), 18 inches of leader and a worm. As far as channel cats go you can also use shrimp, sucker meat, or liver, but worms will catch 'em to. White, SM, and LM bass, and walleyes seem to hang out from Utah lake to about 4500 south. I have heard of people throwing spinner baits and tube jigs and catching all the aforementioned species. Best bet is to get a two pole permit and fish one with the slip sinker rig down stream and the other you can be throwing all the other options (Don’t forget to try some 2-3" salted curly tail grubs on the other pole).
Good Luck!
Thanks for the tips I will have to get out soon and give those things a try!