I have lived in Utah for 6 years now. I am from SE Idaho. I have to say that I am impressed with the variety that Utah has in it’s fishery. I grew up catching bows, cutts, brooks, perch and kokes. I have caught the following since I lived in Utah.
Mud cat
channel cat
walleye
LM bass
SM bass
Lake trout
burbot
carp (not my favorite, but at least the list is inclusive)
A remarkable fishery by any standards. Some of my best fishing days ever have happened on strawberry. Will someone please tell Idaho’s fish and game to get their act together?
I would still like to have white bass on that list. Can anyone help me with that? Are there any other species that I should catch before I move? I caught the cats, walleye and carp on utah lake. How does one catch white bass? I assume that the water needs to get a little warmer. I have a pontoon boat with an electric trolling motor.
Might wanna try your luck at a tiger muskie.. (pineview)
Also, Wipers from willard..
After you catch the above 2.. you probably be convinced.. “This is the Place ”
Let the water warm up a little at Utah lake, maybe more importantly.. get the weather stabilized then give it another go fort he whites… I have caught almost all of mine on a grub or spinner. White has seemed to be a good color. Be sure and eat one or two of them.. you might be surprised.
I caught all those fish except the white bass in Southern Idaho.
Idaho’s F&G is pretty decent really. I think Utah could learn from them- certainly in the Northern part of the state. But I do think we are making progress
I have also caught 1 wiper. It was a heck of a fight.
I guess that I should not talk too extensively about the IF&G, but I am fairly impressed with the numbers of fish in Utah relative to the population. I am also impressed with the fish and game officers in Utah. I have only been checked in Idaho a handful of times. I have been checked in Utah a lot more, but sometimes by biologists. I have never been checked by a biologist in Idaho. I guess I have more of the impression of a proactive organization in Utah, compared to Idaho. The Utah fish and game also appears to work for the interests of the hunter and fisherman. I am not sure who’s interests the Idaho fish and game works for, but if you decide by what they are doing, they don’t seem to work for the interests of the sportsman.
I own a lifetime fishing license in the state of Idaho. I will always fish there, but when I hear of some of the things going on up there, I am not impressed to say the least.
You are alot like me in the fact that you make a mental list of different species that you want to catch. I’m a younger guy (22) who didn’t get into fishing until my early teens and only recently started to go further out to get the fish I haven’t caught yet.
I still have these fish on my list, which is a shame:
I believe I’ve caught every other game fish in Utah besides those.
My largest fish to this day was probably a channel cat from the Jordan River close to 10 lbs., but I’ll smash that now that I’ll try for some Idaho sturgeon and I have a deep sea fishing trip planned in Fiji this August.
As far as white bass go, you’re best bet is probably to go back to Utah Lake. I fish them pretty much like any other bass, only on lighter tackle and smaller lures. People do pretty good with spinners. My best luck was with a beetle spin spinnerbait. If you want to catch them consistently you’ll have to find a school of them since they tend to move in packs like little wolves, in and out of the bays at Utah Lake.
I think the Idaho Department of Fish and Game deserves alot more credit than you give them. You have to remember that Idaho has water connections with the Pacific Ocean vial the Snake River and other tributaties. It is very hard to manage introduced and natural species at the same time. It is more important to preserve natural salmon and trout waters, than turn them into introduced species waters. Also, Idaho is a cooler (temperature) state in general, and is not as suited for warmwater fish as Utah is. You have some world class trout fisheries up there. For one, Lake Pend Oreille has huge rainbows and landlocked Chinook Salmon. You have some real nice backcountry fisheries as well, just like Utah’s Uinta Mountains, and Thousand Mountain area. You are right though, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is to be congratulated for what they do in the 2nd driest state in the country.
Don’t bother with white bass just yet…wait till it warms a little. They can be the dumbest and easiest fish to catch one day…then the next day, you won’t catch a thing in the same spot with the same presentation…however they can be patterned somewhat with experience. Check back with me in May I will make sure to pm you some pointers. I can predict certain days they will be more responsive and where. Never a sure thing, but it comes close. Other species much more predictable.
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I think the Idaho Department of Fish and Game deserves alot more credit than you give them. You have to remember that Idaho has water connections with the Pacific Ocean vial the Snake River and other tributaties. It is very hard to manage introduced and natural species at the same time. It is more important to preserve natural salmon and trout waters, than turn them into introduced species waters. Also, Idaho is a cooler (temperature) state in general, and is not as suited for warmwater fish as Utah is. You have some world class trout fisheries up there. For one, Lake Pend Oreille has huge rainbows and landlocked Chinook Salmon. You have some real nice backcountry fisheries as well, just like Utah’s Uinta Mountains, and Thousand Mountain area. You are right though, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is to be congratulated for what they do in the 2nd driest state in the country.[/reply]
I guess I don’t know how to quote others properly. I agree with all of what you said above. I just see a lot more work being done by the DWR here than I do in Idaho. (a lot more work could be done to preserve native cutts in idaho than is being done. specifically on the upper snake). Perhaps this would be a better discussion on the Idaho board.
Bottom line for me is that I am happy with the DWR here and I am glad to live here for now.
Yes, the DWR is very publically involved here. At the RAC and other meetings, biologist are very happy and eager to answer questions. You can call and e-mail them as well. Very easy for us, I agree.
White Bass are a fun fish to catch. You can catch them right now at the mouth of the Provo River where it empties in to the lake. Also, in about two more weeks, they will be rampid in all the harbors but find an inlet … you will be good to go.
p.s.
Use chartruese or white grubs on a 1/8oz lead-head. Cast & Reel.
No, no lightning trout yet, but I came dang close once at Lovenia Lake in the Uintas when I was 17. A pretty bad storm came right over us, but it was warm so we fished through it. I’ve never heard thunder so loud. Next day I found out that a campsite down below us at Trial Lake was struck by lightning and 3 people were killed… A mother, father, and one of their children. The other 2 children lived. When we were hiking out the next day people were coming up on the trail and said, “You were up there during that storm! Did you know 3 people were killed yesterday?!?”
Never heard it called lightening trout before. I vividly remember a summer afternoon almost 60 yrs. ago when I was fishing on Baker creek in Nevada with one of those old Bristol telescoping steel rods.
There was a thunderstorm in progress but I wasn’t minding it much because I was wading in the ice cold creek anyway. Then a lightening bolt hit a tree quite a ways up the hillside above me and a spark jumped from the rod onto my hand (those old Bristol rods had a cork handle) and I almost went down from the zap. At that time the trout limit was 30 in Nevada and I had almost that many on a willow stringer, never did find them but I remember running bawling my a-- off back to a cabin that the Forset service had there to stay in when they took snowpack surveys. I hid out there until the storm passed and then went back and got my rod and looked for my fish.
It wasn’t until a lot of years later that I realized just how lucky I was that I didn’t get fried.
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