having spent the last 5 years living in lehi i’ve became accustom to being able to go fishing at night but now thatb i live in heber it is not practical to drive to utah lake for a quick night time trip so i’m wondering if anyone fishes DC at night i thot maybe for walleyes or browns and if so were on the lake is good at night and what works well pm are grate if you want thanks
try using crankbaits on weedlines or rocky shorelines in 5 to 10 feet at night or just a plain nightcrawler on the bottom has worked before, deer creek can be though for eyes and ive seen them caught on all ends of the lake so im not sure exactly where to go but the most eyes ive seen caught in one specific area is around rainbow bay towards the island a bit on the shoreline.
tightlines
Let us know if you go and how you do. I am planning a trip there tomorrow or Thursday evening/night. I will report back.
Thanks for the tip jazzperch
You really don’t have to cahnge your tactics to much fishing at night. For the most part with bait fishing it’s all the same if the sun is out or not.
Fushing with lures it can change some but the basics still apply. Like was said work the shoreline with cranks or jigs and maybe tip them with a little bait. One thing that we would do was jump up in lure size a little and use lures with rattles to get more noise and vibration into the water.
We had one friend that would go down and catch some monster trout all summer long and it seems that all he ever used was a jig tipped with worm. All he ever fished with was a 5’ ultra lite pole with two pound test line and small jigs.
We have done well around the island and up at the bridge when the water is up that far. Have also done well from the boat(when I had one) on the big points on the west side of the lake too.
I have fished deer creek many times at night so if you have any other questions feel free to ask.
thanks a lot bow nut and jazzperch i will have to try it out what types of crank baits would you recommend i have very little experience with them and a very small collection
walleye pointers or jointed rapalas, in perch, firetiger, or chub colored mainly what the forage is for them in the lake. lots of lil crappies in there too so maybe a blacka and white crank would work aswell. try some curly tali grubbys aswell, thats we weve got em on ice fishing up there. but walleye are tough and thats why people are after em so much, but walleye are where you find em, i usually catch them fishing for other species cause usually when i target them i only get 1 or a skunk.
tightlines
There used to be a group of anglers that fished Deer Creek at night for both Browns and Walleye. I know that even TD would launch his tube up there and slay the jumbo perch, a few browns, and a walleye or two.
Most of the Brown hunters trolled the lower half of the lake, from Rainbow bay to the Dam. Big Rapala’s in Perch and Rainbow trout patterns were the norm. They would troll the edges and just go round and round.
The walleye fisherman would work the northern part of the lake, around the Island, the tracks, and north end. Size 8 and 9 Shad raps were the bait of choice.
A lot of the walleye guys stopped after we lost a super good friend, Greg Jonas, in a late night accident. Didn’t seem worth the effort after Greg died !!!
If you do fish it, wear your life jacket and be care ful !!!
We have the July full moon coming up soon. That has long been a tradition for big walleye chasers. Fishing BIG crankbaits and plastic swim baits has accounted for some humongo wallies over the past few years. Fish them shallow over the flats or right next to shore along steep rocky shoreline.
Trout fishing can be great at night. The browns are going deeper during the daytime now but often come up in the water column after dark…to feed on hatchery pets and perchlets. I’m betting they don’t turn down** the occasional small crappie either. In times past one of their favorite snacks was tiny newly hatched perch fry. Small tube jigs in the shallows accounted for lots of decent browns. Not as many perch in the lake these days and the young smallmouth slurp them up before the browns can get to them.**
Used to have some epic nights fishing big rainbows at night this time of year. Like the browns, they go deeper during the day but cruise near the surface at night…and they have very good night vision. Use shallow running Rapalas or spinners. One of my favorite nighttime rainbow reapers was a bubble and fly on a spinning rod. I filled the bubble about half full of water…for casting distance but shallow sink. Then I tied on a big black streamer or bugger and let 'er fly. There were many casts when I barely got the bail flipped on my reel before feeling a strong surge on the other end.
My favorite night fishing area is from the island to the mouth of the Provo River. Water levels are key to the location and activity level of the fish. It is dropping fast now so every trip is first an exploratory exercise to find the fish. But you can count on them all being shallower after dark.
Once water levels drop enough to make the island a peninsula again…with shore access…there can be good bank tanglin’ from around the island at night. Bass and walleye will be in close. Trout will often be within easy casting range of flies or lures.
Good luck.
Yep the water is lower than the island now. A couple of days and it won’t even be a muddy walk to get over there.
Good news for the bank tangler brigade. Lots of good fishing from around the island. You can find everything from fast rocky dropoffs to gentle sloping mud bottom. And all species seem to like the real estate there.
So from the free parking space to the island is dry???
We killed it there for trout the winter before last. Pull a 24 in cut out of there. All of them had a belly full of crawdads. I have never tried DC at night, sounds like it could be fun. We usually troll it with popgear and a worm or just a jakes. You think a down rigger is necessary or do they all surface at night?
It’s out of the water bit still muddy. A couple of days of this heat and it will be dry.
Ok sounds good.