Hello everyone, this is my first post here. I’ve been lurking for a while and trying to absorb the wealth of information here. I grew up fishing in SE Utah, but haven’t been fishing a whole lot for quite a few years. I’m living in SLC now, and I’m starting to get back into fishing, especially now that my daughter is getting very excited about fishing with dad! I’m not very familiar with much of the water along the Wasatch front, but am interested in learning to catch some warm water fish in Utah Lake and the Jordan River. The only warm water fishing I’ve done is at Lake Powell from a boat. I don’t have a boat, and I’m looking to fish with my daughter, so a tube is also not in the picture. I’ve read that the white bass will be spawning in a couple of months, but how is the shore fishing for them this time of year? What techniques would be most productive for them? I’m guessing that it is still a little cold for the cats? Is this a good time of year to be shore fishing UL, or should we look elsewhere for now? We are looking to get out for a little while on Saturday if the weather is decent, and I’m just trying to figure out what and where to try. Any suggestions would be appreciated either publicly or via PM. Thanks!
I could answer, but a well known UL angler, Tubedude, has already done a writeup that has everything that I would say in it. PM sent.
Welcome aboard Jeff. Hope you and your little fishin’ gal find a warm welcome on the local waters.
This is a transition time on most of our lakes. Ice coming off and the water just starting to warm back up and re-oxygenate after several months under the hard deck. For some species that is a big turn on and if you can find them you can catch them. But for most it can make it a bit tougher for a while. Still early for much of the better fishing.
White bass are probably your best bet for any kind of fishing from shore or docks right now. As has been reported recently, the whities can be caught inside the harbors…when they are inside. They move around a lot and can be there one day and completely gone the next. Try jigging all round the docks with small worm-tipped jigs, spinners or spoons. Small tube jigs are always a good choice. Colors don’t make as much difference as just finding the fish. They are pretty open minded if they are in there feeding.
You can also catch whities by casting from shore inside the harbors or along the outside edges of the dikes sometimes. They often cruise close to the rocks along the dikes. And, as the water warms a little bit the walleyes will get into their prespawn mode and you can catch some small males on the same things you are fishing for whities.
As the water warms toward the sixty degree mark, there will be areas along the shoreline in the shallows that see hordes of white bass showing up to spawn. Almost any rocky or brushy areas will be visited by whities and when they are in their lustful masses they smack anything you show them. Best time for that is from late April through May.
**Surprisingly, this cold water period can produce some good catfish…if you are in the right place at the right time with the right bait. Soak a minnow, piece of carp or white bass meat or even just a plain old nightcrawler off the dikes of the harbors. They often come inside the harbors, especially if they warm up a couple of degrees warmer than the outside lake. And they are sometimes very near shore…especially in the late afternoon on a sunny day. **
A good example is the south dike at Lincoln Beach. There is a big shallow bay there that warms up quickly on warm windless afternoons. Catfish, bullheads and other species move up into surprisingly shallow water and remain there into the evening hours…when cold nighttime temps drop the temps again. Sometimes fishing from late afternoon into early evening can be very productive off the end of the south dike in March…for some pretty big kitties.
The shallow south-facing beach at the Knolls can also be a good place to soak bait or cast small jigs during the early spring too. I fish it a lot from my float tube after iceout and often find the fish in pretty shallow water…especially on warm days. I also see the bank tanglers doing fairly well at such times.
Every year is different…in terms of water levels and water temps. And the pattern of storms, wind and warming/cooling have a big effect on the quality of fishing. I like to wait for a couple of days of stable weather after the last big cold blow before dunking my jigs or bait in Utah Lake. The fish are more active during stable conditions and this time of year a couple of degrees difference in water temps makes a big difference to most species.
My suggestion is to put together a good assortment of small jigs, some catfish hooks and some bait and start searching around the lake for an accessible spot where others are gathering. The angler network seems to work pretty well and wherever the fish show up you will find the welcoming committee. Before you start fishing, wander around and observe what the other guys are doing (or not doing). Sometimes it is just a case of “misery loves company”. No need to join a group of unsuccessful folks. Keep looking or try some spots where nobody else is fishing to find your own “hot spot”.
Get one of the blue and white maps on Utah Lake and start making notes on it. If you need help with some of the areas, send me a PM and I can send you some PDF files on Lincoln Beach or the Knolls…as well as writeups on white bass or catfish to help you speed up the learning curve.
TubdDude, You are a wealth of info. and you are more than willing to share. Thanks for the hook covers, protectors or what ever you call them. Taking grandkids with hooks on the rigs is easy with the things. Kinda funky. They could have just as good a lot more streamlined. But the price was right. Thanks
Well said Tube Dude welcome aboard Jeff
Welcome to the boards. Tubedude’s write up as always has a lot of useful information. As it starts to warm up and people start to post more about Utah lake don’t be afraid to a ask questions. There are a lot of good people on BFT. Sometimes people may not want to post something on the open boards but don’t mind sending someone a PM with some tips.
Thanks for the info and he welcome everyone. I’ll post a report if we get out tomorrow.
I ended up going to AF harbor on Saturday afternoon. There were quite a few people fishing, but nobody was catching anything. We fished for about an hour and a half with no luck, but my daughter was just happy to spend some time with me. We stopped at kidney pond on the way home and she reeled in a little rainbow. Good times. Thanks for all of your responses, I look forward to learning the waters of the Wasatch front with my daughter this year.
whoops sorry guys 