Something happened this summer that really piqued my interest in white bass as a game fish and Utah Lake as a fishery…it was about mid July, I was fishing for LMB at one of my favorite spots and after catching three or four 2-3 lbers, I had a fish slam my lure…much harder than the largies and took me three times as long to land…I had screamed to my son I was fighting at least a 5 LB largemouth and when I finally got it in it was a white bass, a healthy 1 lb 9 oz according to my digital scale.
I was in awe…over the next few casts I caught 3 or 4 more all much smaller and not near the fight as the first. For the rest of the summer I had gotten similar results with similar sized fish…I had considered them to be just as desirable catch as the largies…in that size group only. My mind began to wander at ways to get more of those whities bigger. I wonder if a slot limit would work, I have been throwing back the bigger ones all year and keeping all the tiny ones. How can I suggest this to the DWR…also, it seemed when I did look at to what they were eating 3/4 fish I checked had their belly full of June sucker minnows…or so they seemed to me…what do the white bass feed on in utah lake? are there any ways of getting those bigger, that lake would IMO be a destination if the fish white bass were bigger, by that I mean people would come from all over because of the sheer numbers of those buggers.
EVERYBODY would like to catch BIGGER white bass. But releasing ANY white bass is not a part of any viable program to get them bigger. They need a greater harvest…in all sizes. They breed prolifically and grow only as fast as the food supply allows. In years of good food supply and a balance of white bass numbers we see good sized whities. But in years where there is a huge white bass spawn and minimal spawn and survival among other species the whities stay small and skinny. Slot limits would have no value whatsoever. Even the no limit with massive harvest laws currently in place have absolutely no effect on the white bass sizes. Angler harvest is minimal compared to the sheer numbers of fish in the lake. The combined effects of water levels, food resources and predation from walleye and catfish…as well as their own species…have a far greater effect on the rise and fall of white bass sizes.
I have fished white bass in several other states. I have never seen a white bass fishery that produced fish over 2 pounds unless there was year round temperate water conditiions and massive numbers of threadfin shad for forage. And I have seen some lakes that routinely produced fish upwards of 4 pounds.
The Utah state record of 4 pounds happened during a time when white bass numbers were way down…from a combination of drought and heavy harvesting. The white bass numbers dropped and the size of the average fish got much bigger.
The two main forage species for white bass in Utah Lake are carp fry and white bass fry. Both get too big for the “average” white bass to eat by late fall. So the whities cruise the lake and gorge on the young of other species to tide them over until good feeding the next summer. They eat bluegills, crappies, perch, suckers…and leeches and midge larvae. Whatever they can find. But without a year-round reliable food source…like threadfin shad…there isn’t likely to be a sustainable population of larger white bass. Enjoy 'em while you got 'em 'cause it won’t last.
You are right a fair sized white bass hits hard and fights really well. Utah lake is a complicated fishery. It is more so because of the June sucker recovery program. I also believe that to increase the size of the white bass you would also have to reduce the numbers, so a little catch 22. There is only x amount of forage in Utah Lake. High water years there is more than low water years. Many of the forage fish in the lake grow rapidly and by fall are too big for white bass to prey on. I dont have a simple answer but introducing any new species of forage fish that might compete with the June Sucker isnt going to happen. For now I enjoy the years that we get the 13 and 14 inchers slightly more than the years I haul out loads of 9 inchers. Buit I enjoy them all.
well it looks like T.D. and I posted about the same time. As far as Utah Lake T.D. is maybe the best source of info he is an authority on that water and has spent more years that most of us can remember researching it (Fishing).. He and I both stated a need to reduce the population, inadequate forage etc. To get larger fish. I dont think that we are going to be able to do either one of those things. Enjoy them for what they are.
For what its worth I agree completely. Taking out massive amounts of white bass hasn’t done much. I’ve seen happy harvesters take pickup truck loads of wb out and nothing has really changed as far as white bass go.
I too have caught my biggest white bass this year. Had a couple go 14 inches. That’s huge for me. Never caught anything but 10-11 inchers before this year. I suspect that the population of wb will explode again if the water stays high.
If you could some how decimate the wb population the LM bass and walleye would go off the charts. One can only dream…
On a slightly different note, TD and I talked about this some Monday, but maybe a reminder for you all:
White bass discovered in Deer Creek - B-A-D
Here’s a story I wrote for Friday’s paper. Thought I may as well paste it here now.
By Brett Prettyman
The Salt Lake Tribune
Thanks to an alert angler, state fisheries officials have confirmed white bass in Deer Creek Reservoir and they are not happy about the implications. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and two sport fishing groups are offering a $7,000 reward to find out how the bass ended up in the Wasatch County water.
The fish — an adult white bass not native to Utah, but found in Utah Lake — was most likely introduced to Deer Creek by an angler hoping to expand the list of fisheries were the bass could be caught.
“We are absolutely sure that these fish were illegally moved by someone and dumped into that reservoir,” said Walt Donaldson, chief of fisheries for the DWR.
An angler fishing last week near where the Provo Rivers enters Deer Creek caught three of what he believed to be white bass. He took the fish to DWR biologists who confirmed the species. The man recently led biologists to the location and while they were trying to electroshock the water to see if there were any more white bass the angler caught another one on his fishing rod.
The white bass were near the river inlet because it is spawning season and they prefer moving water when laying eggs. Donaldson said it seemed like the fish were preparing to spawn and that there is a chance they were caught before they were able to fertilize any eggs.
If not, there could be trouble ahead for fish and anglers.
Deer Creek Reservoir is already home to several species — including rainbow and brown trout, walleye, smallmouth bass and yellow perch.
Adding more mouths to the productive reservoir could hurt other populations, namely the rainbow trout.
“Rainbows and young white bass eat mostly zooplankton,” said Roger Wilson, sport fishing coordinator for the DWR. “For the next year or two, there should be enough zooplankton for both of the fish. But white bass reproduce quickly, so it won’t take long for the white bass population to expand. Once that happens, there won’t be enough zooplankton to go around.”
Bucket biology, as the practice of illegally moving fish from one water to another is commonly called, is a Class A misdemeanor in Utah and punishable by a fine up to $2,500 and a year in jail.
“Our biologists are trying to provide anglers with a variety of fish to catch,” Donaldson said. “They do that by determining which fish will do the best in specific waters and then placing fish in those waters that won’t compete directly for food, space and cover.”
**It is always shocking and scary when a new uninvited “guest” shows up in one of our favorite ponds. Too many stories in Utah and elsewhere where bucket bozos dumped in a new unapproved species and there were tragic consequences. **
As you may recall, in our conversation on the white bass in Deer Creek, I expressed my doubts that they would ever become a MAJOR problem in this lake. The few of them that have been captured so far have all been healthy, but I question whether the year round conditions (cold) and the lack of a stable forage base will foster an explosion of whities. Not many coldwater lakes that have good white bass populations.
Another potential factor is that they are literally “swimming uphill”…against a well established population of predators that will eat the young of the spawning white bass. Walleyes, bass, crappies, perch, trout and even other white bass will all snarf down the baby whities if they can get to them. And their main forage base is likely to be young perch and carp. Perch are still not that plentiful and the carp grow so fast that they get too big for the white bass to eat within two or three months of hatching.
I do not pretend to know for a certainty that the white bass will NEVER become a major glitch in the Deer Creek ecosystem. But, based on my exposure to them in lots of other waters around the country I have my doubts.
Bottom line is that we shouldn’t have to find out whether they will or won’t. Bucket bozos should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law…the law of angry anglers who are tired of illegal introductions. Get out the pitchforks, the torches and the hangin’ rope. Let’s go get us some BBs.
Wish I could be as optimistic as to the impact of white bass at DC. Bummer!
I do however know that the water levels at Utah Lake have remained at almost the compromise level which means almost full.
For the lake to be that high at this time of year means another good water year.
The June Suckers had outstanding production to the point that the recovery folks are whispering ideas of down-listing or potentially even de-listing them.
That’s partially due to spawning habitat improvements (primarily Hobble Creek) but mostly due to the high water levels.
This has also meant excellent spawning for the white bass and other species.
The combination of carp reduction and available habitat points to a few promising fishing years to come.