Fishing Forum

I was on the water over the holiday weekend at Provo Boat Harbor and the white bass bite was wild, Using small Mepps spinners on Ultralight rods we were catching White Bass and an occasional Black Crappie near the mouth of the Provo River. The bite went on for days. I went searching for channels, but that bite was nonexistent probably the 80 degree water factored in there somewhere.

My observation is that the white bass are larger and healthier this year with many fish in the 11-13' range. I am not sure but I attribute the bigger fish to Bill Loy and the tens of thousands of fish he is removing in addition to the carp. I believe the lake is healthier and getting better thanks to the carp eradication program. The US fish and Wildlife is finally doing something worth while.

We moved to Starvation Wed morning and came home Thursday PM. Although reports were saying excellent fishing on Starvation, we didn't find it. Fishing was very slow. We tried Jigging for walleye with little success then tried trolling spoons for trout with the down riggers and spoons. Also tried casting rapalas and Mepps spinners. We covered a lot of water and did manage to take a few fish and 4 species.

Very few if any fish at the cleaning station. The ranger said the fishing dropped right off just prior to our arrival. Sound familiar? The one angler we saw at the fish cleaning station with a limit had 7" walleye. I don't know what that means but the ones we caught were bigger than that. We did manage a few decent smallmouth casting rapalas and Berekley Frenzys. Over all it was a great trip with very smokey, hazy skies.

We will watch this board to see if Starvation gets better and then plan to return. In the mean time, with cooling water temps I might go bottom bouncing or jigging on Utah Lake to see if the walleye are getting hungry. I will probably fish in the evening/night until water temperatures get back down around 70 Degrees.

I thought I got all this fishing recorded to video, but when I got home the SD card was blank. GoPro showed it was recording, but not so. Oh well another camera is on the way.

Good Luck....Good fishing and take a kid with you next time out. Steve
[signature]

Nicely done -- I never have fished for the white bass, but you sure make it look interesting....hoping to hit Starvation on the ice this season....if we get ice.....Guluk....
[signature]

Well, thanks a lot for ruining my plans []. After reading that post, as well as others, I cancelled my motel reservation and my Starvation fishing trip for next week. I'll do it later after it cools down and the fishing picks up again. I was really only interested in the walleye, and I don't need any stinking slimer trout [:p]. But thanks for the info.
[signature]

I think that there are some anglers that think pan fish and other so called "trash Fish" are beneath them and unworthy of their time, but I enjoy the challenge and the pleasure of fishing for any specie of fish. A large carp on a fly rod or light tackle is a challenge for any angler. Pound for pound a carp is a much tougher adversary than any trout.

Utah lake is close to my home and I can be on the water in a matter of minutes. I believe that white bass are the second most prolific specie in the lake with the common carp being first. Bill Loy is rapidly changing the dynamics of the lake with the removal of millions of pounds of carp. Additionally he is harvesting white bass. This helps the white bass population by decreasing competition and allowing the white bass to grow larger.

On light or Ultralight tackle with 2 or 4 pound test line the white bass is a great sport fish. There is no limit on Utah Lake and thousands if not 10's of thousands of them are caught by anglers who use them for bait or eat them. In spite of Bill Loy efforts and the 100's of buckets full of white bass being removed, there is still no shortage of fish. Once you find the schools, it is a wide open and wild bite.

I use a ultra lite 6' lamaglass or GLoomis rod matched with an appropriate UL reel and 2 pound test line. A size 1 Mepps spinner in brass or silver is all I need for an enjoyable afternoon of fast and furious fishing. I don't eat a lot of fish but occasionally I will kill some for bait and for delicious fish tacos.

I would encourage you to try this exciting fishery. Currently a huge school is located just off the Provo boat harbor jetty where the provo river empties into the lake. You can fish for them from the jetty, wading or in a boat. The spawn is long over and, I believe, the fish are there due to the cooler water. The schools move in and out, but even when the big schools are gone you can catch a few fish.Give them a try......As they say "nothing to loose and everything to gain". Good Luck....Good fishing and take a kid fishing. Steve
[signature]

Ditto on everything you said. Well put.
[signature]

Tks for some great info.....I was a Trout Snob for a long time when I first moved here to Utah over 40 years ago, but have long since enjoyed chasing most other species, esp. panfish thru the ice.....I know the Brits seem to be fond of carp -- I'm not there yet.....I don't chase large or smallmouth bass, but the last 2 years I've learned to appreciate wipers, and it looks like I'd enjoy taking my young grandson to try for white bass too......tks again for good info, and Guluk.....
[signature]

I was just looking on [url "https://nexusapi.dropcam.com/get_image?width=1900&uuid=0731a258218a462f9c822c967170d36d"]https://nexusapi.dropcam.com/get_image?width=1900&uuid=0731a258218a462f9c822c967170d36d[/url]
I noticed all the most of the dock ore out of the water, only the rentals and DNR dock are in, were they out when you launched?
[signature]

I kept my boat slipped at the end of the South Dock and they told me they were pulling two of them, but I didn't know that had happened. Since I don't have a slip any longer I will launch from Lincoln Beach for the balance of the season.

I am headed for Joes Valley Monday at dawn for a few days of fishing for Tiger Musky and Splake. It is my hope that shorter days and falling water temperatures will help get the fish on the bite. I t seems to me that fishing everywhere has been in a slump.I do hope it is over. I've been blaming it on eclipses, full moon, water temperatures, the mermaids being at Trump and everything else I can come up with. I just hope that it is over for all of our sakes. Good Luck and Good Fishing. I'll let you know how I do at Joes Valley. Don't forget to take a kid fishing. Set e
[signature]

Just curious about Bill Loy removing White Bass from Utah Lake. Has he been instructed or paid to do so? I had been told that all specie other than Carp were were released. Last ice fishing season some folks were critized for over harvesting White Bass on this site. Does Mr. Loy have a market for these fish? If so does the license buying sportsmen receive compensation for removal of public resources? Like I said earlier; just curious.
[signature]

The white bass are just hauled off and dumped with the carp. It would take for to long to sort them out so they are allowed to just haul them off.

They had a video of them netting through the ice and the DWR was there checking the other fish before releasing them and you could see them loading both white bass and carp up to be hauled away.
[signature]

I've said it for years. You can't hurt the White Bass population through harvest. It doesn't matter how many you take, how many the people take for the restaurants, how many go in the ground for fertilizer, how many wind up in dumpsters or anything else. If you harvest enough of them, the surviving fish will grow bigger, and will spawn next year.



[red]⫸[/red][orange]<{[/orange][yellow]{{[/yellow][green]{{[/green][size 4][blue]⦇[/blue][/size][blue]°[/blue][#8000FF]>[/#8000FF]
[signature]

This was discussed back in the Utah lake fish forum days. Mr. Loy often does have a market for the white bass and when he does, he sorts them out at the end of the day and sells them. Since his carp harvest has been increased with the June sucker recovery contract, I don't know if he sells all the white bass from every batch, but he does sell some and it is approved on his COR with the DWR.
[signature]

[quote Fishrmn]I've said it for years. You can't hurt the White Bass population through harvest. It doesn't matter how many you take, how many the people take for the restaurants, how many go in the ground for fertilizer, how many wind up in dumpsters or anything else. If you harvest enough of them, the surviving fish will grow bigger, and will spawn next year.



[red]⫸[/red][orange]<{[/orange][yellow]{{[/yellow][green]{{[/green][size 4][blue]⦇[/blue][/size][blue]°[/blue][#8000FF]>[/#8000FF][/quote]


Yep. Low water and bad spawning years can have an effect on Wb numbers but the local subsistence anglers/happy harvesters, crowds along the rivers during spawning runs, and other anglers harvesting "truckloads" of fish do not.
[signature]