Fishing Forum

As I mentioned in my other post, I haven't posted in a long time, it's hard to post when you doing get many opportunities to go fishing  
Anyway, I am hoping to change that this Christmas Break but, live in southern Utah now and have a big knowledge gap on how to fish some of these southern Utah waters, especially in the winter. 
I am curious if anyone has any guidance on how to target crappie and bluegill at Gunlock Reservoir in the middle of winter? I tried a little bit from my kayak last year but had little clue what I was doing. Any tips on how to chase those little guys in winter open water would be greatly appreciated. Is it possible to do from land or will I need to get out on the water?
Thanks!

PS Sorry, one more random question: Has anyone had any success fishing the Virgin or lower Santa Clara for channel cats? I know that the DWR tries really hard to keep them out of there and surrounding waters, but I know of one little pound next to the river that has little ones in it, and was floating the river this summer and saw a 8-9" channel cat swimming in the current. I also watched a surprising YouTube video of a guy fishing  below Zion NP for suckers and chub over two days and he caught one rainbow each day, so I guess anything is possible.

Try along the dam and the cove by the dam. I've caught crappies in the cove. Sand Hollow is a better bet for winter crappies and gills.

(11-22-2023, 06:35 PM)stan55 Wrote: [ -> ]Try along the dam and the cove by the dam. I've caught crappies in the cove. Sand Hollow is a better bet for winter crappies and gills.

Thanks for the insight! Any guidance on what depth to look for them?

Crappie suspend over deep water alot in Winter. They are also line shy and spooky. Gunlock is relititively clear, so light line is called for 4 or 6lb mono or fluro carbon . Preferred method would be to do modified "spider rigging" using a long, 8, 10, 12,etc ft, rod. You can use a bobber or not. If you have electronics, use them to locate a school and depth. Set your baits, small jigs w/ tubes, curl tails, or other plastics, just above the depth you located them at. Crappie feed "UP" ( eye are positioned to look up !!), so, using two jigs, set your lower jig 6-12 inches above the fish and the second jig about 12-18 inches above that. Move along SLOWLY, watching the rod tip for any movement. These are not aggressive strikes, very subtle. If you are casting, set your bobber so the bottom jig is 6-12 inches above the school. Again, a ultra slow retrieve is used, and the only indication of a strike will be a sideways movement of your bobber !! Small tubes, Crappie Magnets, small curl tails ( 1.5 inch or 3 inch) etc, on a 1/32, 1/16, or 1/8 oz jig hd. . Always place your heavier hd on the bottom. Tipping with a small bit of worm or a Crappie Nibble helps sweeten the deal. Later in spring and summer when the fish are more aggressive you can be more aggressive, but now, go small and slow !! Good Luck and have fun !!

Note: Bobby Garland developed his two best selling baits at Gunlock ( he lived in St. George ) the Spider Jig and Fat Gitzit ( the tube jig ). There are loads of crayfish in Gunlock and the LMB are well fed and hard to catch.