I live in Provo, about 5 minutes away from Utah Lake State Park. I'm really interested in Catfishing. I caught a few catfish last summer fishing off the dyke road that circles the Provo airport. Most of the catfish I caught were fairly small (around 15") I did land a 28" catfish which was the best fight I've ever had with a fish. It got me excited to try for some more channel cats this summer. Does any one know how early to start fishing for catfish? Also, I do not have a boat, does any one know of any good spots to catch catfish from the shore? I will continue to fish the dyke road once the ice is melted, but I would like to try some new spots as well. I would appreciate any information that any one has. Thanks.
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I have catch bullhead catfish from shore as early as mid march with worms in the bullrushes. Channel catfish can be caught then too, but they become much more active in April.
If you can get out to the outer edge of the weedline (wading or in a float tube) you might have more success for channel cats. You'll catch more of them using carp or white bass meat, or small dead chub minnows, but they do hit worms too.
The dike, depending on which part you fish from and the lake water level, can be a good place. Some years the water at the dike is too shallow to hold fish.
Lindon Marina can be good too, and Lincoln Beach on the southwest side of the lake.
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Hey Stubbs65,
Catfish fishing is awesome!!! It is one of the greatest things about Utah Lake and some claim it can be done almost year round. They will start up soon and can be caught now. I would do a big write up here, but TubeDude has a PDF already on the web:
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=34355"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=34355[/url]
Also, Here is a Map to use for locating the places he talks about:
[url "http://www.rockymountainanglers.com/images/UtahLakeMap.gif"]http://www.rockymountainanglers.com/images/UtahLakeMap.gif[/url]
It sums up all of the times and spots and baits to use. You can catch them anywhere, the bullheads (smaller type) are all over and are caught on worm and a simple hook. Chubs work great for the larger channel cats, along with a little bigger hook. Slip or no weight....that way they will not feel the weight and spit it.
Good Luck,
Shawn M
(Pat, I hope you are ok with my sharing this link, It was already on the web. If it had not of been, I would not have posted it without permission.)
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Thanks for the quick responses. I am dying for spring to set in, so I can do some solid fishing. I've had success with worms and with carp/white bass meat. I've heard that catfish will also bite on shrimp. Has any one ever tried shrimp at Utah lake? If so, does it matter if it is frozen or fresh shrimp that you use? My wife has a large bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, and I would like to try shrimp if it is at all successful.
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Much better to use carp meat or white bass meat - although shrimp does work sometimes.
Go catch a carp with bread balls or worms from the lake or a pond someone (I used to catch them from the pond on the corner south of Novell between it and the golf course in south provo with bread wadded into a ball on a hook).
They're the best bait by far.
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When I first started fishing for cats at Utah Lake I was taught by an angler that used nothing else but shrimp. It works fine, whether fresh or frozen, but can get expensive for bait.
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I really started learning the catfish bite on UL last summer. Shrimp works, but I can out catch someone one using shrimp 10 -1 with WB meat. May seem weird, but I have done better on the river with shrimp, than in the lake. But TD out caught me with his chubs/minnows on a trip last year.
The first time I ever went to UL, a couple elderly gentleman told me this in a conversation: " if you want to catch any fish in UL, you have to feed'em meat!"
Going to do some bow fishing this spring to help the carp removal, so I will definitely have some carp meat for bait this summer to try.
Most of my better spots are on the north end of the lake. Can't wait to get to some new spots. Maybe join in on a flotilla at LB or the Knolls, if there is one..
This is the only time of the year I wish the wind would blow...
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Last summer I dedicated a lot of time to catfishing (especially at night). We caught big channels consistently out at sandy beach (south end of the lake) right outside the reed line. My experience has been that night crawlers caught more channels than any other bait hands down, and yes I tried white bass meat, blood bait, pig kidney, homemade stink bait, store bought stink bait, hot dogs, etc. Word on the street the bigger "blue" shrimp at the store is the ticket. I plan on trying that this summer. Our most productive time to catch the catfish was in July, I didn't get out there much earlier than June. I've also caught catfish at the provo river right where it lets into the lake. But it was a one time thing. For like a week I was knocking them dead, and after that I didn't catch one there again. So for two of three years I didn''t catch any cats from the provo river. Although the year I was catching them the river was really slow moving compared to other times. I've heard AF boat harbor produces big channel cats. Last summer I heard of numerous 25 pounds cats pulled out of there.
Also my experience has been that the catfish aren't bothered by the weight on your line. I couldn't tell a difference between putting a slip sinker rig on compared to split shots.
The question I have is how do you make it to where you catch channel cats and not mud cats? The only time I had a problem with this is when I fished at Lincoln Beach. Maybe location is the biggest factor.
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I catch a lot of channel catfish out of Utah Lake and the majority of the time I catch no bullheads. Location might play a factor, but I think the biggest reason is that I get my bait about 6 inches up off the bottom with a bubble.
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I didn't catch a single bullead all last summer. maybe it's the bait, or the size of the bait. I use a fairly large chunk of WB meat and a 02 hook.
My set up is a snelled hook on a swivel with a 1/2oz slip weight above the swivel. i think the natural bouyancy of the bait keeps me of the bottom as well.
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[cool][#0000ff]Sounds like you are limited by experience, transportation and floatation. Experience will come through practice and from good input from other cataholics on this board. If you only fish one small area of a lake, you will be limited not only in what you can learn but in the size, number and species of the fish you catch. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Utah Lake is one of the best catfish condos in the whole darned US of A. I know. I have fished kitties in most states and in some of the most popular waters. There are other places that produce more and bigger fish...but not many. We got it pretty good.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Utah Lake is big enough to have many different personalities...depending upon where you park your vehicle. Everything from shallow marshes to deep rocky dropoffs. And lots of reeds and brush around much of the shoreline. The good news is that you can catch cats almost anywhere on the lake, at some time or another. But some places are better than others at certain times of the year and under specific conditions. How's them for generalities that don't help worth a hoot?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you are limited to fishing from shore, the dike road is probably about as good a bet as any. But, you can also do well around any of the developed harbor areas...both inside and outside the dikes. As expected, the fish are not always there, but if they are you can catch them. If you are able to drive further, and don't mind the drive, fish the dikes at Lincoln Beach. Early in the year sees some big cats taken off the end of either dike...especially at night. There is also the Knolls area, on the far western side of the lake. Like Lincoln Beach, there is no fee for parking or fishing. Rough roads getting down there but some good fishing for all species once you learn the spots.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Baits? Everybody has their own opinions and everybody fishes what they have the most confidence in. My experience is that crawlers are the most universal bait. But, you tend to get more bullheads and white bass than channel cats. And, putting them on a bobber above the bottom makes no difference at all. Bullheads will take a grasshopper off the surface so they have no problem coming a few feet off the bottom for a worm. Ditto for any of the other popular baits. I have caught bullheads on virtually every type of bait I have been fishing for other species...including jigs. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I use chub minnows a lot. I also use carp meat and white bass meat. I usually take all three...plus crawlers...when I go afloat for kitties. Some days the fish show a definite preference for one or the other. Other days it does not seem to matter. But it is always good to have a variety and let the fish tell you what they want. And that can change through the day. Silly fishies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Rigs are like bait. Everybody has their own idea of what the perfect catfish rig is. The truth is that it often doesn't make much difference. They are not line shy. Nor are they turned off by a lot of extra "hardware"...swivels, sinkers, etc. Remember, they often gulp up sticks and rocks along with whatever real food they are chomping. They got no class. Your choice of rig should be more about what you need to cast your bait out and keep it in the zone...without snagging up all the time. Some days you will need to rig with little or no weight, if the fish are touchy, but generally you can use almost any amount of weight and the fish will move it around enough to let you know you have a bite.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You can catch channel cats all year...even under the ice. But, they do get a lot more active in warmer water. They seem to really go on a feed soon after ice out. I catch some of my biggest cats every year beginning in late March through April. In May, when the water temps reach 65, the cats start moving into shoreline weeds and rocks for spawning. If you can't catch cats on a bait under a bobber during the next three months you should quit fishing. But, the biggest cats feed mostly at night and come into some very shallow water. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When I fish cats from my float tube I watch my sonar as I move from place to place, dragging bait. I pay close attention to the depths in which I find fish and once a pattern develops I try to keep my bait in the depth at which I have gotten the most action. Some days that will be only two or three feet of water. Other days it might be as deep as 7 or 8 feet. These things are affected by water temps, clarity and weather conditions. Utah Lake gets "bumpy" in the wind and that will often move shallow fish out into deeper water until things quiet down. I usually like to go out after a day or two of calm conditions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are catfish being caught right now in some spots around the lake. There will be more reports coming in within the next two weeks. Go where the fish are and use what the other successful anglers are using. Try new things and develop an arsenal of baits and techniques. Then you will be better prepared for whatever conditions you find on each trip. [/#0000ff]
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I appreciate all the comments. I just joined this forum yesterday. It is nice to learn some tips and tricks from other people. I haven't tried fishing Lincoln beach yet. I definitely want to try it when things warm up a bit. I've tried behind Geneva at the "bubble up" with very little success. I think I only caught one white bass in the two hours I was there. I've also tried fishing the Lindon boat harbor, but that was really slow fishing as well (and I didn't catch any cats).
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I do have a question about night fishing. I had most of my success last summer in the early morning, but I've heard that catfish are active at night and will bite until around midnight. I tried night fishing, but around 9:00 pm the mosquitoes on the dyke road around provo airport are so bad that I had to leave. It is literally a thick cloud of mosquitoes. Are there fewer mosquitoes in other areas like Lincoln beach? Or, if the mosquitoes are that bad everywhere around the lake, does anyone know any tricks to keep the bugs away from where you are fishing? I've thought about building a fire and buying some bug repellent candles. I just don't know if that would work or not. Any ideas?
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[cool][#0000ff]There are a lot of common notions about catfish fishing that aren't necessarily true on Utah Lake. One is that you have to use stinky bait. Utah Lake cats seem to like fresh natural bait a lot more than the prepared stinky dough baits. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The second is that you will ALWAYS do better fishing for cats after dark. Balderdash. I only fish them during the daytime...as do a lot of Utah Lake cat fans...and we catch plenty. In fact, some of my slowest trips have been night trips. But, there can be good fishing at night too...if you can handle the bugs. I can't.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One of the best reasons I can think of for NOT fishing at night is the skeeters. In fact, the species of mosquito that carries West Nile virus comes out after dark...and disappears during the day. There will be a few mosquitoes almost anywhere around the lake...especially during cool low light hours. But, they are far fewer in the bright warm days.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you simply have to fish at night, be sure to dose up heavily with high % DEET repellent. Better than fires or candles that can be ineffective in even a light breeze in the wrong direction. Also a good idea to wear a fine mesh head covering. They not only help keep skeeters away from exposed skin but also help with the swarms of midges that sometimes can choke you and get in your eyes and ears. Extra protein but not high on my preferred list of lakeside menu items.[/#0000ff]
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My experience has been that if you get out on the water(in a boat) the mosquito problem seems to be minimal. The only problem then is gnats. We wore lots of deet and when it was night we used red head lamps to see rather than a white light that attracts millions of bugs. The red light works really well! Long sleeve, long pant is a good idea. And a mesh face covering would be quite nice.
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