We had plans to go to bear lake for the cisco run but because I have a small boat and motor, and the expected wind was 10-20 mph, we opted out and went to Blue lake instead. We caught a lot of tilipia and 2 bluegills.
I tried berkley gulp maggots and berkley gulp red worms but natural worms were by far the best.
These remind me of the "mojarras aka rio grande perch" I caught in the rio grande in Texas. Most were about 5" long. It was so windy that we left Blue lake and hit the spring 1 block west which was our best bet. Sometime we'll go out again.
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This is what you can catch in the main lake if you know how. [
] Pic shows the difference between the "ponds" and the main lake. If I remember right, the big guy was over 17 in. I've only caught 2 more that size but quit going because I don't like what goes on out there and I'm alone and can't watch my "stuff" while fishing.
P.S. They're good eatun too. [
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[quote Leaky33]They're good eatun too. [
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That's why they got dumped in there by the "South of the Border" bunch.
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Were those fish caught in Blue Lake? I wouldn't mind catching some. Where is Blue Lake located? Thank's for the help.
15 miles south of Wendover (toward Ely). You'll see a sign there. Then its 7 miles east, over the border, back to Utah.
Thanks for the pic Leaky. I'll try for the bigger ones in the lake next time.
The best approach we found was to use a bobber with a worm 3-5 feet below, and slowly retrieve.
**Note - no limit on Tilapia. You must keep all fish since they were illegally planted.
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I learned to stay away in the summer. Blue Lake is the only water for miles... More bugs and critters than you can possibly imagine. Ten times worse than Willard.
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YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL AN OPINIONATED PERSON. BUT YOU CAN'T TELL THEM MUCH.
[quote TubeDude][quote Fishrmn That's why they got dumped in there by the "South of the Border" bunch.[/quote]
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[#0000ff]WRONG. Along with several other "exotic" warm water species they were planted (ILLEGALLY) by the divers who use the lake for THEIR personal pleasure. Divers like to see lots of different fish but have no concerns for the nest marauding habits of the exotics. Tilapia really helped put a dent in the bluegill and bass population by wiping out the nests of these other species.[/#0000ff]
WRONG
We're both gonna have our own opinions on this one, but as a diver and a fisherman, I'm gonna have to say why would anyone plant those ugly things? Tilapia have been planted in places like the "Spaghetti Bowl" on I-15 to provide easy meals for folks who like to eat them. They seemed to appear about the same time that the population of Wendover went from Caucasian to predominantly Latino. They are used by many as a food source because they are easy to propagate, cheap, and easy to acquire. I wouldn't doubt that there have been some cichlid species planted by divers, but not Tilapia. If I were gonna try to turn Blue Lake into a giant aquarium I'd choose fish that were better looking than what was already there. Maybe even Oscars or Peacock Cichlids, which are NOT Peacock Bass.
Images of Peacock Cichlids
http://www.google.com/images?client=safa...2&bih=1295
Images of Peacock Bass
http://www.google.com/images?client=safa...2&bih=1295
Images of Tilapia (note that many of the pictures of Tilapia are of filets, or cooked fish.
http://www.google.com/images?client=safa...2&bih=1295
If you're gonna plant something to look at go with pretty. If you're gonna plant something to eat, go with tasty and big. I doubt that Tilapia were planted by anyone who wanted to look at them.
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[cool][#0000ff]YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL AN OPINIONATED PERSON. BUT YOU CAN'T TELL THEM MUCH.
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[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff]Not worth debating. [/#0000ff]
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Of course not. You're always right.
Like I said, if you're gonna look at something go with pretty. Tilapia showed up when the folks who eat Tilapia showed up.
You would know.
I guess divers planted Tilapia in the I-80 ponds and the catch basin ponds of the Spaghetti Bowl too?
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Wow there's Tilapia in the spagetti bowl ponds? Better than the carp, I guess. I remember having 30+ fish days on 2-5lb. largemouths and 11" 'gills in the I-80 ponds untill the "sack-em-up" folks started showing up in about 2000. Tilapia in there also huh? Any size?
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I think the I-80 ponds have been suffering due to low water, not overharvest. It's not very good from the shore, a tube is the best way to fish it. Not many people fishing it this year. I don't think I seen one tube on it all year.
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[cool][#0000ff]I question the survivability of tilapia in the colder waters of the I-80 and spaghetti bowl ponds. They usually do not live in waters that get below about 55 degrees. When I lived in Arizona there were tilapia dieoffs in local waters during extremely cold winters. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have never heard of any tilapia being caught in either of those waters. There have been fish reported in the SB ponds but they are supposedly white bass. Nothing official. Not outside the realm of possibility that someone could have brought some from Blue Lake and dumped them in there...but if so they likely have not lived past the first winter.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Until DWR conducts a netting survey and publishes official findings I reserve a final opinion.[/#0000ff]
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Dont think I know what the spaghetti bowl ponds and I 80 ponds are. Not talking about just the water run off collections? Guess still places I dont know about
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Yes, the runoff collection. No, the Tilapia haven't done well. But they were put in there. Somebody wanted to grow dinner close to home.
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wow, I guess I didnt realize there were any fish in any of them. I realize they get a lot of water early in the year but damn there cant be that much in the late summer and fall
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[cool][#0000ff]The I-80 ponds are a long narrow canal next to I-80...a ways before you come to the Tooele turnoff while heading east on I-80. Used to be able to pull off several places to fight your way down through the brush to the water. Now you have to pull into the turnoff and go to the end, over the pipe and then down to the water. In years past, it was a great low-pressured spot to catch decent sized bluegills and largies after work. Heavily polluted with runoff chemicals from nearby mining operations but fun fishing even if you shouldn't keep and eat the fish. Unfortunately, it got some publicity from a couple of (TV) sources and the happy harvesters discovered it. Almost overnight it became tough fishing for smaller fish. Hmmmm.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As you have guessed, the small ponds between the pillars of the freeway overpasses on the spaghetti bowl are the waters into which various species have been "introduced". Again, not sure I would ever dare consume any fish caught from them but some folks are more desparate.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You ain't missin' much.[/#0000ff]
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well thanks for clearing up at least the location. I worked for that mining company nearb and I do know what ponds you are talking about. Guess I thought they were private property owned by said mining company...See I learn new stuff all the time[
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[cool][#0000ff]Just so there is no misunderstanding, the ponds in question are on the NORTH side of I-80. They are not the ones easily visible on the south. You can catch a fleeting glance at them at a couple of places along the freeway but you can't really get a good look at them unless you pull off onto the turnoff.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are also reportedly some nice bluegill and bass in a couple of the ponds around the Toole turnoff...but that IS private property from what I have heard. There is another private pond just west of the Toole turnoff that supposedly has big bass in it. I have seen the carp rolling in there during the early spring. There is a fence around that one with no trespassing signs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Always fun to find new places to fish, but sometimes the proven ponds are better.[/#0000ff]
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yep the bigger ones south of I 80 are definitely private property.
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