My girlfriend wants to get out fish Utah Lake. I've never fished it and was wondering if anyone had advise. Like access and if the east or west side is better. Also, I've heard the ice is real temperamental. Anyone know how thick the ice is? Thanks guys.
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Welcome aboard the board. There's one most knowledgable about UL, and that's Tubedude. He's got a whole book (CD), with all kinds of maps, access, fish varieties, habits, history.... and on.
But we have a lot of maps circulating the site - if you try some searches you could hit 'em. Can't tell you about current conditions, but there's been some reports.
Do you know of the Utah Lake cams? [url "http://www.livelakeview.com/"]http://www.livelakeview.com/[/url]
It's a big lake, so you might want to specify what end you're interested in. Here's a couple maps to start ya.
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Sample of one of his PDFs too.
Best of luck, hope to hear how ya do.
[#0000FF]Good luck with Utah Lake...for first time fishing it and through the ice. It has been tougher fishing the past couple of winters because of lower water conditions. It is a shallow lake to begin with and when levels inside the harbors drop below about 3-4 feet deep the fish do not come inside as much. They roam around out in the main lake and are harder to find.
That being said, there are some occasional decent catches of bluegills, sunfish, perch, crappies and white bass inside some of the harbors...some of the time. On any given day it is guesswork to try to figure out where the fishing will be best on that day.
On the west side, the only public access is the Saratoga Springs harbor...at Pelican Bay. It often has some good fishing for small bluegills right off the end of the concrete ramp...where there is a deeper scour hole from boat launchings. Also worth trying around the docks. Some northern pike have been taken inside this harbor for the past couple of years.
At the NW corner of the lake is the pumphouse area, where the Jordan River leaves Utah Lake. There are several different spots there that have produced good ice fishing in the past...but have been less than stellar this year.
At the far north end of the lake is American Fork Boat Harbor. Almost always a few fish of some species to be found there...especially around the docks but sometimes out at the harbor entrance or even outside the harbor. Look for other anglers or evidence of heavy activity...lots of holes.
At the NE corner of the lake is Lindon Harbor. It too usually has a few fish and fishing around the docks is a good way to start. But there can be schools of bluegills or white bass out around the harbor entrance too.
Right in the middle of the east side of the lake is the Provo Boat Harbor. It is a state park and is the largest harbor on Utah Lake. Lots of docks and rocks. Sometimes great fishing but not so much in lower water years.
At the south end of the lake is Lincoln Beach. It is free access...a county park. Even in low water there are often a few bluegill, crappies and white bass up near the ramp end of the boat channel. Also some potential just outside the harbor entrance. If you head north, around the point, and work out away from the shoreline you can find the drop offs where the rock shelves become the mud bottom. A good breakline can be a good spot to set up and wait for passing schools of white bass. You might also score an occasional walleye, largemouth or channel cat.
I am attaching a couple of PDF files that should help.
Ice on the main lake is still about 10", but there are pressure cracks in places. If you stay inside the harbors you will find ice even thicker...up to 20 inches or more. The harbors are the first to freeze and are protected from the winds. But it always pays to look carefully at the edges and sometimes you will want to step onto the ice from one of the docks rather than risk going through on thinner ice around the shoreline.
Good luck.
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The ice while seemingly thick is not as thick as I thought on the main lake. Lots of pressure ridges and cracks and when I got to suspicious areas one jab of the chisel and it went right through. This was on the south side and at AF, it is fairly consistent. Some places thick as hell but surprisingly thin elsewhere. Yet the loy's trucks were driving fairly fast in a non ridged up flat area of ice LOL. I could feel the ice cave in some areas under my feet, would not advise driving at this point lol.
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[#FF0000]"I could feel the ice cave in some areas under my feet,"
[#0000FF]Have you been gaining weight?
As we both know, from past experience, Utah Lake does not maintain constant thickness over the whole lake. With the inlets, warm springs and pressure cracks it is unwise to simply assume the whole lake has thick ice.
Getting to that time of year when a plank and an ice spud are two good items to include on a trip.
Hoping the ice rips off soon and we get some good prespawn walleye action.
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From my last trip the ice in the harbor was 16" 3 weeks ago but out in the middle of the lake from last week was 14" so I'm pretty sure the main harbors are a good 18-20"+ by now. Fishing had slowed down big time especially when the ice got thicker.
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