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+--- Thread: Utah Lake - What makes a killer storm? (/showthread.php?tid=1068868)
Utah Lake - What makes a killer storm? - Matador - 04-05-2019
I have fished Utah Lake many more times than once, even back in the day when it had the reputation of being polluted. My success rate has generally been only so-so, but I'll admit that warm-water fishing is not my strength. (I am more of an alpine lake fisherman)
I really enjoyed an outing at UL with my young son last summer, and we would like to fish there more often, but I also want the catching to be more consistent for us when we do.
Over the years I have noticed that Utah Lake generally fishes poorly for a few days after storms, at least for me. I've always blamed the wind.
My question is this:
What kind of storms kill the fishing at Utah Lake? Is it mainly storms with lots of wind? What about just a plain rain storm, that doesn't bring a lot of other fuss with it? Is it a matter of low barometric pressure? Any other thoughts?
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Re: [Matador] Utah Lake - What makes a killer storm? - TubeDude - 04-05-2019
[#0000FF]The problem with Utah Lake is that it is fairly shallow overall...and very shallow in many areas...especially during low water conditions. That means that when the wind blows hard from any direction it whips up waves that can be several feet high. Since the lake may only be a few feet deep that churns up the lake from top to bottom and sends the fish looking for the few deeper spots to ride out the storm and wait for calmer conditions to return to their feeding areas.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]That being said, if you are going to be fishing on the south end of the lake...like at Lincoln Beach...you can fish effectively with a south or southwest breeze up to 8-10 mph without too much wave action. But even a lighter breeze blowing in from the north can be problematic...for anglers and for fish. The same holds true for other areas...offshore breezes may be okay, but onshore winds can kill the bite.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I usually like to allow at least a couple of calm days after a blow to go fishing again. That usually lets the water clear up a bit and the fish to settle down and resume normal life...whatever normal life is to a fish.
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Re: [Matador] Utah Lake - What makes a killer storm? - Jedidiah - 04-05-2019
It's complicated. Most the time any storm that produces any significant amount of precipitation will increase feeding activity in the few hours leading up to the start, and then shut off the bite for 3 days or so after. Sometimes that period before the storm is a good time to get struck by lightning, so play at your own risk. Fish will tend to move deep after the storm and eat less which means bank anglers are out of luck.
Really though the two defining conditions are barometric pressure and temperature. Rapidly changing pressure stimulates fish appetites, low pressure settling in after a cold front shuts it down. Colder temperatures on the surface during warm months can move fish to the shallows, while the same colder temperatures during cold months will move them deeper. Steady barometer for several days means steady fishing except when it's trout and it's warm. If hot weather has been sitting on top of a lake for a few weeks and the surface temperature is 65+ trout are going to be deep no matter how steady the weather has been.
If it rains hard on Utah Lake tomorrow fishing won't be good for a few days but that other storm coming in on Tuesday might get them feeding in ahead of the weather. Nightfishing up until 10:00 or 11:00 tonight might be good.
Edit: Ohhhh yeah, what TD said about the shallowness and visibility. Wind on Utah Lake is a huge factor due to the crap it stirs up.
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Re: [Matador] Utah Lake - What makes a killer storm? - Matador - 04-06-2019
Thank you very much TubeDude and Jedidiah. It sounds like we have one vote for wind and one vote for barometric pressure. That is great information and I will make good use of it.
Now if we can just get a nice weekend after a couple of days of calm on the lake.
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Re: [Jedidiah] Utah Lake - What makes a killer storm? - Cowboypirate - 04-06-2019
I hope people read and reread your comments and Tubedudes above yours, that was a free college class, summarized in a post. Thanks
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