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I was wondering if Whitefish move out of Deer Creek, into the Provo or if they are always in the river? I was upstream of Charleston Bridge Friday, fly fishing baetis nymphs, and caught 30 or so Whitefish, most from one school in one run, but only one trout. The thing that I was most surprised with was the size of the fish; 3 of them went 4 lbs, several others were 2-3 lbs. They were large, fat and healthy, hard fighting fish. Considering the state record is 4 lbs 12 ozs, caught out of Deer creek, I thought that maybe these larger fish are migrating out of the lake.
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[font "Times New Roman"]I am thinking that they are always in the Provo.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Though I really don’t know, I have not caught any in the middle but I have caught them through other sections of the river.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]I have been shocked by the size of some of them myself, one I questioned the state record, big healthy fish that put up a good fight. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]30 fish thats a good day![/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Congrats![/font]
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i am pretty sure that they are always in there. i have caought several of them near the legacy bridge area in midway in the past while trying to catch trout. i am not sure when they spawn but it may be that they are spawning now and that is why there were so many toghether. all those i have caught were also 2-4 lbers.
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Whitefish spawn in December into January (good time to use a small yellow egg and hammer the trout). They are really the only native species left (and an occasional cutthoat) and are a good indication of the river health. They get big and fight hard and have rescued me many times in the winter when the trout get lockjaw. A couple things: White fish are a distant cousin of trout. They are NOT trash fish and should either be eaten or released. If the DWR catches you throwing them on the bank you will be fined. Second, they are not as pretty as trout but fight hard and eat like a trout, plus they are fun to target.
Nothing makes me madder than watching people throw these on the bank or knock them on the head and put them back in the river dead. These are gamefish, treat them with respect.
katghoti
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I had no idea that the state record for whitefish was only 4lbs. One of the largest fish I have caught on the Provo (Lower) was a 25-inch brute caught and released in November. The Weber holds similarly large whitefish. On the Provo, I have caught whitefish in town, at the mouth of the canyon (below the Glen Canyon park), throughout the canyon stretch, and in the Upper Provo above Jordanelle. They do seem to clump together at times, so if you catch one, you're likely to find a few more in the same spot.
They also seem to migrate a bit more than the browns. Often, I will catch the same brown under the same logjam year over year. Whitefish seem to be here today up or down river the next. I'm not sure if that is really the case or just my observation.
It sounds like you really got into them at Charleston. Way to go! They can be a lot of fun, especially when they have some size to them.
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