Targeting Panfish at Utah Lake

[happybob91]

I will be getting the tube out for the spring, and am anxious to try out Utah lake on said tube. I also recently bought an ultralight setup that I am hoping to catch some crappie/bluegill/perch/sunfish on. I was curious if there are any spots at Utah Lake that may be a good hotspot for panfish (PM me if you want) i'm sure that bluegills wouldn't be too hard to find, but I am curious about crappie. I will be going late march or anytime in April, and just wanted some advice. Thanks!
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[Springbuck]

I sometimes lose the bluegills of any size for a whole year at a time but generally you're right. If you hit any shoreline with weeds and bull rushes, you'll eventually find them. I find crappies in the harbors more, along the rocks.

The deal is to find a good spot and just work the shoreline until you find a school on the gills. Crappies more hit and miss. Whitebass are anywhere but not everywhere at any given moment.

Pelican bay and the Knolls on the west shore usually cough a few up for me in the spring., along with cats. People talk alot about Lindon, but I have yet to get a bluegill there. Provo harbor a bunch.
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[doggonefishin]

RE"I will be going late march or anytime in April, and just wanted some advice. Thanks!"

I love panfishing at UL, but it usually doesn't get very good until around May 1st, depending on weather. You certainly may get some earlier, even now through the ice, but the stellar action is generally in May.

Bluegills can be easy to find, but finding the jumbos can be more tricky. However, if you find them, the spot is often consistent from year to year. UL does have some glorious jumbo gills too. Just as good as Pelican and without the yellow grub parasites. Crappie are more hit and miss, but the same principles apply, and the two species are often in the same area, offering a nice mixed bag.
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[happybob91]

Hey i really appreciate the info. Actually one of the biggest gills I caught was at Utah Lake a few years back. However as has already been mentioned, it can be really hit and miss. Having a tube, I'll be able to get out to spots I normally can't access. My main goal is to catch a crappie. I had one on (the same night I caught the monster gill) but he got off. I have a burning desire to take Crappie off my bucket list!
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[rincon_madness]

Talk to the Sensei,king, Abwon, and Master Tube Dude. He will get you'in the know ' and then some.......
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[Springbuck]

You can catch fish early as March and April, but it is more.spotty, hit and miss. Last year in April, I wasn't doing well near Pelican, and suddenly got into some bluegills and crappie right off the rocks inside the harbor. When it tapered off, I checked and I was catching them in less than a foot.of water, so a tube might not be the thing there. That trip I ended.up catching several nice gills, some decent crappie, two nice LMB, like 15", and two channels in a pile of tumbleweeds right off the end of my rod from shore in very shallow water.

Tube will get you into the white bass by getting outside the reed line before they head shallow for the spawn/prespawn. As the water warms, all species will move right up next to shore in the weeds and rushes. Bluegills will spawn very shallow since the water isn't very clear.

I usually hit it too early and have several swings and misses, then finally get it right and have two or three humdinger trips in a row before we turn the corner into summer. Somehow, I often.lose them by summer time.

Good luck!
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[doggonefishin]

A tube will be helpful for your crappie quest. One of the better crappie spots is Phragmites or bulrushes just offshore in about 4-5 ft of water. Cast near the vegetation with a suitable jig below a bobber and slowly work it around the weedbed. The crappies tend to hang around these spots and they'll bite.
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