6 new Utah fish records in 2024

[TubeDude]

I don’t think they should have any official spearing records.

IMO

I agree about the spearing 100%. It is not angling, it is hunting.  We are not allowed to snag, we must present our offering and the fish must decide to take it. Mot so with spearing, spearing is hunting. It should have a separate additional license required and a whole set of laws governing it, in particular laws against perusing during the spawn except species they intentionally are trying to decrease populations of.
If this fish had been caught in a tributary of Utah lake on the date it was, it would have had to have been released.
It is a beautiful pre-spawn female filled with thousands of eggs that never saw the waters of Deer Creek and never had a chance to become one of the most sought after fish in the lake.
All for a certificate and a photo.

Only one of the disparities and iniquities of Utah regulations.   I no longer have them available but I used to have several pics I snagged off local websites showing 30" walleyes with holes in them.  In fairness, not many Utah rod and reelers have the knowledge, skill (and luck) to find and catch those biggest walleyes.  But, as been pointed out, a major concern for removing any large pregnant female from the gene pool is the loss of potential spawning and large recruitment of new walleyes from a big fish gene pool.  Most knowledgeable, dedicated (and law-abiding) anglers will gladly release those big girls.   But once they have been "ventilated" with a steel spear shaft...