04-26-2023, 07:18 PM
I suspect that the extremely low water levels...combined with the expanded limits on all fish...probably resulted in a great reduction in available fish population. The last time the lake went so low, DWR planted it with rainbows in the spring...after the lake refilled...and there was some good trout fishing for a couple of years.
After the last big drawdown, the northern pike made a big return...from a few that had survived in the pools in the river upstream. There were very few walleyes that survived and perch were harvested from other waters and stocked back into Yuba. But after a few good years they also declined back to negligible numbers.
With the lack of a reliable forage base, Yuba has trouble maintaining any kind of fishery. When there are a lot of perch, they spawn enough to feed both themselves and some other predators. But without chubs or shiners there is not much food for big fish. Immediately following the last big drawdown, there were a lot of fathead minnows for a year or two. But the rainbows and the perch slurped them all up and it was back to meager eats. One year we were catching 6-8# rainbows and 13" perch. Then the fathead minnows disappeared and the big fish starved out and it was tough to catch a skinny rainbow over 14 inches...or any perch at all.
I miss the Yuba of old. Abundant walleyes up to 30 inches. Tons of big perch...some up to 16 inches. Frequent catches of northern pike and even a lot of big catfish. And being able to fish in the scour hole below the dam...until vandalism got it closed to public access. With the wacko weather patterns and increased demands on the water by downstream users...and the power plant that owns the water...it is highly unlikely Yuba will ever reestablish itself as a premier Utah fishery. Whimper.
After the last big drawdown, the northern pike made a big return...from a few that had survived in the pools in the river upstream. There were very few walleyes that survived and perch were harvested from other waters and stocked back into Yuba. But after a few good years they also declined back to negligible numbers.
With the lack of a reliable forage base, Yuba has trouble maintaining any kind of fishery. When there are a lot of perch, they spawn enough to feed both themselves and some other predators. But without chubs or shiners there is not much food for big fish. Immediately following the last big drawdown, there were a lot of fathead minnows for a year or two. But the rainbows and the perch slurped them all up and it was back to meager eats. One year we were catching 6-8# rainbows and 13" perch. Then the fathead minnows disappeared and the big fish starved out and it was tough to catch a skinny rainbow over 14 inches...or any perch at all.
I miss the Yuba of old. Abundant walleyes up to 30 inches. Tons of big perch...some up to 16 inches. Frequent catches of northern pike and even a lot of big catfish. And being able to fish in the scour hole below the dam...until vandalism got it closed to public access. With the wacko weather patterns and increased demands on the water by downstream users...and the power plant that owns the water...it is highly unlikely Yuba will ever reestablish itself as a premier Utah fishery. Whimper.