Minersville

[Big Sky]

I feel every body of water has been hit harder this year then ever, all the stores up here in slc area are sold outta ice rods and everything. I love minersville but its every lake... drive by echo on  a Saturday morning it looks like  Los angeles

I can't argue with that as from what I have seen you are correct there is more pressure than usual on most lakes from what I have seen.

[castnshoot]

I have fished Minersville thru the good and bad, ups and downs. Back in the day when there was bait fishing Minersville had way more people fishing it in the summer time than there is right now.

Here is a pic of my Dad  who is in his 90s at Minersville. This was last summer (2020). He lives a few miles from the lake and has fished it regularly going back as far as anybody I can think of. He is casting a fly and a bubble just as the sun hits the mountain,, setting on the rocky beach 200 yard off my back porch. He is still sharp as a tac, and drives himself where he wants to go. He says as far as consistently biting big healthy fish,, Minersville has never been better than it has been this last year.



Main thing is “don’t panic “

[gofish435]

I have fished Minersville thru the good and bad, ups and downs. Back in the day when there was bait fishing Minersville had way more people fishing it in the summer time than there is right now.

Here is a pic of my Dad  who is in his 90s at Minersville. This was last summer (2020). He lives a few miles from the lake and has fished it regularly going back as far as anybody I can think of. He is casting a fly and a bubble just as the sun hits the mountain,, setting on the rocky beach 200 yard off my back porch. He is still sharp as a tac, and drives himself where he wants to go. He says as far as consistently biting big healthy fish,, Minersville has never been better than it has been this last year.



Main thing is “don’t panic “

Great picture.  It's great that he is still getting out there after the fish.

I hope when I'm that age that I can do the same. 

[PBH]

The last two weeks your "fantastic fishing" statement is simply not true at all. I fish the lake almost weekly. I can tell you that it is not as good as it was, point blank and period!

You're looking at a two week window.  Any of us can simply chalk that up to a few bad days of fishing.  Let's wait and see what the sampling shows us this spring. 

I can promise you that the pressure Minersville has seen so far this ice season is nothing compared to what it used to receive when it was open to bait fishing and more liberal harvest regulations.

If you don't believe me then go give it (Beaver River) a try  this week, and post all the pictures of 15"-20+" trout you caught. It would have been easy to do just 10 or 11 months ago. Prove me wrong, I'll wait.

I already told you that the river is in a down cycle.  I haven't wasted my time for about 2 years.  I won't waste my time now.  I'll give it a bit longer to recover.  You should too.

Is it because something is going right or because most of the other lakes in the area are doing poorly? With that said there are at least 10 other lakes/reservoirs  in Beaver county. Which one is doing remotely close to as well for size and numbers of fish?

None are.  This is obvious because Minersville has been exceptional for a couple years now.  Again, you cannot keep good fishing a secret.  You cannot expect people not fish it when it is full of really nice fish!

Your comment is curious.  You mentioned 10 other lakes / reservoirs in Beaver County -- how many of them have a plowed road right to the lake, like Minersville does?  Again, when you have exceptional fishing and easy access, what do you expect??  Do you really think people are going to flock to Kent's Lake instead?  Puffer?  Be serious.




'course, what do I know?  Maybe I'm completely wrong about Minersville.  Maybe I'll call someone at the DWR and ask them about it...

[Big Sky]

The last two weeks your "fantastic fishing" statement is simply not true at all. I fish the lake almost weekly. I can tell you that it is not as good as it was, point blank and period!

You're looking at a two week window.  Any of us can simply chalk that up to a few bad days of fishing.  Let's wait and see what the sampling shows us this spring. 

I can promise you that the pressure Minersville has seen so far this ice season is nothing compared to what it used to receive when it was open to bait fishing and more liberal harvest regulations.

If you don't believe me then go give it (Beaver River) a try  this week, and post all the pictures of 15"-20+" trout you caught. It would have been easy to do just 10 or 11 months ago. Prove me wrong, I'll wait.

I already told you that the river is in a down cycle.  I haven't wasted my time for about 2 years.  I won't waste my time now.  I'll give it a bit longer to recover.  You should too.

Is it because something is going right or because most of the other lakes in the area are doing poorly? With that said there are at least 10 other lakes/reservoirs  in Beaver county. Which one is doing remotely close to as well for size and numbers of fish?

None are.  This is obvious because Minersville has been exceptional for a couple years now.  Again, you cannot keep good fishing a secret.  You cannot expect people not fish it when it is full of really nice fish!

Your comment is curious.  You mentioned 10 other lakes / reservoirs in Beaver County -- how many of them have a plowed road right to the lake, like Minersville does?  Again, when you have exceptional fishing and easy access, what do you expect??  Do you really think people are going to flock to Kent's Lake instead?  Puffer?  Be serious.




'course, what do I know?  Maybe I'm completely wrong about Minersville.  Maybe I'll call someone at the DWR and ask them about it...

...Or just call your relative that works for DNR...
This is not my first rodeo. I have fished Minersville for 36 years. So it's not like I haven't heard or seen all of this before. I live here and fish it pretty close to every week. I'd say I have a good handle on what is going on as opposed to someone an hour away that fishes it now and then.

---

I have fished Minersville thru the good and bad, ups and downs. Back in the day when there was bait fishing Minersville had way more people fishing it in the summer time than there is right now.

Here is a pic of my Dad  who is in his 90s at Minersville. This was last summer (2020). He lives a few miles from the lake and has fished it regularly going back as far as anybody I can think of. He is casting a fly and a bubble just as the sun hits the mountain,, setting on the rocky beach 200 yard off my back porch. He is still sharp as a tac, and drives himself where he wants to go. He says as far as consistently biting big healthy fish,, Minersville has never been better than it has been this last year.



Main thing is “don’t panic “

Castnshoot, your father is a total stud and a pleasure to visit with. To do as well as him, at his age, is a life goal of mine. The first time I met him he was on the West side. I couldn't believe he was over there as it's not nearly as easy to fish as the other side. He caught as many fish as anyone on the lake that day.

[PBH]

BigSky -- so, I'm still trying to understand: what is it that you want done?


You are upset that Minersville is seeing an increase in popularity because the fishing has been exceptional for a prolonged period. So, what should happen? Do we close it down because it's too good? Do we limit the number of people per day? per week? Do we limit it to only "locals" that reside in Adamsville? Do we further restrict harvest, and require cormorants and pelicans to also practice catch-and-release? Do we shut down the river? Do we increase the water flows to the river?

What is it that you want? You've complained, but i haven't heard any recommendations. I'd like to hear what you want done.
Or, maybe what you want is what you've already done? Just to complain?

[Big Sky]

BigSky -- so, I'm still trying to understand:  what is it that you want done?


You are upset that Minersville is seeing an increase in popularity because the fishing has been exceptional for a prolonged period.  So, what should happen?  Do we close it down because it's too good?  Do we limit the number of people per day?  per week?  Do we limit it to only "locals" that reside in Adamsville?  Do we further restrict harvest, and require cormorants and pelicans to also practice catch-and-release?  Do we shut down the river?  Do we increase the water flows to the river?

What is it that you want?  You've complained, but i haven't heard any recommendations.  I'd like to hear what you want done.
Or, maybe what you want is what you've already done?  Just to complain?

I would like to see Minersville not be exploited so much on TV and by the media whether its social media or news media. The experience of enjoying fishing is highly diminished by shoulder to shoulder fishing. Every time one form of media or the other starts promoting the lake, the already crowded conditions get worse. Granted one can never shut down the media, but people can use a little common sense and self govern a little, rather than blasting all over social media about how great the fishing was at X lake or Y river. I guess if a person is a social butterfly and likes large crowds every where they recreate, then there isn't much can be done about that. That does ruin the experience for those of us that fish or hunt to be in a less social situation. After working all day and dealing with nearly 200 different people all day at work, the last thing I want is to deal with 200 more at the lake, or any lake in Utah for that matter. 

Do we close it down because it's too good? No
Do we limit the number of people per day? Other states have had to resort to this to maintain quality.
Do we limit the number of people per day? Again, other states have and do. 
...per week? I don't know of anywhere that does that, nor would it be feasible. 
Do we limit it to only "locals" that reside in Adamsville? No, but some states do limit guides and non-residents to every other day.
Do we further restrict harvest, and require cormorants and pelicans to also practice catch-and-release? Dumbazz question
Do we shut down the river? Yes, just keep it open for summer/fall and give it a rest the during the winter/spring. Make it artificial only like the lake so people quit feeling so tempted to run up to the lake, and use what they were using on the river. Remove their excuse that the reason they have Powerbait bottles or nightcrawlers on them, is because they forgot it was in their pocket while they were fishing below the dam. Make it catch and release as well, so people can't catch fish out of the lake and say they caught it in the river. (This does happen quite frequently btw.) 
Do we increase the water flows to the river? The flow below the dam is fine and not the problem.

Last but not least. Manage some of the other 10 lakes more carefully so they can produce bigger fish, rather than just being a put and take fishery for that year's planters. Little Res, Middle and Upper Kents have trophy potential, but will likely never reach it until they are specifically managed for size over quantity. If there was more than one choice in the area it would help alleviate some of the pressure all going to one lake. Speaking of which, focus on having New Castle and Red Creek produce fish over 18" like they both used to consistently do back in the late 80's early 90's. That way Iron county can share some of this so called success of having shoulder to shoulder people at the lake.

[PBH]

BigSky -- thank you for your response. I feel that you put some thought into it. I appreciate that.

I would like to respond -- I hope that is OK. The reason? Because we all want things done differently, and have different points of view.

None of us like to see our fisheries exploited. But, again, it is really hard to keep good fishing a secret. Even before social media, we had the boards at Sportsman's warehouse, Anglers Inn, and Ace Hardware. That's a tough one to address. But you have options.

I don't care if "other states" do things differently, like restrict the number of people or days of the week certain people can fish. Canada does this with numerous rivers during the summer months when salmon are running. Certain days of the week allow for only residents to fish. I'm not a fan of this type of regulation, and I hope that Utah never falls into this trap. I am not a believer in "the grass is always greener". Just because another state is doing it, doesn't mean we should. Maybe the other states should look at how we do it?

My comment about restricting bird harvest was both tonque-in-cheek, as well as an honest comment. Birds are the reason why Minersville has special regulations. Birds are the reason why Minersville stocking is done the way it is. When Minersville was under general regulations allowing the state-wide harvest of trout, it was birds that took home all the fish. According to a study done by biologists (now retired), birds harvested 4 times as many trout from Minersville as anglers. The currently regulations do nothing to prevent birds from harvesting fish today. They continue to do it. As you are well aware, Minersville has a lot of pelicans and cormorants in the spring / summer. If anyone is responsible for removing all the fish from the reservoir, it's birds. The fish removed by anglers, whether legally or illegally, is insignificant compared to what the birds remove.


Now, shutting down the river, or changing it's regulations: bad idea. The DWR continues to fight to keep the special regulations on the reservoir. There are still a lot of people that would love to have those removed. The river provides an opportunity for anglers bait fish and harvest trout, if they desire. That's OK. We need those options too! Same with some of the other fisheries on the mountain -- we can't make all lakes "trophy" and manage for quality. Some fisheries need to be managed for quantity and opportunity vs. quality. We should not attempt to make all lakes "trophy". Further, not all could even support that type of plan. You have to have a biological reason to implement restrictive regulations -- they should never be done for social reasons. Just my two cents.

Secrets. Keeping secrets can backfire. When programs are designed to provide "trophy" fish, it's important for anglers to let people know when it works. If you never tell anyone about those big fish, then managers have no way to know that the program is working, and they eventually stop managing for those fish. Example: Johnson Reservoir. Many years ago the DWR started planting tiger musky in hopes that they could thrive. The DWR waited. They watched. They listened. They got nothing. No reports. No phone calls. Nothing. At all. So the DWR decided that the return for those tiger musky was not worth continued stocking. So they decided to stop the program. And that's when the phones started to ring. There were some anglers that were fishing the lake, and catching 40" tiger musky -- and they pleaded with the DWR to continue the program. Without receiving a return, through reports, managers can't manage - and they certainly cannot manage a fishery for only a select couple of anglers. Having a lake see some pressure because of good fishing is a good thing. Seeing the campground at Minersville full is a good thing. It means things are being done well. It's when that campground goes empty for an entire summer that we know things have gone wrong. I do not believe we are on that path because of anglers. If anything, it will be water.


Again - you have options. But you have to make decisions. You can have solitude simply by choosing to fish somewhere else. But you may not have the quality to go with it. Having both at the same time may require more work and effort.

Minersville is an awesome fishery. I love it. I'm also not worried about the pressure it is receiving right now. It will be just fine.

[Big Sky]

"I don't care if "other states" do things differently, like restrict the number of people or days of the week certain people can fish. Canada does this with numerous rivers during the summer months when salmon are running. Certain days of the week allow for only residents to fish. I'm not a fan of this type of regulation, and I hope that Utah never falls into this trap. I am not a believer in "the grass is always greener". Just because another state is doing it, doesn't mean we should. Maybe the other states should look at how we do it?"

Your first three words of that paragraph are very telling and a big part of the problem. (Not caring means that you care more about your own point of view than anyone else.) Just because this is how Utah has always managed their fisheries doesn't mean it's working. As for other states, you asked a question, and I was just pointing out that what you suggested is being done in other states, and that it's not an original idea. You asked the questions, not me, you just didn't like the answers. For the record, I fish a number of states and some of those states have restrictions and the quality of fish is maintained. In many ways it's far superior to a lot fisheries in Utah. Is Utah the worst, no not by any means, but can it improve? Yes, a great deal. No, other states shouldn't do things like Utah unless they want the same over crowded and exploited conditions we have here. I guess if you haven't spent much time fishing out of state on quality rivers, lakes, and streams you wouldn't know any better, and think all is well in Utah. That all is well in Zion misguided attitude permeates the state on a lot of subjects...

"My comment about restricting bird harvest was both tonque-in-cheek, as well as an honest comment. Birds are the reason why Minersville has special regulations. Birds are the reason why Minersville stocking is done the way it is. When Minersville was under general regulations allowing the state-wide harvest of trout, it was birds that took home all the fish. According to a study done by biologists (now retired), birds harvested 4 times as many trout from Minersville as anglers. The currently regulations do nothing to prevent birds from harvesting fish today. They continue to do it. As you are well aware, Minersville has a lot of pelicans and cormorants in the spring / summer. If anyone is responsible for removing all the fish from the reservoir, it's birds. The fish removed by anglers, whether legally or illegally, is insignificant compared to what the birds remove."

I'm more than aware of the bird situation on Minersville. Remember I've been fishing it nearly as long as you have been alive. The only big change they made in regards to the birds was to stock catchable size rainbows in the lake instead of fingerlings. Never mind they still dump 10,000 fingerling brown trout in the lake each spring to feed the birds and bass...

"Now, shutting down the river, or changing it's regulations: bad idea. The DWR continues to fight to keep the special regulations on the reservoir. There are still a lot of people that would love to have those removed. The river provides an opportunity for anglers bait fish and harvest trout, if they desire. That's OK. We need those options too!"

I never said shut down the river. I said shut down year round fishing on the river. For many years Utah had a fishing season and the river below the dam would benefit from going back to something similar. Keep the upper Beaver River open year' round and open for bait fishermen. That way people can still get their fix, but it's far enough from the lake that people will be less likely to cheat at the lake. Kind'a dumb to have strict regulations on the lake. Then turn around and tell people if you walk over the dam, you can do pretty much whatever you want, as long as you don't keep over the limit or trespass. The proximity is the problem. The upper Beaver River far enough away to not be an issue for the lake.

"Same with some of the other fisheries on the mountain -- we can't make all lakes "trophy" and manage for quality. Some fisheries need to be managed for quantity and opportunity vs. quality. We should not attempt to make all lakes "trophy".

Again your reading comprehension is a little left of center. There are 9 lakes on the mountains and I suggested only 3 that had potential for trophy management. I wouldn't even care if they focused on one up there, but as it sits right now all 9 lakes aren't producing anything impressive on a regular basis. Sure Little Res kicks out a big brown once in a while, but not very often by any stretch of the imagination. Bottom line there are at least 10 lakes in Beaver county that I can think of off the top of my head and only one produces mature fish. That is a 10 to 1 ratio and you are worried about social reasons?! Seems pretty lop sided to me already. Just my two cents.

Lastly, secrets on lakes that produce big fish rarely backfire. You sighted one place and one situation. It's not common. I've been fishing for over 50 years and keeping secret places, secret, works better more times than not. That's a fact, and not really debatable by some obscure situation at Johnson Reservoir for a niche species of fish. I guarantee you some of the remote mountain lakes I fish that are hard to access or just not well known, consistently produce bigger and better fish, than if everyone knew about them and could easily access them. I have some lakes I fish that rarely see another human, but they are hard to reach and a long drive from here to reach. It is always worth it to get to those lakes, but not feasible to do on a regular basis due to distance. I guess if you only fish Utah or never bust your butt to reach places that are difficult to access for trophy sized trout, then you probably are content with average to below average on most of Utah's fisheries. In your own words: "you have options, but you have to make decisions." I will never be content with average. I guess some people are okay with that, but I never will be.

[castnshoot]

PBH, and Big Sky, it is clear you both love to fish, and Minersville is one of your go to places. Maybe one day this spring while you are both there I will fire up the BBQ up to the house.

You guys hear any more talk of the big equestrian center at the camp ground.

Remember the fire retardant run off from the Greenville.Bench fire. Fishing took a dump for a couple of years after that.

They dumped a lot of that stuff close to the lake this summer any thoughts on that?

I had an Avion biologist stay about a week at the house not long ago. She was doing a study on the possibility of a wind farm on the state land nort and west of the lake. Right where these deer are standing.

Wouldn’t That be nice?



It is alway going to be something.

Sorry for the report, I did not realize people were so worried about the pressure. I kind of like seeing the family’s with kids out on the lake. Most of them are really good people.

[Big Sky]

PBH, and Big Sky, it is clear you both love to fish, and Minersville is one of your go to places. Maybe one day this spring while you are both there I will fire up the BBQ up to the house.

You guys hear any more talk of the big equestrian center at the camp ground.

Remember the fire retardant run off from the Greenville.Bench fire. Fishing took a dump for a couple of years after that.

They dumped a lot of that stuff close to the lake this summer any thoughts on that?

I had an Avion biologist stay about a week at the house not long ago. She was doing a study on the possibility of a wind farm on the state land nort and west of the lake. Right where these deer are standing.

Wouldn’t That be nice?



It is alway going to be something.

Sorry for the report, I did not realize people were so worried about the pressure. I kind of like seeing the family’s with kids out on the lake. Most of them are really good people.

I'm pretty sure that fire retardant isn't going to be a problem unless we get a lot of rain and it washes into the lake. So far I'm more concerned whether there will be enough rain/snow to even have a lake. However if we do end up with a large amount of rain this spring, that retardant could very well pollute the lake like it did with the Greenville Bench fire. I haven't heard anything new about equestrian center or a wind farm. I am a little surprised they are considering that area for a wind farm as they require steady winds. There are a lot of dead calm days out there in the mornings and evenings. Even the middle of the day isn't usually too crazy windy.

[wiperhunter2]

I was out there trolling this morning and caught a 17 pound wiper.

LOL, good laugh there for your first post.

[castnshoot]

I was out there trolling this morning and caught a 17 pound wiper.

Hey stiffy, I guess you are the only one who really took a close look at the pics in the OG post in this thread.

Let’s try and keep that hard water tactic on the down low.

[Big Sky]

I was out there trolling this morning and caught a 17 pound wiper.

Hey stiffy, I guess you are the only one who really took a close look at the pics in the OG post in this thread.

Let’s try and keep that hard water tactic on the down low.

Lots of open water. 6 Californian tourists fell through on thin ice. I tried to help from my boat.....not very hard though

I was wondering who had the snowmobile out there yesterday...

[castnshoot]

As of right now there is plenty of open water. The bite on big healthy Fish is almost like fishing the brood pond at the hatchery. Hitting most anything. Looks like the fish blew right past the “huge”ice fishing crowds some were worried about.

[Saltslam]

That certainly wasn't my experience tonight, nor the 35 or so people fishing around me that I could see. I never saw a fish hooked. It's certainly likely the front has a bit to do with it, but it was sloooooow!