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For some waters the smallmouth bass size limit has been removed allowing six of any size to be kept.
Would it have been better to raise the limit number and set the size limit low, say at 10" ?
With this regulation many anglers may very often choose to keep six large bass while leaving all the small ones behind.
I wonder if this new reg. is wise and what bass population conditions have caused those in charge to make the change?
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[font "Calibri"]Largemouth and smallmouth bass 6 in aggregate same reg as last year. What specific body of water are you referencing that would allow you to take home 6 large bass as a change from last year? [/font]
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Only time can tell on that one. You would assume some kind of size restriction would be a smart idea but who knows. On the other hand having the bag limit at six with no size requirements leaves a lot of utah bass waters open to bass tourneys that utilize the weigh in. That could be huge for bass in Utah. Most dudes that like to catch big bass, no matter the kind, will always let the biggest ones go and keep the smaller to mid size ones for the pan. Most people aren't going to catch a whole bunch of bass unless there targeting them, and like I said, any good basser understands the importance of knowing when to keep some and when to let em go.
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I just looked in the 2011 Fishing Guidebook which is available online at the Division of Wildlife Resources website. The new bass regs are not a huge change from the previous regulations and they still have some size limit restrictions on the waters with the most bass fishing pressure. The Lake Powell regulations for bass did not change. There is an explanation for the rule change on page 38 of the 2011 Guidebook and it explains the reasoning for the change this year.
Most bass fishermen exercise restraint when it comes to the harvest of large fish. The average angler, who doesn't target bass very often, will probably not have a significant impact on the overall harvest of larger bass at the waters with the new regulations.
Mike
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[quote Dog-lover][font "Calibri"]Largemouth and smallmouth bass 6 in aggregate same reg as last year. What specific body of water are you referencing that would allow you to take home 6 large bass as a change from last year? [/font][/quote]
Several lake bodies had a slot limit (Mantua and Hyrum included) that restricted the bass to only one over 12 inches. So you could keep 6, but only one bigger one.
There was some shuffling of community ponds as well that change the limit rules at those locations.
Look forward to chasing bass-beds come ice-off!
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The 2011 online guide says:
"At most of Utah's bass waters, you can keep six bass of any size."
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You may be right, I hope so!
The 2011 guide says:
"You can do your part to help Utah's best bass fisheries by taking home some bass in 2011."
I just hope anglers don't take home only the larger bass they catch.
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Seems like the correct thing to do is not base the statewide bass possession limits (size & Number) on two puddles like mantua and Hyrum. Hence no changes to the statewide regulations for bass at all.
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Pelican and Hyrum come to mind.
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Seems to me that the DWR did a survey of anglers and found that the vast majority of bass caught were released (sorry I can't remember the exact percentage) and that the general bass population would benefit from more harvest. I believe that many waters would see a size benefit from harvesting more bass.
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I suppose that we are about to find out. FWIW, I don't think it will make a big difference on most lakes, may have some mild effect on some fisheries like Jordanelle, where 1 big fish may be kept for the first time, and very few, if any, waters will see any significant improvement.
The reason I doubt there will be much positive change is that none of these new regs encourage harvest of the small fish. Anglers seem to be of only two camps; 1) guys that can't wait to get out there and harvest a bunch of big bass and "prove" how great of anglers they are, and 2) The C&R crowd who are more determined than ever to not keep anything because they think the new regs will denude the lakes of all the fish, small and large.
Neither side seems to want to do what is best for many of our smallie fisheries. Harvest small ultraabundant bass to allow better growth, and leave the bigguns in the water for others to enjoy.
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Im sorry to tell you that the fish and game does not want bass in our waters its true I have been to countless r a c meetings and it dosent make any diffrence the fish guys ha ah ha will tell you that the bass clubs wanted this that is bull shill i have been a member of a club for a long time and nobody in a bass club would give up good bass fishing just to have a tourney on that lake? our lakes will get raped so after that all you will have is another utah lake carp carp carp I wish the dwr could manage racoons and bugs then there wouldnt be any of those critters either
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Yeah why not have a slot limit like they do for cutts at Strawberry? It seems to work there so why not say to release a bass if it is in-between 12-18" long, that way people can have some small ones to eat, catch a bunch of medium sized ones for fun and be able to take home the occasional lunker.
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it might boil down to the fact that UT is a cold water state not warm water... but im no biologist so i dont know
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The DWR did involve ALL the fishing organizations in this decision. We have several meetings with those organizations and the regulations are a result of those meetings. The harvest on all of our bass waters is less than 5% of the total estimated adult bass in our waters. This means that angling does not impact our bass waters. Utah is a desert state. It is the second driest state in the nation. If and when our fisheries struggle it is related to drought and irrigation drawdowns. We have had several great waters years recently and our fisheries have benefited. The next time we have several drought years back to back our fisheries will suffer.
Drew Cushing
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these threads are funny.
Bass guys always complain that the State doesn't care, or want, bass in Utah waters. They complain because bass aren't regularly stocked from hatcheries. They want more stocking, and more hatcheries. Self-sustaining populations of bass don't mean a lick to bass guys.
Trout guys, on the other hand, can't stand hatcheries. They don't want more stocking and more hatcheries. They want self-sustaining populations. They don't like catching hatchery raised (or reared) trout.
I guess there is just always something to complain about.
Me? I'll complain about bass tournaments. The number of participants should be restricted based on the size of the water the tournament is on. Further, limits to the number of tournaments should be put in place for each water. Having a bass tournament every Saturday throughout the summer months on a water like Minersville, or Newcastle, is crazy.
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Obviously you don't know much about Hyrum. I've seen, and caught more big bass out of there in the last two years than anywhere else I've fished, including Powell. Manuta and Hyrum are both great bass fisheries, you've just got to know where to look and what to use! I'ts just like anywhere else, some years are off the hook, and some years things are scarce. This rule of thumb goes for any body of water.
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[font "Calibri"]With Bass being introduced into every body of water you can reach with a bucket DWR is a bit di  vantaged. Liberal Possession Limits including Catch and Kill are intended to reduce populations of illegally introduced species when illegal introduction is the case. 10 fish limit 12” and under might be a better Statewide regulation than a different Regulation for every body of water in the State and still encourage the release of larger fish..[/font]
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Th interesting thing about bass tournaments is that all the fish are released. So what hurts the fishery more: 5 bait chuckers that keep 6 big fish each during the week? OR 1 tournament that 10-15 boats attend releasing all but 1 or 2 fish?
I would think tournaments are a great thing! The participants are educated on catch and release tactics, they respect the fishery, they bring money to both the state and local areas and have a good time on top of that. Plus they all obey 100% the regs.
It seems to me that PBH has a prejudice against tournament anglers based on his "knowledge" and past. I understand there are personal issues that some people have with tournaments, but that's not based on any scientific or rational information. I would ask that you open your mind just a little to the idea that bass tournaments are not a bad thing.
In fact, please attend a tournament and become experienced in what it actually is. There's a lot of clubs in the state and any and all of them welcome guests. That's how I got started in bass fishing and would welcome anyone who wants to try it.
Hopefully this comes across as non confrontational.
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Drew,
I am sure glad you are on here as a voice of reason. It always cracks me up to hear the cries of doom and gloom about the bass. I spend most of my summer under the water and have had so many days in our local lakes that I see literally hundreds of big bass swimming, and aside from myself I rarely see anyone keeping them. I love to eat bass and am very excited about the new regs. Nice job DWR.
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