UL Pike

[Ezpz13]

Was just going through the 2015 Fishing Guide and got to wondering, has anyone actually caught pike at UL? The guide states if caught they are to be kept and killed but I wondered how frequently this actually happens.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]There have been quite a few verified catches of northern pike in Utah Lake in recent years. Pike have been in the lake for decades but did not begin to show up in numbers until recently...after the pike population exploded in Yuba. It can be guessed that a few came to Utah Lake in livewells and now we see that there is spawning and recruitment.

Northerns typically like deeper and colder...and cleaner...waters. But they have proven they can survive in less favorable conditions. And there are plenty of June suckers for them to eat in Utah Lake.
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[wagdog]

Seems like ripnlip caught one a while back and posted a pic of it. By a while back I mean over a year ago. I seem to remember someone else saying they hooked into one near where the Provo dumps into the lake. I haven't personally caught one from UL but if I do that sucker will get released into hot grease.
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[LOAH]

I just caught a small one in Hobble Creek, right before it dumps into the lake.

I'm chasing others that are bigger, up to about 2ft.

Saw as many as three grouped together in that area.

If you catch any in the lake or its tribs, the DWR would really appreciate it if you turned it in as a sample for them. They need as many samples as they can get.
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[wormandbobber]

[quote TubeDude] And there are plenty of June suckers for them to eat in Utah Lake.
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June sucker numbers may be improved, but "plenty" is questionable. What is plenty? Currently, there may be good numbers of adult June suckers from a successful stocking program, but a self-sustaining population still doesn't exist....so, I am not sure the word "plenty" is accurate.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]As long as any remain...that's plenty.

A better choice of words might be...with all of the various smaller species in the lake there is plenty of pike chow.
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[Hazzy_Hazbourne]

[quote LOAH]I just caught a small one in Hobble Creek, right before it dumps into the lake.

I'm chasing others that are bigger, up to about 2ft.

Saw as many as three grouped together in that area.

If you catch any in the lake or its tribs, the DWR would really appreciate it if you turned it in as a sample for them. They need as many samples as they can get.[/quote]

I know that DWR does not want northern pike in UL or it's tributaries and has a "catch and kill" order on them. From LOAH's posts it sounds like the mouth of Hobble Creek has more than the random lone fish. My question is does DWR allow non-angling methods for catch and kill species such as northerm pike in UL? From my understanding of the proclamation they do not allow it. It seems to me that if you want a species removed or drastically reduced from a body of water you'd allow any methods possible to reach your end goal. If pike are grouping up then bow/spear/cast net might be more effective than a crankbait in eliminating them.
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[wormandbobber]

The problem, though, is that other species of sport fish and non sport fish--specifically, the endangered June sucker--would also be taken by some of these other means you are referring to. The goal isn't to kill all other species just those that pose the threat...
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[Hazzy_Hazbourne]

I see your point, but with a bow/spear you shouldn't shoot without first identifying your target as a carp or northern pike. Those who use cast nets to catch carp fry or chubs occasionally catch sportfish or protected species and are required to return them to the water. Having never used a cast net before, maybe I underestimate their danger to other fish species. I just figured any june suckers/sportfish that might get pulled in the net with a pike would be released unharmed. What do the commercial carp fisherman on UL required to do with any non-carp they catch?
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[Gemcityslayer]

You open other methods and you'll end up having people net a bunch of fish up and claim they were looking for pike.

Bottom line, when this kind of thing happens, there is almost nothing we can do to stop it. Heard the rumors now for 3-4 years at least that means there are a lot of them in the lake by now and good luck getting rid of them.
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[Hazzy_Hazbourne]

I agree with you on opening the floodgates to any schmuck who would take home truckloads of illegally taken fish. I guess I'm thinking along the lines of individuals or groups working in cooperation with the DWR; volunteers getting hours for their dedicated hunter permits, sportsman's groups, biology students, scout troops, etc. People who have a vested interest in protecting/preserving the resources and fishery balances we have in the state. These groups could be briefly trained by DWR and tabs could be kept on them by DWR.

I remember as a college student going on a fish shocking/counting field trip to Hobble Creek with a DWR biologist. That was an amazing experience. That equipment could probably be used in UL's tributaries to remove pike. It wouldn't work in the main body of water, but it would be a drop in the bucket....which is all we have anyway...short of killing off UL entirely and restocking with the sacrosanct native cutthroat and june sucker.

That's just my rambling thoughts out loud and probably proof as to why I'm not a DWR biologist. Besides if the pike population takes hold I know where i'll be headed with some crankbaits!
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[ripnlip]

Wagdog was correct. Caught one a year or so ago. At the poo river on a red and white 2" jig. If I remember right, it was a double kicker tail. We were trying to catch some catfish bait. I would have bet about a zillion dollars it was a walleye. A friend of mine had caught one about a month before that off the docs at Saratoga. Those were the first 2 I ever heard of.. Then "The Dude" chimed in and informed me/us about them. Been seeng posts on it every since.
It is weird, we can go months without anyone catching one, then there will be 3-4 posts in a few weeks.
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[Springbuck]

I'm with you. Should be allowed. Pike would be pretty easy to ID, at least, I can tell a Tmuskie from a good ways in Pineview.
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[kastmaster]

Big difference between Pineview and Utah Lake would be water clarity. It would be hard to tell if it was a walleye or a pike you're shooting at.