UL Walleye started yet?

[Bassomatic]

I promised my boys a fishing trip this weekend and I'm planning on hitting Lincoln beach. Any reports of walleye starting to hit yet? They would be happy with kitties and white bass too. Any help is appreciated. I've never fished there before, but would like to try our luck.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Walleyes start spawning after the water temps hit 45 or higher. They have been there...up and down...for a couple of weeks. But the storms and cold fronts keep moving in and out and it has not been stable.

There have been some walleyes caught, but most have been by the "wading warriors" who fish at night. That is when the walleyes come in to spawn. However, there are a few small males and isolated larger females hitting on assorted plastics and crankbaits early morning and late evening too. Think bright colors...but plain old silver and blue work well at times too.

Even though the walleye spawn gets a lot of attention, your boys would likely do better fishing for them after the spawn...when they start actively feeding again. That begins by the end of April and extends well into June...and the water gets warm.

White bass numbers are way down so they are not as abundant as in years past. But still a few here and there...on small plastic jigs or even just on a piece of worm fished off the bottom.

Channel cats have been biting fairly well for a couple of weeks too. Using minnows, white bass meat or carp meat usually works best. But plain old nightcrawlers will get a few too...and the walleyes sometimes pick up a crawler. If nothing else there will be some bullheads to provide a few tugs.

Water levels are still low. Fishing is likely to be best off Lincoln Point. Start about a hundred yards off the visible rocks and work your way in and out until you find at what depth the fish are holding and/or feeding. Make sure you watch your sonar and don't move too fast. There are some rocky humps and bumps that eat props.

This weekend could be good...after a few days of milder and warmer weather. When the water warms a couple of degrees and clears up a bit from the winds, the fish stabilize and go on the chew.

Good luck.
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[doitall5000]

Does anyone know if the provo river has begun high water run off yet? I would like to take a kayak up stream.
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[Bassomatic]

Thanks Tubedude! Somehow I knew I'd get a response from the real expert of Utah Lake!!

We will be out there Sat morning, pending that I can find my way to the boat ramp. []

Maybe we will see you out there. If so, we will be sure to stop and say hello!
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Haven't checked it personally but I hear there is a good flow...but far less than there will be during the runoff. Should be "yakable". DWR usually gets higher flows in late May into June to help the June sucker spawning thing. Right now they are still filling Deer Creek.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]I probably won't get back down to LB until later next week...depending on weather...and whether.

By the way, one of the spots you may wish to try is the area due north of the outlet for Benjamin Slough. When there is a good water flow coming in that can be a fish magnet area. Fish water about 3-4 feet deep.

One other note: Be careful going out the channel. It is still not too deep, even though the water is rising. If you have a boat with a deep draft, trim up the main motor or use a trolling motor...and stay right in the center.

Once out of the channel, turn right for Benjamin Slough...left for Lincoln Point.
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[doitall5000]

Thank you tubedude, you are the Wikipedia of fishing. A good guy too.
I'll post info when I get there.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Don't say good things about me. Too hard to live up to a good reputation. And if it gets too thick I'll sue ya for slander.
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[Bassomatic]

Thanks again for the counsel and directions! I'll be sure to post a report. I'm in a very small boat and i also have an electric motor. Sounds like that may be the right way to get out of the channel. When you say out of the channel, since I've never been there, what exactly do you mean by that. Is that until you hit the main lake, or is that a set of buoys that are on the main lake?

thank you!
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[OCF]

Thanks TD - very good & thorough write up on the Lincoln Beach area. Do you have a similar write up for the Provo River Delta/Harbor area?
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[pezvela]

A friend of mine has been fishing the lake by Sandy Beach. The river is closed. He reported numerous spawning females in the river where you cannot fish.
We was fishing with his grandson last Sunday in his boat at the L at Lincoln beach. The boy caught a nine pound female. She was dripping eggs and the boy released her to spawn again.

I put one of our boats in a slip at Provo Boat harbor for the season and we will begin fishing tomorrow. When it warms a little we will start taking out disabled veterans. Life is good.

No runoff water in the Provo River yet. The slough going into UL at Lincoln Beach has more water than it did a week ago. Beer Creek or the slough is what I call it.

The Spanish fork River through town has a decent water flow, but nothing to get excited about.

I expect the lake to come up substantially before long, but it still requires caution when launching. Good luck and good fishing.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]There is a launch ramp and a boat turnaround area, with a courtesy dock. Then there are dikes on each side of the channel out another hundred yards or so. This provides good protection for when you are trying to launch or trailer a boat in the "gentle breezes" sometimes occurring on Utah Lake.

Here is a slightly more detailed picture than any of those in the writeup I attached before. Click on the pic below to enlarge it.

[inline "LB TO BENJAMIN SLOUGH.jpg"]


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[TubeDude]

[quote OCF]Thanks TD - very good & thorough write up on the Lincoln Beach area. Do you have a similar write up for the Provo River Delta/Harbor area?[/quote]

[#0000FF]I put together separate chapters on most of the major access points or fave fishing spots. Here is what I did for the Provo Harbor area.

I used to fish the lower Provo and the harbor almost every day...after pedaling my bike down from Provo after classes in my undergrad years. Things are a lot different now...being a state park and all. And even though I do hit it early and late each year I don't like to "share" with 10,000 of my new best friends during the prime time summer months. I just can't escape them in my tube.

But I used to do well. Here's a picture of my "walliemobile" in earlier years.
[inline "WALLEYES - LOWER PROVO.jpg"]


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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Hey Steve, good to hear there is enough water to float the Freedom boat. Hope it comes up enough to make it possible to get wherever you wanna go...and that the fish are able to find you and the vets.

Thanks for the intel on the walleyes. I know of a few folks that have been catching them fairly well. But they don't post maps and diagrams on this forum.
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[Bassomatic]

Thanks again, that really helps! And thanks to Steve for the intel on Sandy beach. Hopefully Saturday will be a banner day for us. Either way, we'll have fun just being on the water! [fishon]
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[OCF]

Thanks TD - both write ups are excellent and very informative.

One thing I found disturbing was all of the recreation, social events and boating/cruising that you mention around the lake years ago & for the most part these activities are gone due to the water quality, lack of water & etc. and etc. In the early 80's, I was talking with one of the ranchers that lived on the Provo River currently submerged by Jordanelle Reservoir. He told me as a kid, he remembers very large cutthroats (10 -15 lbs) coming up the river, out of Utah Lake, to spawn and in very large numbers. (He would catch them with pitch forks) Now this had to be prior to WWII as Deer Creek is a WWII era dam. However, these conditions existed < 100 years ago. Currently Utah Lake is an incredible waste of a wonderful resource - IMHO. Could you even image the economic impact that a restored Utah Lake would have on Utah Valley and the State of Utah if it returned to a blue body of clean water, with large fish and water that the public would want to recreate in. Not to mention, the increase in resorts, commerce and property value around the entire perimeter of the lake.

If I were to ever run for Governor for this State, I think this would be one of my areas of focus. It would be the "Blue Jewel" of the west. Sorry I did not mean to high jack this thread & I am not running for Governor. I just appreciated your write ups and they brought back memories.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Unless that farmer is realllllly old, I would question his account of big cutts coming up the river. There are good records of them doing so, but the last cutt was recorded out of Utah Lake about 1930 and they were very sparse for the last few years before that.

In the early days of the pioneers...after 1868...there were many reports of huge numbers of huge cutts crowding up the Provo to spawn. But they were slaughtered in the thousands...or hundreds of thousands...both for food and just for sport. They were too easy to catch.

To add to their decimation, many of the upstream farmers along the Provo River would put temporary dams in the river and divert the water out onto their fields during the cutthroat spawning period. That would not only wash many adult fish out into their fields but would destroy downstream nests as well.

For some really good history...with lots of old pictures...you should go to Utube and watch [url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUwTPmFBAkA"]UTAH LAKE LEGACY[/url]. It was produced by the June Sucker Recovery program and has lots of info on the past, present and future of Utah Lake.

And while you're at it...since you have visions of returning the lake to its former glory...you should visit the website for the [url "http://utahlake.gov/"]UTAH LAKE COMMISSION[/url]
They are striving to clean up the lake and make it a nicer place for all to enjoy.

Be sure to look back through the history of all their past articles. Lots of great info. They even have a story on [url "http://utahlake.gov/utah-lake-angler-pat-scouten-tubedude/"]YOURS TRULY[/url].
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[Therapist]

OCF, sorry to spoil your dream of a "clear blue body of water", but what you see at Utah Lake is pretty much what it was like when the pioneers arrived. The addition of the carp just made it a bit more turbid and destroyed some of the rooted vegetation. Utah lake has always been a shallow, wind swept body of water. When the wind blows, it is muddy ( the wind always blows out there). Carp just stirred the bottom up and killed the vegetation so it is that way most of the time !! Algae blooms due to pollution from run off and dumping of sewage also contributes.

As TD stated, watch the video on it by the June Sucker folks. If you can find a copy, the " Utah Lake Monograph" is a compilation of scientific papers done over the years about Utah Lake, it also has some pretty good information. It was compiled by BYU and used to be available at the Bean Museum.

Regarding the Walleye run, they have been a bit slow this year, doing the 40 in about 5.2 -5.5. In a good year you'll have some 4.4's and 4.5's in the group.

[MBM1969]

How is the access and fishing on the North Weast end of Utah Lake, specificly around Saratoga springs? It's on my list to try Utah Lake in my kickboat and Saratoga Springs is a bit closer than the East side of the lake.

Mark
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[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]If you live in Saratoga Springs, you can use the facilities at the private SP marina. Otherwise you can drive another 5-6 miles south on Hwy 68 (Redwood Rd.) and use the Saratoga Springs Marina at Pelican Bay.

During high water times you can also access the inlet channel at the "pumphouse area"...and kick out to the main lake. There are some warm springs between there and Saratoga Springs that can provide good fishing in colder months.

Also during higher water times you should look at the Knolls. That is one of my favorite areas for float tubing. Tough launching in the current low water conditions but some of the best fishing for all species on that side of the lake.
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