Utah Lake Catfishing

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I recently posted some different writeups on Utah Lake Catfishing. Here they are again. Hope they help.[/#0000ff]
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[catfishrick]

THANK YOU FOR THE ALL YOUR HELP I WISHED I LIVED CLOSER TO UTAH LAKE I LIVE REAL CLOSE TO WILLARD AND THE CAT POPULATION IS DROPPING FAST
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]From all of the recent reports on Willard Bay, it would seem that the cats are making a big comeback. Up until the water started coming back up, late last year, the cats were in trouble. There were very few larger ones and most were under 12".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This year it has been like a rebirth of the olden days. Lots of cats coming in on both lures and bait, and many over 2#. If you gave up on Willard after last year, I suggest you give it another try. Things are definitely looking better. [/#0000ff]
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[catfishrick]

WELL I HAVENT GAVE UP I WILL NEVER GIVE UP I LOVE THE CATS

YEARS AGO A TEN POUND CAT FROM WILLARD WAS COMMAN
NOT NOW TAKE A LOOK BACK EAST THEY HAVE HUGE CATS
I THINK PINEVIEW WOULD BE A GREAT LOCATION FOR BLUE CATFISH OR ANY TYPE ( FLAT HEAD & CHANNEL)
THE BULL HEADS HOLD UP GOOD WHY DONT THE TRY A BIGGER SPIECES OF CATFISH THERE

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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Okay now, son, settle down and breathe through your nose. There are a lot of reasons why the cats dropped off in Willard, including a 5 year drought. They will probably come back better, but we can't tell whether or not they will ever be like they once were. I also got my share of 10 to 15 pound fish in days past.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In those days there were no wipers. There were also no shad. The shad are food for the cats, but the wipers keep the small ones cleaned up pretty good. Less food for the cats.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have also caught lots of flatheads and blues around the country. No denying they are big, bad and tough. But, they are not necessarily a solution to any of our problems. My guess is that they would cause more problems than they solved. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We have had these discussions on this board before. You have a lot of company from others who would also like to be able to chase those bigguns in Utah. But, let's leave the fisheries management to the DWR. We already have enough problems created by folks who thought they knew better what a lake needed and dumped in a new species that put everything out of whack.[/#0000ff]
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[catfishrick]

OKAY I UNDERSTAND THAT THE SHAD R FOOD FOR THE WYPERS BUT THOUGHS SHAD WONT LET THE LITTLE CATS GROW THEY EAT THE SAME THINGS AND ALSO I DONT THINK PLANTING BLUE CATS OUT THERE WOULD HARM ANYTHING THEY GROW FAST AND THEY COULD EAT BIGGER SHAD OKAY UTAH LAKE FOR EXAMPLE I HEARD RUMMORS OF BLUE CATS OUT THIER I DONT BELIEVE IT THEY WANT THE CARP TAKEN CARE OF THAT OR A FLATHEAD IS A SOLUTION EVEN IN PINEVIEW THEY THOUGHT THE TIGER MUSCKEY WOULD LOWER CARP POPULATIONS I NO A BLUECAT OR A FLAT HEAD WOULD FOR SURE I UNDERSTAND THERE COULD BE CONFLICKS BUT WHY PLANT FISH THAT CANT SPAWN AND THAT HARMS FISH POPULATIONS THAT DO SPAWN I THINK ITS BS
THEYSHOULD OF WENT WITH NORTHERNS INSTEAD OF THE TIGERS
AND WENT WITH STRIPERS AT THE BAY
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[catfishrick]

Well i am new here at bft

and need to quit complaining
i just think they should manage
waters better from your boaters
to your bank fishermen
just wish the anglers could put in some of our input[crazy]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]There have always been rumors of blue cats in Utah Lake. But...what most unknowing anglers call "blue cats", or "blue channels" are really just large male channel cats. They get a large head and turn a blue or grey color. THEY ARE NOT A DIFFERENT SPECIES. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Utah DWR stays on top of what is in the Utah waters. They know there are no REAL blue cats, and that species does not appear as one of the species in any Utah water. If there really were blue cats, they would be included in the proclamation and there would be limits and regulations for them. There ain't.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Your passion for catfish is evident. That's okay. But, you need to leave fisheries management to DWR. There are good and educated reasons for stocking the species they do, and for NOT stocking just whatever any angler or small group of anglers wants them to stock.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Willard Bay is not managed strictly as a catfish pond. The decision to make it a wiper fishery was based upon being able to control populations of both wipers and shad by tracking both populations and adding wipers when needed. Wipers, being sterile, would not mess things up by spawning and overpopulating and then overeating the food base. It was a great decision. Wipers provide many more enjoyable fisherman-hours, for a lot more people, than would simply adding more catfish, or different species of catfish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You also need to lighten up on Pineview. It has also suffered from the drought years and needs to find its own level again. Tiger muskies were a lot better choice than northerns. There are many waters in the west where northern pike have been introduced...both legally and illegally...that they have exploded in population and totally destroyed the balance in the fisheries. Putting northerns in any lake with smaller species is like putting pit bulls in with chihuahuas. Guess which one is gonna survive.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]DWR does listen to anglers. There are RAC meetings throughout the state, throughout the year, open to the public. That's where everybody with any concerns about different fisheries and management policies can go to get information on planning and to put in their two cents worth. However, you have to realize that they make their decisions based upon actual surveys of the waters and years of education and observation...not upon what any one person would like to fish for in any given water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In short, you DO have a voice, and you CAN state your case. But, if you do, you had better have some science behind your suggestions or you will not get very far. Better yet, if you can go as a member of an organized group, with some credibility, you are much more likely to get some attention. Now, if you can only find an organized group of fisherman. Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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