04-28-2020, 09:20 PM
TubeDude will need to respond to this one himself for sure, but let me put my mindless wonderings in on this one.
1) Water quality is up from the days when untreated water was dumped into UL, so better water quality improves fish. Plus 1.
2) When carp numbers are up, weeds and food are down. Right now the carp numbers are down, or so we are told. So, in theory, more food. Plus 1.
3) Too many predators means less food. Lots and lots of white bass mean lots of small bass later in the year to feed on, but less food in the winter and spring. The large number of white bass have been an impact, reducing the bluegill, Largemouth bass, perch, ...... you get the idea. But, it appears that the last couple of years the white bass numbers may be down some. I'll rate this a plus zero for undetermined.
4) In the 80's few people fished for Channel cats, at least compared to what I seem to see now. There was no BFT to spread the word, there was no social media to put people on every "secret hole". We can now go on Facebook on the right pages and find someone posting pictures about their latest fish (all kinds) at any time, real time. While most BFTers may release most of their bigger cats, a lot of lurkers, and in general other fishermen, do keep their limits of cats. Some big, some not. Most fishermen, and I suspect BFTers included, use standard J Hooks, gut hooking most fish, so released fish may survive but will suffer weight loss for some time. All things considered, I give this a minus 2.
5) Utah Lake is huge, and while I have my favorite places, seldom do I feel crowded in anyway. If I want, I can go to the crowded places and catch cookie cutters.......always need some fresh cats for dinner. Once in a while I even find a brute there. But, if I want size, well the lake is huge and not over pressured. I rate this a plus 1.
In MY summary, this adds up to a marginal improvement over the past, but more pressure on the more known locations. Do I think that a new state record exist in UL, actually no, not at this time. But, if the White Bass numbers do decline, and if the Carp are kept to a lower number (bless the June Sucker -- the reason they are removing carp to improve conditions), and if with increased submerged weeds the water improves more, and if other smaller food sources continue to improve in numbers and biomass, then ..... in the near future YES, I have high hopes.
1) Water quality is up from the days when untreated water was dumped into UL, so better water quality improves fish. Plus 1.
2) When carp numbers are up, weeds and food are down. Right now the carp numbers are down, or so we are told. So, in theory, more food. Plus 1.
3) Too many predators means less food. Lots and lots of white bass mean lots of small bass later in the year to feed on, but less food in the winter and spring. The large number of white bass have been an impact, reducing the bluegill, Largemouth bass, perch, ...... you get the idea. But, it appears that the last couple of years the white bass numbers may be down some. I'll rate this a plus zero for undetermined.
4) In the 80's few people fished for Channel cats, at least compared to what I seem to see now. There was no BFT to spread the word, there was no social media to put people on every "secret hole". We can now go on Facebook on the right pages and find someone posting pictures about their latest fish (all kinds) at any time, real time. While most BFTers may release most of their bigger cats, a lot of lurkers, and in general other fishermen, do keep their limits of cats. Some big, some not. Most fishermen, and I suspect BFTers included, use standard J Hooks, gut hooking most fish, so released fish may survive but will suffer weight loss for some time. All things considered, I give this a minus 2.
5) Utah Lake is huge, and while I have my favorite places, seldom do I feel crowded in anyway. If I want, I can go to the crowded places and catch cookie cutters.......always need some fresh cats for dinner. Once in a while I even find a brute there. But, if I want size, well the lake is huge and not over pressured. I rate this a plus 1.
In MY summary, this adds up to a marginal improvement over the past, but more pressure on the more known locations. Do I think that a new state record exist in UL, actually no, not at this time. But, if the White Bass numbers do decline, and if the Carp are kept to a lower number (bless the June Sucker -- the reason they are removing carp to improve conditions), and if with increased submerged weeds the water improves more, and if other smaller food sources continue to improve in numbers and biomass, then ..... in the near future YES, I have high hopes.