UPDATE: UL White Bass Dieoff

[TubeDude]

Wow, Pat...that is one skinny eye!

I last fished UL probably mid-Dec to early January when the harbors had frozen up.  We did well on whites a few times, and contrary to what is being said here, they looked to be in good condition at that time.  Average size seemed to be larger too, so I was looking forward to some bigger fish late spring during their run.  It will be interesting to see what the bios come up with.  Thanks for posting the updates from Chris!

I remain cautiously optimistic that the problem is not lakewide and that there are still areas unaffected...and that the fish still maintain a healthy population in at least some spots.   Water levels are low and runoff appears to be low at this time.  Hopefully the lake will rise and the flows will improve by spawning time in May so that any surviving white bass of spawning size will do the deed and help repopulate whatever is lost in the affected areas.  They are prolific little buggers  and they can produce a whole lotta babies if spawning conditions are favorable. 

Utah Lake is a big lake...with many different areas of different bottom composition, depth and food resources.  It is possible to have multiple separate populations around the lake that can be independent of the rest.  And contrary to what some might think, some of these populations tend to remain in the same general areas if they find the food, temperatures and other conditions to their liking.  So it is reasonable to hope that the problems observed in one area are not a factor in others.  I hope, I hope, I hope.  It is going to be another week or two before I start fitting Utah Lake into my fishing schedule.