Utah Lake

[ProfessorChaos]

I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on fly fishing for white bass and pan fish at Utah Lake. I'm new to fly fishing, but I would love to catch some of those little buggers down there.

Thank you in advance []
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]White bass, bluegill and crappies are all good targets for a flyrod. The water where you will be fishing will usually be only 2-5 feet deep so you can use a floating or a sink tip line. No long tapered leaders necessary. The water is usually "colored" a bit and the fish are not leader shy. Six pound tippet is good since there is always a chance of hooking a walleye or a catfish as well.

The primary food sources for the smaller species are leeches, midge larvae and zooplankton. But during and after the spring spawning sessions for all species there lots of fry on the menu. The former food items can be easily represented with hares ears, princes and other subsurface bitty bites. But bright colors...like white, chartreuse, orange and pink all work well at times. Hard to go wrong with basic black in small buggers.

When the fish are more active and there are newly hatched fry morsels available, fling some white or gold patterns...1 - 2 inches long...bigger if you are after larger white bass or walleye.

Some of the best bets for bluegill and crappie are along the shorelines inside the harbors. White bass also come inside but you will usually do better by searching for them along the outside edges of rocky dikes and other structure...especially during the May spawning period.

The smaller species of Utah Lake are great for honing your fly flinging skills. You don't need to throw a tight loop and make long delicate casts. Just be able to present some edible flies within a reasonable casting distance and learn to detect the sometimes subtle bites...especially on bluegills and crappies. Point the rod toward the flies and keep the line tight as you strip. If you feel a tick, pull straight back on the line. If you feel pressure then raise the rod to set the hook. If you miss the first tick keep stripping and wait for the fish to hit again.

You can get by nicely with a 4 weight rod for the panfish. But it is a good idea to use a 6. Besides the cats and walleyes there are also grundles of big ol' cantankerous carp and they can pull hard. And they eat flies pretty good too.

Best shot at getting those fish on flies will start when water temps get to about 55 - 60 degrees. That is when most of them come in closer to shore and schooling up for the spawn. If you find a school of hot white bass you can catch two at a time if you use a tandem rig.
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[ProfessorChaos]

TubeDude,
Thank you so much for the response and what an informative comment too! That's really nice of you to share that information, I really do appreciate it.
It's kind of ironic that you responded to this. Earlier today while typing my post my wife sat down next to me and said, "what's this? what are you doing? a fishing forum, you're a nerd."
The ironic part is that almost 2 years ago you gave me some advice on some great places to take a girl fishing for a date and the advice was for what turned out to be my first date with Emily, who is now my wife. So thank you for you're help both past and present!

I went to Utah Lake last Thursday and caught some little guys inside Provo Harbor in the time leading up to dusk. Maybe we'll head down there today and attempt the same thing...

Thanks again!
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Happy to help when I can.

Glad to take credit for helping you two lovebirds get together...if that is what you are suggesting. But if things ever turn sour don't hang the blame on me.

Good luck and let us know how you do inside the harbor. This time of year the harbors can be good because they are protected and seem to warm up just a bit faster.
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[Flyfishinglover]

For white bass # 12 or 4 white white

Crappie and bluegill #12-16 orange scud, #14-16 prince nymph, and #16-20 red or black zebra midge.

During the spawn season I'm more than will to take a trip to Utah lake for some crappie and bg action. I usually end up going like once every other week during the spawn.
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[ProfessorChaos]

Cool, thank you for the suggestion on that FlyFishingLover. I would love to get hooked in to some of those little guys.
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[Flyfishinglover]

Ya no problem I will let you know when they start coming close to shore.
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