SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Wildlife Board approved several fishing regulation and administrative rule changes during a public meeting Thursday.
The changes were proposed by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources after receiving feedback from anglers across the state. These changes affect fishing methods, daily limits, baitfish and several fish species and waterbodies.
According to the DWR, the proposals received broad statewide support.
The board approved or proposed the following statewide changes:
- Allow anglers to take common carp, fathead minnows and redside shiners using multiple methods, including angling, traps, underwater spearfishing, bowfishing, liftnets, dipnets, cast nets, seines or spears, in any Utah waterbody open to fishing.
- Allow the same methods for Utah chub, Utah sucker and white sucker in waterbodies open to fishing, except the Weber River, Utah Lake and Utah Lake tributaries.
- Update regulations to consistently list burbot and zander as prohibited fish in Utah.
- Clarify when spearfishing reopens after seasonal spawning closures. Spearfishing will reopen at 6 a.m. on the fourth Saturday in June.
- Remove the special regulation designation for roundtail chub in McElmo Creek and reduce the statewide daily limit for roundtail chub from two fish to zero.
- Reduce the daily limit for largemouth bass to zero at eight community ponds along the Wasatch Front to reduce harvest at heavily fished waterbodies. The change applies to Spring Lake, Salem Lake, Highland Glen Pond, Dry Creek Pond, the Old Provo Channel in Utah County, Sunset Pond in Salt Lake County, Andy Adams Reservoir in Davis County and Goode Ski Lake in Weber County.
- Reclassify 14 native fish species as game fish, with a daily limit of zero. The species include Bear Lake sculpin, bluehead sucker, desert sucker, green sucker, flannelmouth sucker, least chub, longnose dace, mottled sculpin, mountain sucker, northern leatherside, Paiute sculpin, southern leatherside, speckled dace and Virgin spinedace. The change is intended to increase conservation protections and support for these species.
- Remove mountain sucker, longnose dace, speckled dace, mottled sculpin, Paiute sculpin and golden shiner from the list of dead fish that may be used as bait.
- Add white sturgeon to the list of fish species with a daily limit. The daily limit would be zero.
Several changes apply specifically to northern Utah:
- Reduce the daily limit for bluegill at Mantua Reservoir from 50 to 15 fish.
- Allow unlimited harvest of walleye at Mantua Reservoir and require anglers to kill all walleye caught there. Walleye are an illegal introduction at the reservoir. The change takes effect Nov. 1.
- Establish a minimum length limit for walleye at Willard Bay Reservoir. Anglers may keep six walleye longer than 18 inches per day, with only one of those fish allowed to exceed 24 inches.
- Allow a bonus daily limit of eight kokanee salmon at Causey and Stateline reservoirs in addition to the daily limit of four trout.
- Increase the daily limit for tiger muskie at Newton Reservoir to one fish longer than 40 inches.
- Allow bait at Hobbs Reservoir only when targeting white sturgeon, using a single hook no smaller than size 4/0. Bait may not be used when fishing for trout.
The board also approved several administrative rule changes.
The rules clarify that an angler or spearfisher targeting a legal game fish may possess a nuisance prohibited species if it is captured using a legal method and is properly disposed of.
Other changes include:
- Clarifying that diploid, or fertile, grass carp are prohibited, while triploid, or sterile, grass carp may be stocked in Utah in accordance with state rules.
- Adding golden shiner, burbot and zander to the prohibited fish list.
- Adding gizzard shad, threadfin shad, Utah sucker and white sucker to the controlled fish list and clarifying that common carp is the carp species included on that list.
- Adding mollusks to the definition of protected aquatic wildlife in Utah.
- Reclassifying white sturgeon and 14 native fish species as game fish and updating rules and definitions for game and nongame fish.
- Clarifying requirements for bowfishing equipment.
- Clarifying that underwater spearfishing may target only game fish species with a daily limit of at least one fish. Game fish with a daily limit of zero may not be targeted or harvested by underwater spearfishers.
- Clarifying rules and fish species allowed for use as baitfish.
For additional information about fishing regulation changes and other fisheries regulations throughout Utah, visit the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources website at wildlife.utah.gov.