S. Utah offers great smallmouth bass fishing

Quail Creek, Sand Hollow and Gunlock reservoirs, all in Utah's Washington County, provide some of the state's best largemouth bass fishing.

Add two of Utah's best smallmouth bass fisheries — Newcastle and Upper Enterprise reservoirs — and you have one of the best bass fishing areas in the western United States.

All five waters are within a 70-mile radius.

Reach out a little more, to Lake Powell to the east and north to Minersville, Piute and Otter Creek reservoirs, and it's easy to see why bass fishing is gaining in popularity.

Quail Creek is probably southwestern Utah's best-known bass fishing water. It has produced good largemouth fishing, and big fish, since shortly after being impounded in 1985.

Quail Creek is eight miles west of the city of Hurricane, and 10 miles northeast of St. George off I-15. The reservoir covers 590 surface acres and is 185 feet deep when full. A state park boat ramp and campground are available. The park entrance fee is $7 per vehicle.

Sand Hollow is the newest Utah reservoir. It is in Washington County and is not far from Quail Creek. A state park entrance fee of $7 per vehicle is required to enter the park.

A report from the Division of Wildlife Resource's weekly fishing report once noted that, "If you can't catch fish at this water, you might as well take up golf."

Sand Hollow began filling in 2002 and will be more than 600 surface acres when full. It opened to fishing in 2004. Eight- to 16-inch bass are extremely abundant and a surprising number of larger bass, ranging in size up to more than 5 pounds, are also being caught.

In addition to the bass, bluegill are abundant and are easily caught, even by novice anglers.

Gunlock Reservoir was constructed in 1970 and has a reputation for big bass with a temperamental attitude. The bass at Gunlock are typically harder to catch. Fishing appears to have changed for the better in recent years, since regulations now require that anglers release most of the bass they catch.

Some local anglers say they fish mostly at Quail Creek and Sand Hollow but actually catch more fish at the less publicized Gunlock.

Gunlock Reservoir is 17 miles northwest of St. George, past the town of Ivins and alongside the paved road that leads to the town of Gunlock.

The DWR maintains a boat ramp and a parking area at this 260-acre reservoir.

Largemouth bass have been difficult to maintain in many of Utah's waters. Many largemouth fisheries start out well, but they slowly decline over time. The exact reasons are not fully understood, but habitat is a likely factor.