S. Utah offers great smallmouth bass fishing

Utah's irrigation storage reservoirs, with their fluctuating water levels, don't provide the same habitat that Florida's bass swamps provide. Lakes in Washington County, however, with their warm climate and long fish growing season, do have an advantage over Utah's other lakes and reservoirs.

To give the bass an even greater chance for long-term success, restrictive fishing rules were imposed at Quail Creek Reservoir.

Rules require the release of all bass between 10 and 20 inches long.

More than 20 years later, the same rules still apply and fishing at the reservoir is still good. The success of the regulations at Quail Creek resulted in similar rules at Sand Hollow and Gunlock reservoirs.

Conservation agencies, including the DWR, hope to accomplish three objectives when conducting fishery management. First, they want to maintain a healthy fish population. Second, they want to provide good public fishing. And third, they want to allow the liberal harvest of sport fish if that harvest can be maintained.

In some cases over-harvest of largemouth bass could threaten the fishery and result in a loss of fishing opportunity. In cases like this, DWR biologists believe it's best to sacrifice taking some fish home to make sure a good fish population is sustained and everyone can have fun catching and releasing fish.

In contrast, smallmouth bass have flourished in many of Utah's irrigation storage reservoirs. The smallmouth bass seem to thrive, even with changing water levels and little aquatic vegetation.

Smallmouth concentrate on rocky shorelines and often do well on dams that are covered with rip rap. Fishing regulations on all of southern Utah's smallmouth bass fisheries are the standard, statewide limit of 6 bass of any size.

Taking a few fish home to eat is encouraged and doesn't threaten these populations.

Newcastle and Enterprise are west of Cedar City off of state routes 56 and 219.

Minersville Reservoir is west of Beaver on SR-21.

Piute and Otter Creek reservoirs are south of Richfield and are adjacent to state routes 89 and 62, respectively.

All of these waters have boat ramps. Enterprise, Minersville and Otter Creek reservoirs also have campgrounds.

The recent drought caused temporary losses of some smallmouth populations in 2004, but fishing should be good at Newcastle and Enterprise in 2006. Smallmouth bass were restocked during 2005 at Minersville, Piute, and Otter Creek reservoirs. The adult bass that were planted in the spring of 2005 may have already reproduced.

Minersville and Piute were good producers of smallmouth bass in the 1990s and should quickly rebound now that the reservoirs have been refilled.