From Deseret News archives:
Changes at Yuba Reservoir are bringing it back to life
It happened at Yuba Reservoir. The once-popular reservoir suddenly found it was being ignored. Boaters drove by, fishermen went elsewhere and campers opted for parks with covered picnic tables, fire pits and running water.
A lot has changed in the past couple of years. Still, if you ask Jeff Rasmussen, park manager, Yuba Reservoir has yet to really be rediscovered.
"Aside from Memorial weekend, you can always find a camp spot and the water is never overcrowded. And fishing is actually very good right now and getting better," he offered recently.
"A lot of people simply aren't aware of the improvements we've made ... and all that Yuba now has to offer."
Yuba was once a very popular boating water. It's a large reservoir, narrow and roughly 22 miles long, and listed as the fifth largest body of water in Utah. And, being a mid-elevation reservoir, its waters warm quickly, which is appealing to boaters and fishermen alike.
At one point, too, it was recognized as one of the best walleye-and perch-fishing spots in the state.
And, while there were some nice camping facilities at the state-run park, camping facilities at the BLM's popular Painted Rock area were primitive and lacked the simplest of services, like running water.
Then came the changes after 2003, which started with fishing while the reservoir was nearly dry.
The draining happened when it was found that the dam and spillways, built in 1917, needed repair. The dry reservoir bottom made it possible for new habitat to grow and allowed angling groups and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to place 2,000 tons of rock cover and protective structure, such as fake and real Christmas trees laced together, on the bottom to make safe areas for spawning and protection.
The end result, said Richard Hepworth, biologist in the Central Region, is the perch have rebounded. During one survey, a single gill net held more than 500 perch, he noted. The walleye, he offered, "won't be far behind. Within two or three years, it'll be back to where it was."
Meaning he expects walleye-fishing to be excellent.
In the meantime, said Hepworth, the reservoir has been stocked with rainbow trout.
Comments
- Base opens rift in U.S.-Japan ties 10:19 p.m.
- Did Blackwater try to bribe Iraqis? 10:18 p.m.
- World datelines 10:18 p.m.
- Cal RB Best resting at home 10:12 p.m.
- Long days for BYU interns 10:11 p.m.
- Navajo Code Talkers break silence 10:08 p.m.
- Board reverses on uranium storage 10:06 p.m.
- Elder Huntsman speaks at BYU 10:05 p.m.
- Utah gas up an average of 2 cents 10:05 p.m.
- UCAT post stands despite questions 10:04 p.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Utes get extra motivation
- Senators want food tax restored
- Hair-pulling raises more questions
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- U. hopes to keep clicking
- House passes health care bill
261 - TCU showdown has big implications
188 - Lobo suspended
185 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
148 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
105 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
104 - RSL rallies to advance
103
I was in the Hill Cumorah Pageant cast this summer. Two days after Ben's...
Congratulations, ladies, on a great accomplishment! Only your second year...
How to reduce the budget; and not on creative ways to raise more taxes. ...
This should be a swell game. We are waiting for the opportunity to share the...
If a family has a basement apartment do they have to rent a gay couple. There...
Pretty well has this one in the BAG just look over the footage of the Delta...
I know it was a brutal game, but there were positives in the second half....
by the Church. I am extremely disappointed!
Coach Colosimo sounds like he has it figured out as long as he is focused on...
I've always supported Ostertag, even though his hands may be the worst in the...


You can be the first to comment on this story.