It doesn't take much for a park to fall out of favor ... a couple of bad water years, poor fishing and a gravel parking lot serving as a campground can do it.

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.

The drought and stories of low water, followed by a mandatory draining in 2003, turned many people away. This came with the collapse of the walleye-and perch-fishing, which sent fishermen off to other reservoirs.

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.

"Actually, they were extra fish," he continued. "Some of the hatchery managers called and said they had extra fish and asked if anyone wanted them. We told them to put them in Yuba. The fish being caught are not as large as those caught last year, but they're still averaging between 18 and 20 inches. A lot of them are being caught."