2018 Fishing Rules

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wayne gustaveson

wayne gustaveson

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I posted the 2018 fishing regulations as an announcement at the top of the page so it wont go away if you look for it in July. I am duplicating it here in case you have any questions and want to talk about the rules. It also resides on the old website in the same place on the left main index:

Fishing Regulation and License Info - 2018


Lake Powell
To fish across the state line at Lake Powell,
any person with a valid Utah fishing license—
either resident or nonresident—may fish any
portion of Lake Powell, including the Arizona
portion, without any additional permits or
licenses.
A person with an Arizona license will
still need to purchase and possess a valid
Utah reciprocal permit to fish in the Utah
waters of Lake Powell. Arizona residents may
obtain a Utah reciprocal fishing permit at
wildlife.utah.gov and from Division offices and
license agents that sell Utah fishing licenses.
As long as you are legally fishing the Utah portion
of Lake Powell, you may use two fishing
poles without any additional permits.
More information about reciprocal
permits
•Utah reciprocal fishing permits are valid
for 365 days from the day you buy them.
•You must sign your name on your reciprocal
permit the same way you signed
your name on your fishing license.
•You are subject to the laws and rules of
the state in which you’re fishing.
Lake Powell: To fish across the state line at Lake Powell ,any person with a valid Utah fishing license—either resident or nonresident—may fish anyportion of Lake Powell, including the Arizona portion, without any additional permits or licenses. A person with an Arizona license will still need to purchase and possess a valid Utah reciprocal permit to fish in the Utah waters of Lake Powell. Arizona residents may obtain a Utah reciprocal fishing permit at wildlife.utah.gov and from Division offices and license agents that sell Utah fishing licenses. As long as you are legally fishing the Utah portion of Lake Powell, you may use two fishing poles without any additional permits.

More information about reciprocal permits

•Utah reciprocal fishing permits are valid for 365 days from the day you buy them.

•You must sign your name on your reciprocal permit the same way you signed your name on your fishing license.

•You are subject to the laws and rules of the state in which you’re fishing.

(c) Fish may be filleted at any time and anglers may possess filleted fish at any
time at Lake Powell.

Both Arizona and Utah have discontinued the second-pole permit.

Information on UT license fees at the link below.

http://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing-in...debooks/1530-2015-utah-fishing-guidebook.html

Dead striped bass from Lake Powell can now be used as bait only in Lake Powell.

Spearfishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass is closed from April 1 through the
fourth Saturday in June;



utah-dwr.jpg


To Purchase a Resident or Non-resident fishing license cut and paste this link to your browser:

https://secure.utah.gov/hflo/main/serv2/index.html?server=serv2

Limits and Information:

SMALLMOUTH BASS LIMIT IS 20:

It is recommended that you may keep 20 bass of the most common size (9-12 inch). Release larger bass that are able to eat smaller bass. This program has been successful in allowing smallmouth to grow to larger sizes and has helped restore the proper size balance within the smallmouth population. Keep some for supper but do not waste fish.

LARGEMOUTH BASS LIMIT IS 5:

Largemouth numbers rebounded with rising water, flooded brush and more aquatic weeds. But that brush is now declining in abundance as the lake level decreases. Please release all largemouth which will allow these faster growing bass to populate the brushy areas when they become available once more. Keep more abundant smallmouth for a tasty bass meal.

BLACK CRAPPIE LIMIT IS 10:

Crappie fishing was good in 2012. But it began to decline in 2013 when brush came out of the water. Please honor the limit of 10 as crappie are declining in number due to habitat change. The limit was decreased a decade ago to allow some limited harvest but to protect crappie when declining lake levels displaced crappie from preferred brushy habitat as we will see again in 2018. Let's protect them by harvesting only a few fish to prolong the crappie population as long as possible.

STRIPERS NO LIMIT

Keep all stripers caught, especially the small ones to keep the population in balance with the forage base. Immediately put stripers on ice in a cooler and fillet them as soon as possible for excellent eating. Stripers are best when eaten fresh. The best method of keeping striped bass for the freezer is to vacuum seal fillets before freezing.

Chumming is allowed to increase harvest of striped bass which may over populate if not controlled by anglers. Cut bait into small pieces and broadcast in water around boat. Striped bass in the area will strike cut bait or lures within 15 minutes of chumming. If no bites come within 15 minutes there are no active stripers in the area. Move to new location and try again.

CHANNEL CATS (and bullheads) LIMIT IS 25: Catfish are underutilized and can be harvested with no guilt up to the daily limit.

WALLEYE LIMIT -No Limit: Walleye are extremely efficient predators. The limit was removed because these fish are difficult to catch in large numbers. Most fish are caught while fishing for another species. You may keep all that are caught to maintain proper predator-prey balance in Lake Powell.

ENDANGERED FISH: RELEASE IMMEDIATELY, POSSESSION NOT ALLOWED.

Colorado pikeminnow (Squawfish), razorback sucker, humpback chub, bonytail chub, flannelmouth sucker.

LINK to UT license information:

http://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing-in-utah/guidebooks.html

LINK to AZ license information: http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/fishing.shtml

A UT resident or non-resident license is all that is needed to fish on either side of the state line in Lake Powell.

Reciprocal Stamps:
Utah stamp to validate an AZ resident license $8
Arizona stamp to validate a UT resident license - Discontinued by AZGFD

All anglers under 12 years of age may fish without a license and possess a full limit of fish.

Anglers 12-14 from any state need a UT youth license costing $5.

UTAH two pole stamp: allows second pole when affixed to a valid fishing license in all of Lake Powell. Cost $15 for either resident or nonresident license.

Utah and Arizona two pole stamp - Discontinued

For a listing of License Agents in this area please click here. If you are making a long trip to Lake Powell, contact license agents in advance to avoid any frustration caused by the vendor being out of stock or not having the license you need.

BEWARE - Differences in Fishing Regulations between UT and AZ

Fish ID –
AZ - leave a patch of skin attached to fillet
UT - fillet anytime – patch of skin not required.

Bait –
AZ - Waterdogs and Corn are legal bait
UT - Waterdogs may not be possessed or used as bait

Corn is now a legal bait in the UT portion of Lake Powell

Umbrella rig
AZ - only 2 hooks allowed
UT - 3 hooks allowed.
 
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@wayne gustaveson , is your recommendation on crappie still current? The reason I ask is you talk about "now in 2014" during the write up.

Also, it seems many people (myself included) are specifically targeting walleye. Do you still feel an unlimited number of fish can be taken is in the best interest of the fishery?
 
Ryan said:
@wayne gustaveson , is your recommendation on crappie still current? The reason I ask is you talk about "now in 2014" during the write up.

Also, it seems many people (myself included) are specifically targeting walleye. Do you still feel an unlimited number of fish can be taken is in the best interest of the fishery?
Click to expand...

Thanks for catching that. I changed it include current conditions which include another year without high runoff water so crappie will not be in the brush this year after the summer draw down. There was a good year class of crappie in 2017 but without habitat in 2018 their numbers will decline. We still need to protect crappie so there will be some around to spawn when the next high water year comes.

Walleye harvest is only good during the April to June period. after that they only feed at night when most anglers are not active. Walleye annual harvest is often less than 100,000 fish while striper harvest exceeds 1 Million. There are lots of walleye in the lake so yes we can harvest as many as we can use.
 
Is there any push to up the amount of hooks that can be used on an umbrella rig? I know it's not gonna happen in 2018 but maybe for 2019? Having 5 would be great and really help on those fall stripers - post boils.
 
I met with AZ Game and Fish recently in reviewing angling rules and brought up the possibility of adding more hooks to umbrella rigs. The response was that few people are talking about U-rigs any more.

I suggest that all those that still use U-rigs contact their local F&G office and ask for more hooks on U-rigs in the new proclamations coming out in 2019. If many respond this spring then agencies might make a change. It would take many contacts to actually make this happen. The only way to affect change is to make those contacts and let our state agencies know that there is a concern.

The number of hooks on U-rigs will not necessarily increase the number of fish that are kept by anglers. Creel limits are implemented for that reason. Many fish are currently released after being hooked and U-rig caught fish can be kept or released according to creel limit rules or angler preference. I will make that request to UT rule makers and see what happens.
 
Wayne I don’t understand the rules about # of fishing rods.

I go out with 6 or 7 rods, each rigged for different scenarios.

Is the license limiting me to a single pole or can I simultaneously use more (2 or 3 rods with differing depth crankbaits while trolling is my usual setup)
 
CHRIS MCBETH said:
Wayne I don’t understand the rules about # of fishing rods.

I go out with 6 or 7 rods, each rigged for different scenarios.

Is the license limiting me to a single pole or can I simultaneously use more (2 or 3 rods with differing depth crankbaits while trolling is my usual setup)
Click to expand...

I take 8 rods with me each trip and sometimes use two at a time. That is what the law intends. You can use 2 rods at a time with an unlimited number waiting. The law is directed at those that shore fish with bait and can deploy many rods at once and leave some unattended.
 
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wayne gustaveson said:
I take 8 rods with me each trip and sometimes use two at a time. That is what the law intends. You can use 2 rods at a time with an unlimited number waiting. The law is directed at those that shore fish with bait and can deploy many rods at once and leave some unattended.
Click to expand...


Ok that makes more sense. Thanks Wayne!
 
Wayne - I'm curious why UT doesn't allow waterdogs and AZ does? Any chance of this changing soon?

Thanks
 
I have a request in to our native fish staff in Salt Lake to give me the current information on the future of water dogs in UT. Will let you know as soon as they respond.
 
Great, thank you. I understand the concern prior to the mussel infestation with minnow buckets full of water of unknown origin. But now it seems like an antiquated rule.
 
The primary concern for prohibiting the use of waterdogs (salamanders) in Utah is to prevent the spread of the deadly chytrid fungus to new waters. There are also concerns that other versions of chytrid which specifically affect salamanders could be spread as well. When weighing the potential to spread devastating fungi that can wipe a species out against the ability of the public to use a specific live bait; a general agreement was reached that we should be proactive and preventative.

If it were to come up for discussion again, I would support keeping the ban in place. Recent findings (2017) in Europe showed a new version of chytrid (Bsal) was spreading across that continent and wiping out huge portions of salamander populations. Although it has not shown up in the US (that we know of) we should not be providing any new potential vectors to spread this disease further.

So the reason is to prevent the spread of this new disease (fungus) that is now found in many countries and threatens salamanders and their relatives in many countries of the world. The problem is very similar to the advancement of quagga mussels.
 
Wayne, thanks for the information!!! I was looking through the guidelines and also on Utah's website, but I don't see any daily bag limits? If I am there for 4 days, is my limit for smallmouth still 20?
 
Here are the rules:

Lake Powell, Garfield, Kane and San Juan counties See Bait on page 12 for the use of dead shad as bait in Lake Powell. •Limit 20 smallmouth bass. •Limit 5 largemouth bass. •Limit 10 crappie. •Limit 25 channel catfish. •No limit on striped bass. •No limit on walleye.

•Fish may be filleted at any time. •Anglers may possess filleted fish. •Anglers may use corn as bait. For more information, see page 13. •Anglers may use dead striped bass as bait. •Chumming is allowed, but you may chum only with legal baits or dead striped bass, as specified in Utah Admin. Rule R657-13-12. •Gaffs may be used to land striped bass

Possession limit means, for purposes of this rule only, TWO daily limits, including fish in a cooler, camper, tent, freezer, livewell or any other place of storage, excluding fish stored in an individual’s permanent residence.

If you are there for 4 days and catch and keep 20 smallmouth the first day, that is all you can keep that day. So start fishing for other species.

On the next day you can keep 20 more smallmouth (40 total)

On the 3rd day, if you ate smallmouth for dinner the night before, you can keep the amount you ate for dinner bringing the total back to 40.
This is the same for all the other species available at Lake Powell.

I would suggest bringing a trailer with a refrigerator and room for a 1000 pounds of fillets since walleye and stripers have no limit which you can double up on the next day. ;)
 
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I would suggest bringing a trailer with a refrigerator and room for a 1000 pounds of fillets since walleye and stripers have no limit which you can double up on the next day. ;)

HAHAHAH - IF only I was THAT good...

Thanks for the response!!!
 
I've never EVER had this happen, but theoretically it could by the rules. If I've got a 5 day trip planned, and catch my limit each day, and filet all of them as they happen, how in the heck is Game & Fish going to determine what is what in the cooler, already filleted? I doubt this scenario would playout......but ya never know :cool:
 
We are working with AZ to change the Lake Powell section of their fishing rules to allow for more harvest of striper and walleye. For the rest of 2018 you will have to comply with their rules concerning Lake Powell. I think they still require a patch of skin per fillet. I hope that goes away in 2019. For now, honor that and I will make an announcement in 2019 when the negotiations are finalized.
 
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