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I'm not looking for people to share their secret spots or anything but I'm looking for pointers on where to find deeper water on Utah lake. I know that's where the white bass are as many other people have mentioned on this site, and I haven't had much luck poking around by the docks near the Provo state park. Could I just walk out from the shore near the park and find deeper water or are their certain locations you have to know about? I know questions like this have been asked before but I would really appreciate some ideas. Thanks!http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/smile.gif
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TD and some others said it was down by Lincoln beach 1 mile out. I looked on some maps but couldn't see anything at that radius that would indicate a deep spot. They also warned it was a little iffy on ice thickness in spots because of springs so I didn't go for the walk. Other than that, I have no idea for Provo. The best thing might be to scout out some deep water in the spring on a boat and get the GPS coordinates for next winter, that's what I'm going to do closer to my place. Good luck, be safe.
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UL is nearly as flat on the bottom as it is on the surfice. Its really just a shallow depression with very few locations deeper than 10-12 feet. Thats not saying there arent deep holes. There are a very few springs that have depths well below the average UL depth. But those locations are gaurded well, protected in blood, and taken to the grave by those that know them.. And thats just the way it is..
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[cool][#0000FF]Coldfooter said it right. There are a few places around the lake that are former or current spring inflows...and some are pretty deep. But if you just start walking across the lake in any direction...from any access point...your chances of finding a deep spot are pretty slim.
Right now the average deep water in Utah Lake is less than 8'...with 5 to 6 feet being about average over most of the lake. And it usually is a gradual slope out from the shoreline so that you have to go hundreds of yards to find even 5 feet of depth.
Fish come inside the harbors heaviest right as the ice is first forming. That's because the protected harbors freeze first and the water clears beneath the ice...making it easier to hunt for food and to find other fish of the same species with which to school up. Once the main lake freezes...and clears...the fish leave the harbors to roam over the rest of the lake. Some always stay or wander back in but most are somewhere else. And it is tougher to find them until the ice goes and the fish come back in along the shorelines to spawn in the spring.
Some of the easiest to find deeper areas are within a hundred yards or so of the Lincoln Point area. Just keep moving straight north from the old rock cabin on the hillside and checking your sonar to find some dropoffs and deeper water. Even with this lower water winter there will be some 10 to 12 foot water out there. I fished it before ice up and found both white bass and walleyes. Also some perch.
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ha! UL makes Mantua look like the deepest ocean, and Mantua is only 10-20' deep. I haven't ice fished UL in decades... i should change that.
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there are alot of springs near saratoga harbor, ive found a few spring holes that ranged from about 10 to 16 feet deep, good fishin usually if you can find an area like that its just hard to pinpoint where exactly they are on such a big lake, advice is if you do find some spots like that then mark them on your GPS for future reference, or just have some good memory[  ].
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I was invited to go fish one of these "secret spots" last weekend and it was quite a walk to a specific spot across a vast expanse of nothingness (thru the fog mind you).
I'm sure I couldn't find it again unless another group was fishing on it.
During the open water season I need to go find some potential spots and mark them with the boat GPS perhaps for next year.
Even trying to find them walking around on the ice seems impractical where I was.
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Just be careful looking for spring holes. You might find one! A spud bar might be a good option to test ice.
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[cool][#0000FF]Waljustia is the BFTer who introduced me to the "Abyss". He found it several years ago while boating and marked the numbers on his handheld GPS. Then he tried ice fishing it and found it to be worth the hike.
When you are out on that spot on a clear day you can do all kinds of "triangulating" with visible landmarks along the shore...and mountains. But no matter how good you are it is almost impossible to find it without GPS. Many have tried, even after being there, and can never get within a few hundred yards without having electronics.
I promised Dave that I would not even attempt to get the numbers or pass them along to anybody else. And I have tried to remain suitably vague to at least slow down the inevitable small cities that are likely to show up out there in the future. More and more people are finding their way out there, getting GPS numbers and passing them along to others.
I have no problem with others catching tons of white bass and having a good time. The only concern I have is the loss of a quiet spot to big crowds of noisy trashers who have no respect for anything or anybody. Unlike a lot of ice anglers I go out for some peace and quiet, not a full-blown social event. As soon as some happy harvester stands on my left foot to drill a hole next to mine I lose it.
That's why I make a personal appeal to those who already know the location to make an effort to be discreet in how many others you tell. And above all, do not post specifics on this forum. Once a place is open to lurkers and trashers it is pretty much lost forever to the select few who will respect its uniqueness and try to keep it clean.
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Well said TD.
I don't fish Utah Lake, but any lake of that size has multiple multiple springs. It probably isn't the depth that attracts the fish. It is the springs. There must be many many places on the lake with similar habitat, even if they don't have the depth.
Search out some of those spring areas along the edge of the lake that are known to have springs, and find out if the fish are hanging out. I can't imagine much better habitat for fish than springs and weeds.
Just be careful, springs create thin spots on the ice.
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The spot we visited was great for some fast White Bass fishing.
And it was a great trip to introduce my daughter to the sport and visit with a BTF'er.
I personally don't think the hike is worth it for White Bass so I don't plan on going back to that particular spot.
I'll be looking for something a little closer to "home" so to speak.
Again, thanks to Geezer for this though. (Somehow I doubt this unedited photo gives away anything):
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Many believe that "the springs" in UL are the deepest locations. Not so. This area has many fault lines and this includes the bottom of UL. Yes they also produce warm water, and some have springs in them also. So that being said,, it pays to do a little research in other direactions besides spring location if your looking for deep water in UL. And thats all I have to say about that..
Correction: Maybe not my final word.
The red area shows the most active area and far a fracture and fault lines in this valley. Note UL is located within the major fracture and fault zone concerning Utah Valley .
Pat is right, when I said 10'-12' I was referring to high water lake level. The water level is several feet lower now.
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Yeah I figured the deeper areas of the lake (the "secret spots") were only known to handful of people, but this info helps for sure. I deer hunt in Northern California where I'm from and the hard to find "honey hole" hunting spots are never given out like candy...if ever. So that's just the way it is. Maybe I'll venture out and explore some new territory. Who knows, maybe a little beginners luck and I'll bump into one of the secret spots on the "Abyss." Thanks for the warning about the hot springs too, as that would make for an unpleasant swim.
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All I can say is you guys that know about it SHUT UP!!!!!!
Word is getting around fast. I found it on my own last season but I have only tried to go and fish it with those that know about it or by myself. It may not be a big deal to some of you but it is to other so have a bit of respect. Utah lake might be a big area but the black hole and most of the spring locaiton are some what small.
You guys blabbing about it know who you are, please keep it to yourself.
You guys who want to know where it is do some homework and once you find it shut up.
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Amen to that. I found the abyss last week and put every hole drilled there on my gps. It will be as secret as my sacred lmb spots. Also saved the gps waypoints on memory card if anything happens to the gps itself lol. It was quite the walk but my legs weren't sore at all lol. It doesn't compare to hiking through knee deep mud and chopping trail with a hedgetrimmer through 10ft tall phragmites for 2 miles to carve a trail to the fishing spot. Pretty much every spot I fish these days is a well guarded secret as there is only so much pressure any given spot can take. Fishing is becoming immensely popular. However most likely people will find it unfortunately. The good thing is most people don't know a darn thing about presentation or how to fish at all for each species. That's what keeps most fish populations relatively untouched.
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well said pat you did that same thing at comanys pond 30 years ago i was there thanks,
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[cool][#0000FF]I make a lot of "hot-spotting" type posts in which I give a lot of details to help others find it and catch more fish...hopefully. But those are mostly on waters and for species that can withstand more angler pressure. When it comes to smaller waters or places on bigger waters that are potentially more easily impacted by additional pressure I either do not post reports or try to be more discreet in the details.
Back in the times before the Internet it was not as tough to keep secret spots. Today...with Google maps, fishing forums, GPS and other modern niceties you can ruin a good spot overnight by posting TMI in a BFT report. Many of us have seen firsthand what can happen. Somebody posts a report with pics and details and the next day you go back to find several hundred of your new best friends...and/or tons of trash scattered all over the place.
And as much as I enjoy some of the TV shows on Utah Fishing, those shows have also put a hurtin' on a few spots that really didn't need any more publicity.
It seems selfish to keep good intel to yourself. But if we want to preserve a few spots for those who make the effort to find them by themselves we have to be more discreet. The only positive note is that if those spots are hard to find or hard to reach the lazy anglers and the happy harvesters are less likely to hit it as much. They take the easy road by finding all their good spots from the efforts of others and prefer to fish where they can just drive up and trash.
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I know what ya mean.. I have fished that pond for over 50 years so I can remember a time when there wasnt any fishing pressure at UL once the "open fish season" had started each year. Its a different world today and I prefer not to have trashy A-holes near me or in the areas I'm fishing. If others want to learn where the secret spots are they need to put the time and effort in to find themselves like many of us did rather than whining to get the locations handed to them like some how its owed to them. If others cant understand that, to damn bad.
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Coldfooter you hit on perhaps a better explanation of my previous post.
I was invited to someone else's "spot" to give my daughter a good fishing experience. I wouldn't feel right about inviting five of my best friends to go back out there... to have them invite five of their friends the next week.
And for me, there's something extremely rewarding about finding my own "hot spots".
I found my "spots" on Scofield and Strawberry last year. I can't wait to confirm them this season.
Utah Lake is so close I really should put some time in to find a spot or two I like this year.
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Again, as I said in my initial post, my intention was not to have directions to all the hard-to-find fishing holes posted on an open forum. I respect that those places are safe guarded being how hard they are to find and I apologize if my remarks caused some hints to be thrown out there. My interest was to know if there are general ways of finding deep water on the lake, especially from the Provo area, but apparently you have to know where to go. I don't mind having to search for them myself because maybe I'll stumble across an "abyss" goldmine of my own Thanks for all your advice.
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