Deercreek

[hook_sets]

Went to Deercreek this morning with a friend.  We fished at Rainbow Bay from 8:30 am to 1pm.  Caught some nice rainbows between 10-20ft of water on mealworms and night crawlers.  Nice day to be out.

[wiperhunter2]

Those look like some nice sized bows, thanks for the report and pics. Looks kind of slushy but was it bad? How thick was the ice?

[hook_sets]

Those look like some nice sized bows, thanks for the report and pics. Looks kind of slushy but was it bad? How thick was the ice?

It is slushy but manageable.  Ice is about 8”.

[Cryptothedog]

wondering if I can get a 4 wheeler out there?

[hook_sets]

wondering if I can get a 4 wheeler out there?

The edge in some area is soft, I wouldn’t recommend taking 4 wheelers out, that’s just my opinion.

[gofish435]

Thanks for the report and great pictures.  Those are some chunky fish.

Did you drive by the island area?  If you did was there still open water to west of the island?

[a_bow_nut]

wondering if I can get a 4 wheeler out there?

FYI. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the ice at Deer Creek.

[2021ang]

wondering if I can get a 4 wheeler out there?

FYI. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the ice at Deer Creek.

I can't find any listing's concerning motor vehicle restrictions at Deer Creek. Can you share that information please. Thank you.

[TubeDude]

wondering if I can get a 4 wheeler out there?

FYI. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the ice at Deer Creek.

I can't find any listing's concerning motor vehicle restrictions at Deer Creek. Can you share that information please. Thank you.

anagement:

Deer Creek has always been overly restrictive on anything that might result in contamination of this drinking water supply.  This includes the no dogs allowed on boats rule...and no parking below the high water line around the lake.  In the past there were printed restrictions on the use of motorized wheelers and sleds on the lake, but in checking the current DEER CREEK BROCHURE LINK I can find no current written restrictions.    Might want to call the office for confirmation one way or another. 
Phone: 435-654-0171 

Stephen Studebaker Park Manager

[hook_sets]

Thanks for the report and great pictures.  Those are some chunky fish.

Did you drive by the island area?  If you did was there still open water to west of the island?

I didn’t

[gofish435]

Thanks for the report and great pictures.  Those are some chunky fish.

Did you drive by the island area?  If you did was there still open water to west of the island?

I didn’t

Thanks anyway!

[MrShane]

wondering if I can get a 4 wheeler out there?

FYI. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the ice at Deer Creek.

I can't find any listing's concerning motor vehicle restrictions at Deer Creek. Can you share that information please. Thank you.

anagement:

Deer Creek has always been overly restrictive on anything that might result in contamination of this drinking water supply.  This includes the no dogs allowed on boats rule...and no parking below the high water line around the lake.  In the past there were printed restrictions on the use of motorized wheelers and sleds on the lake, but in checking the current DEER CREEK BROCHURE LINK I can find no current written restrictions.    Might want to call the office for confirmation one way or another. 
Phone: 435-654-0171 

Stephen Studebaker Park Manager

Hey Pat,
It always cracked me up we could not run an atv on DC ice and maybe use a gallon or two of fuel and never spill a drop.
But then see all the leaking gas cans on shore and spilled fuel from ‘no nozzle’ can users filling jet skis on the beaches in summer.

[a_bow_nut]

Thanks for the report and great pictures.  Those are some chunky fish.

Did you drive by the island area?  If you did was there still open water to west of the island?

Deer Creek has completely capped now.

People are fishing on all sides of the island.

[dubob]

Like many reservoirs in Utah, there are multiple agencies involved with management of reservoirs.  In the case of Deer Creek, it is actually owned by the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) with management split between the Provo River Water Users Association (PRWUA) and the Utah State Parks.  And due to a recent change in the law regarding Off Highway Vehicles (OHV) management, the control and restrictions of OHV now falls under the newly formed Division of Outdoor Recreation (UDOR).

Enforcement of OHV restrictions can be provided by Conservation Officers (UDWR) or Parks & Rec Officers (UP&R).  Not sure if this will change under UDOR, but that is possible.  The UDWR Officers mostly don’t care, but might cite OHV violations if committed along with a game law violation.  Park Rangers are more likely to care as they are now trying to convince folks that Snowdogs have to be registered which is not legally required yet.  But that’s a whole different story.  The BoR doesn’t really have any enforcement policy but they typically do not allow OHV use on any of their properties.  I don’t know 100%, but believe the PRWUA is the agency that implemented the original restrictions of OHV use on the ice/beaches of Deer Creek along with dog restrictions.

As already mentioned, the best way to know for sure is to give the Deer Creek State Park manager a call and ask him.

[2021ang]

Like many reservoirs in Utah, there are multiple agencies involved with management of reservoirs.  In the case of Deer Creek, it is actually owned by the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) with management split between the Provo River Water Users Association (PRWUA) and the Utah State Parks.  And due to a recent change in the law regarding Off Highway Vehicles (OHV) management, the control and restrictions of OHV now falls under the newly formed Division of Outdoor Recreation (UDOR).

Enforcement of OHV restrictions can be provided by Conservation Officers (UDWR) or Parks & Rec Officers (UP&R).  Not sure if this will change under UDOR, but that is possible.  The UDWR Officers mostly don’t care, but might cite OHV violations if committed along with a game law violation.  Park Rangers are more likely to care as they are now trying to convince folks that Snowdogs have to be registered which is not legally required yet.  But that’s a whole different story.  The BoR doesn’t really have any enforcement policy but they typically do not allow OHV use on any of their properties.  I don’t know 100%, but believe the PRWUA is the agency that implemented the original restrictions of OHV use on the ice/beaches of Deer Creek along with dog restrictions.

As already mentioned, the best way to know for sure is to give the Deer Creek State Park manager a call and ask him.

Thanks to all for the information you have provided. I will follow-up with the park manager and post what I learn. The reason I asked about this is why not allow winter vehicles on the lake when boats and jet skis are allow in their seasons? Doesn't seem right to me.  The only reason I could think of is no one is making any money from the users in the winter.

[catdaddygar]

I was up to Deer Creek several years ago and watched a boater start his motor up and blow the antifreeze he had in it . from storing it through the winter wright into the lake. Nice fellow. I went by the Jordan River at 6800 South and Winchester the other day and it looked like they were dumping a lot of water out of Utah Lake . It looked like you could do some rafting if you wanted too .

[Pikeman 99]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. You can't drive a ohv on it  you cant drive a snowmobile on it. you can't drive a snow dog on it.
You can't even drive a track sled on it. But you can drive a 4 door sedan on it. Where are these people coming from ?

[BYUHunter]

I think some of these water protection laws are silly.

You can't drive a 4 wheeler on the ice, but Joe six-pack can bring his floating deathtrap with a 1960's 2-stroke that leaves a rainbow-colored oil slick everywhere he goes, with complimentary blue clouds of smoke at startup? And that doesn't affect the water quality?

Okay....

[2021ang]

Like many reservoirs in Utah, there are multiple agencies involved with management of reservoirs.  In the case of Deer Creek, it is actually owned by the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) with management split between the Provo River Water Users Association (PRWUA) and the Utah State Parks.  And due to a recent change in the law regarding Off Highway Vehicles (OHV) management, the control and restrictions of OHV now falls under the newly formed Division of Outdoor Recreation (UDOR).

Enforcement of OHV restrictions can be provided by Conservation Officers (UDWR) or Parks & Rec Officers (UP&R).  Not sure if this will change under UDOR, but that is possible.  The UDWR Officers mostly don’t care, but might cite OHV violations if committed along with a game law violation.  Park Rangers are more likely to care as they are now trying to convince folks that Snowdogs have to be registered which is not legally required yet.  But that’s a whole different story.  The BoR doesn’t really have any enforcement policy but they typically do not allow OHV use on any of their properties.  I don’t know 100%, but believe the PRWUA is the agency that implemented the original restrictions of OHV use on the ice/beaches of Deer Creek along with dog restrictions.

As already mentioned, the best way to know for sure is to give the Deer Creek State Park manager a call and ask him.

Thanks to all for the information you have provided. I will follow-up with the park manager and post what I learn. The reason I asked about this is why not allow winter vehicles on the lake when boats and jet skis are allow in their seasons? Doesn't seem right to me.  The only reason I could think of is no one is making any money from the users in the winter.

I called the park today. I was not able to get in touch with the park manager. but apparently, they are already working on this. The receptionist told me they were talking about it this morning and maybe having a resolution by the end of the week. I will keep trying.

[klam]

What about electric bikes? We saw one with fat tires in Rainbow bay towing a sled. It did a good job pulling the sled up the hill to the parking lot. If they are allowed I could buy my wife one for summer use and I could take it ice fishing in the winter.