Spring Lake NON-REPORT (don't bother)

[cat_man]

Well, I took my son out to [url "http://www.utahfishinginfo.com/utahlakes/urbanponds.html#springlake"]Spring Lake[/url] today hoping to catch a few bluegills and bass in the afternoon. It was very warm (in the 70s) and sunny.

What I found when I got there, however, was and disappointing.

Check out these pictures of what once was Spring Lake. It's hard to tell since I took the pictures into the sun, but the entire pond is drained and just a pile of pond scum in the center, with a stream running through the center. It must have just happened today or yesterday, since I even saw a few fish flopping around in the mud where they were stranded by the quickly receding water.









Here is something I discovered while there though:





I had no idea that Spring Lake even had crawdads in it, but the proof is in the pictures. There were a couple dozen or more of them struggling to get up the current and the bank into the culvert that dumps water into the pond. Apparently they are smart enough to know that when the pond goes dry, head upstream to find water you can survive in until the pond is full again. This happened at both streams that enter on the east side.

I sure hope this means that the DWR is finally going to dredge it and make it deeper. The north end is currently only 3 or 4 feet deep, and the bottom where the water drains from the pond is only about 10 feet deep at the deepest.
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[Theekillerbee]

So did you at least harvest a few dads for the pot? Pretty little lake though.
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[ocean]

I thought they had already dredged it.To bad they didnt .I never fished there but i read about it.You should try salem pond it should be stocked by now with all species for the fishing classes.
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[cat_man]

No, I left them there to hopefully survive and be brood stock for when it fills again. There were pretty looking and distressed though too. I bet they taste aweful. The water was fairly warm and I'm sure low in oxygen since it's pretty stagnant. usually they are fast little buggers, but these were slow and lethargic and some were even crawling up out of the water.
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[cat_man]

Yeah, I hit [url "http://www.utahfishinginfo.com/utahlakes/urbanponds.html#salempond"]Salem Pond[/url] 2 weeks ago. I live about 1 mile from Spring Lake though, so it's a nice place to go for a quick fishing fix -- or at least used to be. They better not have done this for any reason but to dredge it!!
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[Kent]

I grew up in Payson and often fished Spring Lake. Several of us neighbor kids used to ride our bikes over there and go fishing. On one of those trips I caught my largest bass I have ever caught. Managed to get my picture in the Salt Lake Tribune. In those days only kids up to age 14 (I believe this was the cut-off) could fish Spring Lake. We always managed to catch something, even if it was just a carp. Pretty to see it drained, but like you I hope it is so that they can dredge it out.
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[8incher]

Cat Man,
Sorry you found the lake empty. I live in Spring Lake and grew up in Spring Lake (the town and the lake!) Went to school in the old school by the lake spent most of every summer day chasing bass and frogs in the lake.

Actually, Payson City owns the lake and they they have finally decided to clean it up. There were plans to proceed last fall after the irrigation season but the plans failed to materialize when they could not find a place to dispose of all the sludge. They started draining it last Friday and I will be on the phone Monday morning with the City engineer to see what the present plan is. They originally talked about making it really nice, something like Salem pond with sandy beaches and some nice facilities. I hope that is still the plan. When I was a kid it was a nice fishing pond and a great place to swim. It had a nice gravel bottom and clear, clean water. I spent many evenings there throwing a Jitterbug0 along the edge of the rushes after some of the monster bass that lived there.

My hope is that it will return to the beautiful pond it once was and maybe the present draining is the beginning of restoration. If it is, be sure to come back next year or whenever and enjoy some fishing with your little one. Chief Black Hawk knew a great place when he found one and he called Spring Lake his home.

Best to ya.
8incher
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[cat_man]

That's cool thanks for the info. I hope you're right. Salem pond is a great place and Spring Lake is about half the size of Salem pond, but still could be a fantastic place to take the kids or family. Last year it had so many weeds you could hardly fish it in most places.

I sure hope they dredge it and spruce it up. I thought the town of Spring Lake owned it, not Payson. Thanks again for the info.
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[Kent]

I drove by Spring Lake Saturday and found that it is full of water again. Sure doesn't look the same as when I fished it as a child growing up in Payson. In those days the only access to the east side was by foot through the farmer's fields.
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[Carp_Punisher]

[#505000]My understanding is Payson City is pumping some big $$ in an effort to turn Spring Lake into something more appealing by making it deeper and turning it into something similar to Salem Pond. [/#505000]
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[#505000]I've never liked fishing Spring Lake, but if they make it deeper it might be a better place to be.[/#505000]
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[cat_man]

Hey CP, I do like Spring Lake, it is less than 2 miles from my house and is good for kids to catch all the 4 inch bass and bluegill they could ever want. It should be a lot better now that it is deeper.

Payson has dual reasons for making it deeper: They use it as a reservoir for the pressurized irrigation system as well as for fishing,etc.

I'm glad it is finally done, and I hope there are some holdovers left and that they restock it soon!
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[ocean]

I know its been a while since you put this post up but has there been any progress at spring lake?
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[cat_man]

It has been dregded partially, but they didn't finish apparently, but it has been refilled and hopefully will be restocked soon.
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