The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is proposing some updates to several fishing regulations, elk hunting and a few other rule changes, and is seeking the public's feedback on the proposals.
Fishing regulation recommendations
After conducting a survey to gather angler feedback — and reviewing some needed management changes — the DWR is proposing a variety of updated fishing regulations for various waterbodies and species across the state, including:
Statewide
- Allowing take with multiple methods — including angling, traps, underwater spearfishing, bowfishing, liftnets, dipnets, cast nets, seine or spear — for common carp, fathead minnow and redside shiner in any waterbody in Utah that is open to fishing.
- Allowing take with multiple methods — including angling, traps, underwater spearfishing, bowfishing, liftnets, dipnets, cast nets, seine or spear — for Utah chub, Utah sucker and white sucker in any waterbody in Utah that is open to fishing, except for the Weber River, Utah Lake and Utah Lake tributaries.
- Updating rules to be consistent for listing burbot and zander as prohibited fish in Utah.
- Clarifying the time of spearfishing reopening after seasonal spawning closures. Spearfishing will reopen at 6 a.m. on the fourth Saturday in June.
- Removing the special regulation designation for roundtail chub in McElmo Creek.
- Reducing the daily fish limit for largemouth bass to 0 fish at eight community ponds along the Wasatch Front, in order to improve survival rates at these heavily fished waterbodies.
- Proposing to change the status of 14 native fish species to game fish to allow them to be caught and released by anglers, which will help build support for these species. The reclassified species would include Bear Lake sculpin, bluehead sucker, desert sucker, green sucker, flannelmouth sucker, least chub, longnose dace, mottled sculpin, mountain sucker, northern leatherside, Paiute sculpin, southern leatherside, speckled dace, Virgin spinedace and white sturgeon to the list of game fishes with a daily limit. However, the daily limit would be listed as 0 fish for all of these species. The roundtail chub daily limit would also be decreased from 2 fish to 0 fish in all locations, due to drought.
- Removing mountain sucker, longnose dace, speckled dace, mottled sculpin, Paiute sculpin and golden shiner from the list of dead fish that may be used as bait in Utah.
Central Utah
- Allowing spearfishing for common carp, white bass and northern pike in the Provo River Delta, while maintaining the nighttime closure during the June sucker spawning period.
- Allowing bowfishing for northern pike in Utah Lake.
Northeastern Utah
- Allowing the use of dead yellow perch and perch parts as bait in Brough Reservoir.
- Increasing the daily limit for bluegill at Pelican Lake to 50 fish (the statewide bluegill limit).
- Removing the daily limit for black bullhead at Pelican Lake.
- Implementing a protective slot limit for walleye at Starvation Reservoir. Daily limits and regulations would include: a limit of 20 walleye less than 15 inches, the immediate release of any walleye from 15-20 inches and a limit of 1 walleye over 20 inches.
- Closing Starvation Reservoir to spearfishing for walleye from April 1 through 6 a.m. on the fourth Saturday in June (making it consistent with other spearfishing closures and to help protect spawning walleye).
- Allowing bowfishing for all fish species at Starvation Reservoir, with a seasonal closure from April 1 through 6 a.m. on the fourth Saturday in June.
- Reducing the daily limit at all the Lower Stillwater Ponds from four trout to two trout, due to the increased popularity of fishing at this waterbody.
Northern Utah
- Reducing the daily limit for bluegill at Mantua Reservoir from 50 to 15 fish.
- Adding no limit on walleye (an illegal introduction) at Mantua Reservoir and requiring all walleye caught to be killed.
- Implementing a minimum-length limit for walleye caught at Willard Bay Reservoir. Anglers would be able to keep a daily limit of 6 walleye over 18 inches and only 1 walleye over 24 inches.
- Allowing a bonus daily limit of 8 kokanee salmon at Causey and Stateline reservoirs, in addition to the daily limit of 4 trout.
- Increasing the daily limit for tiger muskie caught at Newton Reservoir to 1 fish over 40 inches.
- Allowing the use of bait at Hobbs Reservoir only to catch white sturgeon, while using a single hook no smaller than size 4/0. Anglers may not use bait when fishing for trout.
Southern Utah
- Allowing bowfishing for striped bass at Lake Powell.
- Allowing the use of a setline at Lake Powell.
- Increasing the daily limit for tiger muskie at Navajo Lake to one fish of any size.
- Creating a limit of 40 northern pike, with only two over 36 inches, at DMAD Reservoir, Gunnison Bend Reservoir, Redmond Lake and the Sevier River in Garfield, Kane, Piute, Sevier, Sanpete, Juab and Millard counties.
- Allowing spearfishing and bowfishing for northern pike in Redmond Lake.
- Reducing the daily limit of brook trout at Donkey Lake from 16 trout to 8 trout.
- Updating the current closure dates to Jan. 1 through 6 a.m. on April 1 and Dec. 1 to Dec. 31 for Beaver Dam Reservoir, Bulberry Lakes, Fish Creek Reservoir, Honeymoon Lake, Long Willow Bottom Reservoir, McGath Lake, Pacer Lake, Pine Creek Reservoir, Round Willow Bottom Reservoir, Scout Lake and Solitaire Lake in Garfield and Wayne counties. (This change will open these 11 Boulder Mountain waterbodies for seven additional weeks of fishing each year.)
Fishing rule amendments
In addition to the fishing regulation proposals, the DWR is also recommending a few corresponding fishing rule updates, as well as a few new rule changes, including:
- Clarifying that an angler or spearfisher targeting a legal species of game fish, who catches a nuisance prohibited species, is allowed to possess it if they use a legal method of take to capture it and dispose of it properly.
- Clarifying that diploid (fertile) grass carp are prohibited, but triploid (sterile) grass carp may be stocked in Utah, in accordance with rule.
- Adding golden shiner, burbot and zander to the prohibited fish list.
- Adding gizzard and threadfin shad and Utah and white sucker to the controlled list, and clarifying that common carp is the carp species on the controlled list.
- Adding mollusks to the definition of "protected aquatic wildlife" in Utah.
- Reclassifying white sturgeon and 14 native fish species as game fish, and updating the rules and definitions for game and nongame fish species.
- Clarifying the requirements for bowfishing equipment.
- Clarifying that underwater spearfishing may only target species of game fish that have a daily limit of 1 or more fish. (Game fish species with a daily limit of 0 fish may not be targeted or harvested by underwater spearfishers.)
- Clarifying the rules and fish species allowed for baitfish.
Elk hunting amendments from mid-plan review
The DWR recently completed a mid-plan review of the Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan with the elk committee. The review evaluated the current plan, with an emphasis on the changes made in 2022. Several things were evaluated, including hunting opportunity, quality, weapon types, hunter success rates, average ages of harvested bulls, hunter distribution and demand for elk hunting permits. As a result, the DWR is recommending a few changes, including:
- More flexibility on weapon splits for the handguns, archery equipment, muzzleloaders, shotguns and straight-walled rifles (HAMSS) units, which will allow biologists to adjust the weapons splits from the standard 50/50 split between the September archery hunt and the November HAMSS hunt. The weapons splits could be altered up to 70/30, with the higher percentage being allocated to the hunt that offers the most opportunity.
- Adding the Paunsaugunt unit as an area that can be hunted during the general archery season.
- Removing the 15,000-permit cap on general-season any bull permits in order to reduce crowding on the season opening day and on weekends and to reduce artificial demand for these permits, which are meant to provide more big game hunting opportunities.
- Re-establishing a multiseason any-bull permit to provide hunters with the opportunity to participate in the general-season archery, muzzleloader and any legal weapon any-bull hunts.
- Removing the 4,500-permit cap on multiseason spike bull permits, due to the cap never being reached. (The overall cap on general-season spike bull permits would remain in place.)
"The goal of these proposals is to maintain accessible, low-barrier elk hunting opportunities, while allowing hunters more flexibility to choose the permit that best meets their needs," DWR Big Game Coordinator Mike Wardle said.
If approved, these changes would be implemented during the 2027 hunting season, and the DWR would review the plan again before the end of 2032, which is when the current statewide elk plan expires.
Amphibian and reptile collection rule amendments
The DWR is also proposing some changes to the rules regarding the collection, importation, transportation and possession of amphibians and reptiles, including:
- Updating the definition of a "prohibited species" to allow the DWR to issue a certificate of registration only under special circumstances. (A person who wants to collect and possess a prohibited species with a collection permit would still be required to obtain a variance approval from the Utah Wildlife Board.)
- Clarifying the prohibited species rule with updated language about the bite severity of native and non-native venomous reptiles and also adding the families, genera and species of non-native venomous reptiles that are prohibited.
- Clarifying the rule that allows a person to possess a Mojave desert tortoise by submitting an application to the DWR to adopt a captive tortoise from the Utah Desert Tortoise Adoption Program and receiving a certificate of registration upon approval. (Individuals interested in desert tortoise adoption must follow the program guidelines, and they cannot live in Washington County.)
- Allowing a gig to be used as a collection method for the American bullfrog, which is a non-native, noncontrolled species in Utah.
Other rule amendments
The DWR is also proposing a few updates to current rules, including:
- Updating the natural disaster relief rule to clarify the criteria for when the DWR director can provide permit relief options for impacted hunters if a natural disaster affects a hunting unit. Another proposed change would allow the DWR director to waive the requirement that a permit be surrendered more than 30 days before the hunt in order to qualify for point reinstatement.
- Allowing nonresident active-duty military personnel to be eligible for resident pricing on all application fees and for resident rates on hunting or combination licenses.
- Clarifications and updates to the rule requirements for hunting and fishing accommodations for people with disabilities.
Proposed fee changes
The DWR is also proposing a few fee changes, including:
- Reducing the spot-and-stalk black bear permit from $93 to $50 for residents and from $889 to $480 for nonresidents.
- Increasing the sportsman bison permit fee from $454 to $460 to correct a clerical error and to align the permit cost with all other resident bison permit fees.
- Adding a flat fee for leases or easements.
- Increasing the cost of the aquatic invasive species decal for motorized boats from $20 to $25 for residents and from $25 to $50 for nonresidents in order to adjust for the rising costs of operations and recent reductions in federal funding.
Give feedback
The public meetings for the recommendations can either be viewed virtually or attended in person. You can view the biologists' presentations before the meetings and share your feedback about them on the DWR website. The presentations are also available on the DWR YouTube channel, but comments can only be submitted through the forms on the DWR website.
The public comment period opened on Aug. 12 for each of the five Regional Advisory Council meetings and for the Utah Wildlife Board meeting. Public comments submitted within the online-comment timeframes listed below will be shared with the RAC and wildlife board members at each respective meeting. Members of the public can choose to either watch the meetings online or attend them in person. If you wish to comment during the meeting, you must attend in person. Online comments will only be accepted until the deadlines listed below.
The meetings will be held on the following dates and times:
- Central Utah RAC meeting: Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. at the DWR Springville office at 1115 N. Main St. in Springville. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 20 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Northern Utah RAC meeting: Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Weber County Commission Chambers at 2380 Washington Blvd. #240 in Ogden. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 20 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Southern Utah RAC meeting: Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. at the R6 County Building at 82 E. 600 North in Richfield. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 27 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Southeastern Utah RAC meeting: Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. at the John Wesley Powell Museum at 1765 E. Main St. in Green River. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 27 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Northeastern Utah RAC meeting: Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. at the DWR Vernal office at 318 N. Vernal Ave. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 27 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Utah Wildlife Board meeting: Sept. 17 at 9 a.m. at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center at 1157 South Waterfowl Way in Farmington. (Online comments must be submitted by Sept. 9 at 11:59 p.m.)