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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah wildlife officials are seeking new fishing rule changes they believe will allow for spearfishing to grow in the state.
Spearfishing is when people use a spear or other sharp-pointed tool to catch fish while underwater, instead of the more traditional method using a pole and line. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources on Wednesday unveiled a series of possible rule changes aimed at making the outdoor recreation sport more accessible.
Those proposed changes are:
- Adding language clarifying that underwater scuba equipment can be used while spearfishing.
- Allowing spear anglers to collect Utah chub at all bodies of water that allow fishing.
- Allowing anglers to collect northern pike and white bass in Utah Lake, with no limit on either species for spearfishing. Spearfishing for northern pike would also be allowed in all Utah Lake tributaries west of I-15 except for the Provo River and the newly created Provo River Delta. This includes American Fork Creek, Bear Creek, Dry Creek, Hobble Creek, Spanish Fork River, Spring Creek and Spring Run Creek with no harvest limit.
- Allowing spearfishing for northern pike in the Jordan River with no harvest limit.
- Allowing spearfishing for common carp at Jordanelle Reservoir and for smallmouth bass at Quail Creek Reservoir.
The changes were first recommended by spearfishing groups that approached the division in 2021 seeking more opportunities to fish in the state, said Randy Oplinger, coldwater sportfish coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
"Specifically, they were looking for additional spearfishing opportunities where traditional hook-and-line anglers have no limit for a species or there's a catch-and-kill order in place," he said, in a video explaining the proposed changes.
Utah wildlife officials and the spearfishing groups worked together over the past two years to come up with the proposed rule changes that accommodate the request. They focused on areas heavily impacted by invasive species in particular, such as northern pike in Utah Lake, most of its tributaries and the Jordan River.
The fish species was illegally introduced sometime around 2010, causing harm to the threatened June sucker, a fish species endemic to Utah Lake and its tributaries. The only reason spearfishing would remain banned in the Provo River and Provo River Delta is so people don't disrupt June suckers that spawn there, wildlife officials explained.
"These proposed changes provide additional opportunities and will help address illegal fish introductions since spear anglers can target specific species," Oplinger added in a statement. "By removing the harvest limit on some of these specific species, spear anglers can help reduce problematic illegal fish in these waterbodies."
The Utah Wildlife Board is slated to vote on the proposal during its Sept. 21 meeting at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center in Farmington. Utahns can submit public comments on the plan via the division's website through the end of Sept. 12.
