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BRIGHAM CITY — Now might be the best time to stock up on rainbow trout in northern Utah.
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials announced Wednesday that they are implementing an emergency change to the state's fishing guidebook to allow people to catch as many as eight fish at Mayor's Pond in Brigham City every day because of an upcoming pond project. Visitors are normally only allowed to take two fish from the community pond every day.
Division officials say they had stocked the pond with rainbow trout this fall, but then Brigham City officials determined that they had to dredge the pond — located just off state Route 90 near the mouth of Box Elder Canyon — to account for a byproduct of last winter's record snowpack.
While many bodies of water benefited greatly from spring snowmelt, Mayor's Pond also received enough sediment to cause problems. The project seeks to clear all of that sediment.
All of the fish that were stocked aren't expected to survive once the project begins next month, so Utah wildlife officials say increasing the fishing limit is the best way to get the fish out while allowing anglers to fish this winter.
"This increased fish limit will allow anglers to harvest more fish before the project takes place, so those fish can be used instead of being wasted," said Chris Penne, the division's northern region aquatics manager, in a statement.
The emergency order will remain in place through Jan. 31, 2024, before the limit will be brought back down again.
