r/UtahFishing • u/spharb • 11d ago

Big(ger) Smallies in Deer Creek

Is anyone catching anything in Deer Creek bigger than about a pound? I’m catching a bunch of tiny guys and I just want something a bit bigger. I’m not looking for a 3 pounder (although that would be dope) but something with any kind of size would be awesome. I’m only able to fish from shore so what are you guys using and where are you going to get decent sized fish?

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u/Timely_Weird_8434 10d ago

In my experience deer creek mostly just has quantity I have had a lot of luck catching bigger ones on neds at rock port

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u/spharb 10d ago

Ya Deer Creek is definitely quantity over quality for bass. However I did get a roughly 2.5 pounder (estimated, I don’t have a scale) this morning on wacky rig so that was super fun. I haven’t ever fished Rockport so apparently I need to head out there. Thanks for the reply!

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u/MaximusManimal 9d ago

Deer Creek definitely has some great fish. Access seems to be getting worse every year, and the places you can still easily get to from the highway are often terrible fishing spots once you know what structure is like under the water. I mostly spearfish, and it's best after Labor Day until it ices up.

If I were to make suggestions for hook and line, it would be to find steep hillsides with lots of cliffy rocks. Use lures that look like crayfish for the larger bass (large and smallmouth). They're there, and in abundance (and I have reciepts).

Walleye are tricky. They seem very skittish and picky in Deer Creek, but there are some monstrous fish that come out of the deeper cold water in November when the lake temps invert!

I also learned today that they've stocked Black Crappie and Bluegill. Never seen them until this morning. On the flip side, there used to be schools of Yellow Perch, and I haven't seen any in maybe 10 years.

Don't give up, I promise there are fish worth talking about in there.

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u/spharb 9d ago

Thanks for the encouragement! Ya the only place I’ve had any amount of success at deer creek is near the dam by the railroad tracks. It’s a 15-20 minute walk but it’s not crowded and I’ve caught something every time I’ve gone there. That was where I caught my biggest smallie ever yesterday. The only fish I’ve caught on craws are little tiny one pounders, but those were on tiny craw baits. I’ve never been able to get anything to bite on any of my bigger craws but I’m sure I’m just not fishing them right. I need to be a bit more patient and experiment with them a bit more.