Northern Utah is a cold climate. Until I was a teen, there were only Trout in Hyrum res until someone illegally planted Perch. After the Perch were introduced unlawfully, the population exploded. Until then, I didn’t target anything but Trout, catfish, and for fun, carp. Carp is a trash fish, but it's a blast fighting a 10 lb carp for a kid!
It was in my 20's I started to target bass; honestly, it didn't go well at first. The biggest problem I found was all info I had was from southern state warm water bass fishing. Hyrum is a very cold water bass fishery. Hyrum fishes much deferent than others in the state, let alone the county. The other is I prefer fishing smallmouth to largemouth. Small mouths are a lot more fun to target and fish. Until Lake Powell disappeared, I took at least one trip in late spring just to hit smallmouth and some stripers.
Biologists agree smallmouth bass do better in colder waters. Smallmouth would have done much better in Hyrum Res than Largemouth. However, largemouth is also fun to target but are less active in colder weather than smallmouth. Therefore, the season is shorter than it would have been had they planted smallmouth.
Hyrum gives the bass a vast area to live in, with grass beds, rocky points, mud flats, and more to hide in. The eastern end has great beds for spawning, and knowing the lay of the land will help you target the bass in spring Pre-spawn and bedding times of year.
Hyrum usually drops it ice anywhere from late February to late March. Largemouth will start bedding when the water hits 50-55 deg in Hyrum, typically in late May but can vary significantly with weather and runoff.
Prespawn, the bass are very lethargic and are not apt to chase much. In Hyrum, you can find pre-spawn largemouth at 8-15 feet of water on rock piles adjacent to mud flats Or weed beds. They can be fussy eaters, and the slower, the better on the retrieve. I throw a big dark jig with a crayfish body or a large bug pattern jig. A dark green pumpkin tube jig works as well. Something with a lot of moving bits with little bounce from you. If the bit is slow, try a smaller jig set. Sometimes bass that are colder will take a smaller jig. Another tried and true is a Texas rig Senko worm or your favorite worm to throw. Again darker is better. Pre-spawn largemouth love a Texas rig
with a dark color. Senco is my go-to worm for Texas rigs.
I understand some bass fisherman frown on fishing beds and why. If you do fish beds, make sure to release the fish quickly and safely to ensure that fish can spawn. Once the water is warm enough and bass move up on beds, they are more aggressive.
For bass on beds, I like to throw a white tub jig. Size can vary, but something that isn't going to make a big splash helps. Working a tube jig through the beds, you need to be thorough as you work the beds. Other soft baits work as well but stick to white or lighter colors. A pale pink has worked along with the whites, and a top water white worm works well. a Waky rig with a white or light worm with no weight is excellent for bedding bass. There are more types of plastic worms available than stars in the sky. My favorites have been Bass Assassin, Burkly, and Senko; I'm partial to one with a flair or curly tail for its action.
During pre-spawn and spawn, Hyrum can get dirty with runoff. Steer clear of extremely dark water, but off-color water can still produce bass in the runoff.
Spring bass fishing in Hyrum is slower because of the low water temperatures; however, the summer when bass fishing is the best is when the water and jet skiers will run you off. From June to Aug, Hyrum is overrun with dangerous jet boat enthusiasts, so that spring may be your best bet for quiet bass fishing.
Tourny X often has a kayak bass tournament in mid-May that is always fun. If you are interested, I've linked it below.
https://tourneyx.com/app/
In the future, I will be doing articles on Trout and other fish in Hyrum and different species and waters across northern Utah.
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