The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has made an emergency change to the 2019 Utah Fishing Guidebook that has to do with two local bodies of water. The new changes stated on October 14th, 2019 that if any anglers catch bluegills at Steinaker Reservoir or at Pelican Lake they must release them back into the water. Steinaker Reservoir was drained for dam repairs and Pelican Lake was treated with rotenone and are just now being restocked. Steinaker received 700 adult bluegills and Pelican Lake received 2,700. Natalie Boren, a DWR regional sportfish biologist, states, “Given this species’ schooling nature and how much anglers love to harvest panfish, we feel the need to protect these young fish until more bluegill have grown to a catchable size and are able to reproduce.” If you do catch a bluegill be sure to handle with care and don’t put them on the ground. Use needle-nose pliers or forceps to gently remove the hook but if you deep hook the fish just cut the line because more often than not the stomach acid will dissolve the hook in its stomach. Boren clarifies, “We don’t want to discourage anglers from going to Pelican or Steinaker to fish, Just please be aware that we are trying to grow trophy bluegill at Pelican and quality bluegill at Steinaker, and this requires your help, along with some patience and knowledge about each fishery.”
