Daily fish limit removed at Wasatch Mountain State Park community pond during infrastructure repair, illegal goldfish removal

Salt Lake City — The daily bag limit for fish at the Wasatch Mountain State Park community pond was removed Nov. 19, allowing anglers to catch and keep as many fish as they want during maintenance work at the reservoir.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Director Mike Fowlks issued the emergency change to the 2019 and 2020 Utah Fishing Guidebook to give anglers the opportunity to catch more trout and wiper at the pond, which is being drained for infrastructure work this fall. The pond will be dredged and a fishing pier will also be installed to provide access to deeper water and to make the pond ADA accessible.

The draining will also aid in the removal of goldfish, which were illegally placed in the pond. Goldfish were discovered in the spring of 2019 but may have been introduced earlier.

"Any illegal introduction of a fish into a waterbody is harmful and can have numerous negative consequences," DWR regional aquatics manager Chris Crockett said. "Goldfish are especially bad because they are prolific spawners and can rapidly take over a waterbody. They compete with the other species and eat all the available food. It is also frustrating for anglers who are trying to catch the other species because they end up just catching goldfish."

It is also expensive and time-intensive to get rid of illegally stocked fish.

The previous limit for the community fishery was two fish total. The change for removing the bag limit will be in effect until Dec. 31, 2019. All the other rules in the Utah Fishing Guidebook regarding these waterbodies have not changed and remain in effect.

"This work is happening soon. Anglers who are interested in catching an unlimited number of wiper and trout should go fishing there as soon as possible to take advantage of it," Crockett said.