Utah’s Wildlife

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has released a series of YouTube videos featuring the wide variety of wildlife found here in Utah. Today I’ve chosen to highlight one on ice fishing and one on the resurgence of beavers to Utah.

Ice fishing –

Catching fish through the ice doesn't require a lot of fancy equipment. A short fishing rod and reel, a package of worms and a few hooks are about all you need.

In fact, if you just want to give ice fishing a try, you don't even need an ice auger.

Drew Cushing, warm water sport fisheries coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, says you'll usually find plenty of predrilled holes on the ice fishing waters you visit. "If anglers drilled the holes just a day or two before," he says, "they'll have only an inch or two of ice in them. Just break that thin ice and you're in business."

If you want to drill your own holes, though, you'll need an ice auger or a digging bar. A way to create a hole—and the most basic fishing equipment you can imagine—are all you need to catch lots of fish and have lots of fun.

In addition to warm clothes and waterproof boots, Cushing says the following gear is all you need to catch fish through the ice in the winter:

• A short fishing rod and a small reel.
• Fishing line.
• A package of wax worms or meal worms, and some small hooks.

"Don't use nightcrawlers," Cushing says. "In the winter, use wax worms or meal worms. You can catch any species of fish through the ice using these worms. They're the best baits to use in the winter."

• Cushing says wax worms and meal worms are easy to keep alive in the winter, and they'll last longer on your hook.
• If you like to fish with lures, buy some small ice flies or small jigs. Cushing says these flies and jigs come in a variety of colors.

"Make sure you buy a variety of colors," Cushing says. "That way, you'll have the color the fish want on any given day."

• A digging bar or an ice auger. A manual ice auger (one you turn by hand) costs about $50. You can pick up a digging bar for as little as $5 to $10.
• Cushing says some anglers use gas-powered augers. But he says a gas-powered auger usually isn't needed.

"If you have a hand auger," he says, "you can drill through six to eight inches of ice in about a minute. Unless you're trying to drill through two feet of ice, a gas-powered auger usually isn't needed."

Because fish bite softly in the winter, you may also want to buy attachments that will help you detect the subtle bites of the fish. Spring bobbers, tip-ups and various floats are among the items that will help you know you have a fish on the end of your line.

Beavers -

Beavers used as a management tool represents a fresh new way of thinking

Awesome video of Utah’s beaver populations. They have recovered since the days when they were trapped by mountain men. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has drafted a new management plan that outlines how beavers play a role in habitat restoration.

Getting out where our wildlife live is a great way to remind us of their dependence on us and why we need to help them survive. Take the kids along and you could turn them into future stewards of natures wildlife. They need all the help they can get.