How to catch channel catfish in Utah
Summer nights on Utah Lake, Willard Bay, and dozens of community ponds. Cut bait, worms, and patience — cats over 20 pounds come out every year.
Behavior & tendencies
Whisker-guided scent feeders that cruise soft bottoms after dark. Utah Lake and Willard Bay grow them past 20 pounds, and half the community ponds in the state hold them. Set up on a windblown shoreline, get bait on the bottom, and wait.
Seasonal patterns
June's spawn puts big cats tight to rocky banks and riprap. Summer nights are prime everywhere. They feed well into fall and can be caught through the ice, but warm-month darkness is the pattern.
What they bite
Cut bait (carp or white bass), nightcrawlers, shrimp, stink baits, chicken liver.
Recommended presentations
- Carolina-rigged cut bait on the bottom, rod in a holder
- Slip-bobber rigs drifted along riprap during the spawn
- Fresh cut white bass at Utah Lake — the local cheat code
- Circle hooks so fish hook themselves (and release clean)
channel catfish by region
Best months for channel catfish
57 waters holding channel catfish
Sorted by how they’re fishing right now.
- Willow Park PondGood
- Clinton PondGood
- Farmington City ReservoirGood
- Jackson Flat ReservoirGood
- Jensen Nature Park PondGood
- Kaysville Stake PondGood
- Meadow Creek PondGood
- Parowan PondGood
- Riverton PondGood
- Steed PondGood
- Brough ReservoirFair
- Manila Creek Park PondFair
- Provo Delta Community FisheryFair
- Redmond LakeFair
- Salina City PondFair
- Spanish Oaks PondFair
- Spring LakeFair
- Stansbury LakeFair
- Willard Bay ReservoirFair
- Willard CreekFair
- Willow Spring PondFair
- Dmad ReservoirFair
- Huntington North ReservoirFair
- Gunnison Bend ReservoirTough
- Piute ReservoirTough
- Bountiful PondWarning
- Echo ReservoirWarning
- Gunlock ReservoirWarning
- Highland Glen Park PondWarning
- Jordan RiverWarning
- Salem PondWarning
- Utah LakeDanger
- Canyon View Park PondDrained
- Carbon County Pond
- Cove Pond
- Fairmont Park Pond
- Fort Buenaventura Pond
- Good Ski Lake (21st Street Pond)
- Kidney Pond
- Knight Ideal Pond
- Leigh Hill Reservoir
- Little Montes Reservoir
- Maybey Pond
- Midas Pond
- Millrace Park Pond
- Old Fort Pond North
- Old Fort Pond South
- Pioneer Park Pond
- Pole Canyon Park Pond
- Pond At Poulter Preserve
- Riverfront Pond
- Roosevelt Community Pond
- Sandy Community Fishery
- Smith Family Park Pond
- Sunset Pond
- Willow Creek Pond
- Yuba Reservoir (Sevier Bridge)