Utah Lake to hold yearlong fishing competition to get rid of carp
Dec 16, 2024, 2:30 PM
FILE - Fishermen from Loy Fisheries Inc. remove carp from Utah Lake in Spanish Fork Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. (Chelsey Allder, Deseret News)
(Chelsey Allder, Deseret News)
UTAH COUNTY — Utah Lake managers want as many carp as possible removed from the lake. To help their goal, they’re hosting a yearlong fishing competition.
It’s the Great Carp Hunt. The Utah Lake Authority is offering $5,000 to the team that removes the most carp from Utah Lake in 2025.
Teams of up to five people will compete in monthly, two-day events from January to November.
“Teams go out during the event hours, catch as many carp as they can, bring them back to event launch to count and dispose of the fish,” according to ULA.
ULA will also offer monthly prizes of $1,000 and prizes for things like the longest, smallest and heaviest carp caught.
The first event is scheduled for Jan. 25-26. Teams interested in joining the Great Carp Hunt can sign up online.
Why target carp in Utah Lake?
The Great Carp Hunt is part of an ongoing effort from the state to remove the fish from Utah Lake.
“We see this as a fun way for people to help remove a non-native species that has made negative impacts on the lake and the native fish,” said ULA Executive Director Luke Peterson in a news release.
The carp threatened species like the June Sucker, which the state has worked to restore for years.
Peterson said around 75% of carp have been removed from the lake since 2009 but that there is still “a lot of work to do.”
