UTAH LAKE
What Utah Lake is
Utah's largest freshwater lake, nine feet deep on average, and the only water on earth with a June sucker in it.
The Utah Lake Authority gives the lake as "The lake is 24 miles long, 12 miles across (over 96,000 acres)" and "Average depth is nine feet. Maximum depth is 14 feet" .
That last figure explains everything else about this water. A lake the size of a county, nine feet deep on average. It warms fast, it stirs in a wind, and the sediment does not settle the way it would in a deep reservoir.
It is also bigger than its neighbours by an order of magnitude. The Authority calls it the "Third largest fresh water lake west of the Mississippi" , and a remnant of something far larger still: "Utah Lake is a remnant of a much larger pleistocene lake called Lake Bonneville" .
The June sucker lives in one lake on earth. US Fish and Wildlife: it is "found only in Utah Lake, and its tributary rivers during seasonal spawning" .
It was downlisted. "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is reclassifying the June sucker from endangered to threatened status", and "The final rule to downlist the June sucker will be published in the Federal Register on January 4, 2021" .
The recovery is the reason. "The June sucker, a fish native to the Beehive State and found only in Utah Lake, and its tributary rivers during seasonal spawning, numbered only 300 in 1999. Since then, its wild population has increased significantly, with over 3,500 hundred fish recorded spawning annually in recent years." The Service credits "the strong partnership and recovery efforts established under the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program in 2001" .
The Authority adds that they are long lived: June suckers are "native to only Utah Lake, and have a life span of over 40 years" .
A live source conflict STATUS
The Utah Lake Authority page still describes the June sucker as "endangered" . The federal listing agency reclassified it to threatened effective 4 January 2021 . Listing status is the listing agency's call, so this page follows Fish and Wildlife and flags the difference rather than quietly picking one.
The June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program puts the loss plainly: "Initially, 13 fish species could be found in Utah Lake. Today, only three of those species are still present, the June sucker, Utah sucker and Utah chub while many non-native fish dominate the ecosystem."
Everything else in the water arrived later. "Over 20 different non-native fish species have been introduced into Utah Lake over the years, and several have become established as self-sustaining populations."
The Authority names the native trout that is gone from the lake alongside the two suckers, listing "cut throat trout, June and Utah suckers" among the natives .
The Utah Lake Authority states it plainly: "Non-native carp make up 75 percent of all fish" .
It was worse. "In the early 2000s, carp represented an overwhelming 91 percent of the total fish biomass in the lake."
Then a commercial removal programme started. "The June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program has worked to remove 29 million pounds of carp, a fish that has caused much damage to Utah Lake, and is monitoring an emerging threat from northern pike." "With an average annual harvest rate nearing four million pounds, the carp population is being reduced."
It worked. "Monitoring efforts have recorded a 78% decline in carp density since 2012."
Fish and Wildlife names the pressure on the June sucker as "competition and predation from invasive fish species such as common carp and northern pike" .
Utah Lake sits in the middle of one basin. Salt Lake County describes it as one system: "The Jordan River drains a 3,805 square mile basin found in North central Utah, and includes Utah Lake and the Provo River."
The outflow is a single river. "The river meanders for 51 miles flowing north from the outlet of Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake." The Authority notes the works at that outlet were once formidable: "The Jordan River pumping station at Utah Lake was the largest pumping plant at the turn of the 20th century" .
Most of it never gets that far. "Almost half (41%) of the water in Utah Lake evaporates each year" . On a lake averaging nine feet deep, that is the dominant term in the budget.
The Provo River is the inflow this page measures, because it is the one with a live federal gauge on it , and because it is the water the June sucker runs up to spawn .
The numbers, and what is actually measured
A lake the size of a county and the depth of a swimming pool, with one live federal gauge and it is on the river.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area | over 96,000 acres | Utah Lake Authority |
| Length | 24 miles | Utah Lake Authority |
| Width | 12 miles across | Utah Lake Authority |
| Average depth | nine feet | Utah Lake Authority |
| Maximum depth | 14 feet | Utah Lake Authority |
| Annual evaporation | 41 per cent of the water | Utah Lake Authority |
| Outflow | Jordan River, 51 miles to the Great Salt Lake | Salt Lake County |
| Native species remaining | 3 of 13 | June Sucker Recovery Program |
Scaling the outline on this page from 96,000 acres puts it at 25.1 miles on its long axis, against a published 24. That is within five per cent and it holds up.
Deer Creek runs 137 feet at its deepest. Jordanelle runs about 280. Bear Lake runs 208. Utah Lake runs fourteen .
An average depth of nine feet across roughly 96,000 acres is the single fact a visitor should carry. Wind builds chop fast on shallow water, the bottom is soft, and visibility is not what people arriving from a mountain reservoir expect. The Authority notes it is "a shallow, mostly wadeable lake, so a boat is not necessary" .
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Carp share of fish biomass, early 2000s | 91 per cent | JSRIP |
| Carp share of all fish, as published now | 75 per cent | Utah Lake Authority |
| Total carp removed | 29 million pounds | JSRIP |
| Average annual harvest | nearing four million pounds | JSRIP |
| Decline in carp density since 2012 | 78 per cent | JSRIP |
| June sucker spawning run, 1999 | 300 fish | US Fish and Wildlife |
| June sucker spawning run, recent years | over 3,500 annually | US Fish and Wildlife |
There is no active USGS gauge publishing a lake surface elevation for Utah Lake. A statewide query of active USGS lake sites in Utah returns the Great Salt Lake network and Bear Lake, and nothing on Utah Lake.
What is live is USGS 10163000, Provo River at Provo , the main tributary and the river the June sucker runs up to spawn . That is the gauge on the card above, and it is inflow, not lake level.
Utah State Parks publishes a lake percentage, a water temperature and an algae status on its conditions page . Check it before you go →
Getting on the water
Five marinas and the two ends of the river system, each one on a real Google map with satellite and street view.
| Place | Address | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| Utah Lake State Park, Provo | 4400 West Center Street, Provo | Open "6 am to 10:00 pm in the summer; 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in the winter" |
| Saratoga Springs City Marina | 200 E. Harbor Parkway | "three docks, one boat ramp, and a few pavilions" |
| American Fork Boat Harbor | 6135 N. 6000 West | "recently upgraded docks and a spacious boat ramp", open "7 am to dark through Sept. 30" |
| Lindon Marina | 2130 W. 600 South, Lindon | "two launch ramps, rental slips, picnic tables, and a convenience store" |
| Lincoln Beach, Spanish Fork | 4700 South Lincoln Beach Road | "large pavilions, boat ramps, restrooms, covered picnic tables, camping, and of course, an inland beach" |
Fishing Utah Lake
Twelve species, four rules that apply nowhere else, and a map that shows you where people actually fish for each one.
White bass
Schools hard, and legal as bait here
Named by State ParksWalleye
Fished hardest in spring and again in autumn
Named by State ParksChannel catfish
The big one people target at night
Named by State ParksLargemouth bass
Provo Bay, the sloughs, and the rip rap
Black bass, named by State ParksNorthern pike
Illegally introduced, detected in 2010
Must be killed, not releasedBlack crappie
Present, but nobody publishes where
Listed by the Lake AuthorityBluegill
Piers, docks and the shallow edges
Listed by the Lake AuthorityBlack bullhead
Mudcats, in the muddy shallow bays
Listed by the Lake AuthorityUtah chub
Native, and no fishery
Native. One of three leftUtah sucker
Native, and it goes back in the water
Native. Release all suckersJune sucker
Found only in Utah Lake, nowhere else on earth
Threatened under the ESACommon carp
29 million pounds of it pulled out so far
Non-native, 75 per cent of all fishThe 2026 guidebook prints exactly three rules under Utah Lake. Two of them are about fish you must not keep, and they point in opposite directions. Everything else on this lake runs on the statewide limits .
Northern pike MUST BE KILLED
"No limit on northern pike. Anglers must not release any northern pike they catch. All northern pike must be immediately killed."
Pike are here by an illegal introduction: "Northern pike (Esox lucius) are not native to Utah, but were detected in Utah Lake by an angler in 2010 after an apparent illegal introduction."
Suckers RELEASE ALL
"All suckers must be immediately released." That covers the June sucker and the Utah sucker, and it means you do not need to identify which one you are holding.
Bass 6, ONE OVER 12 IN
"Limit 6 largemouth or smallmouth bass (a combined total), only 1 may be over 12 inches."
Bait, and the tributaries LOCAL RULE
Utah Lake is one of the few waters where you may use these: "Dead white bass may be used as bait only in Utah Lake and the Jordan River." Dead yellow perch are also allowed here, on a list that names "Utah Lake" alongside Deer Creek, Jordanelle and Willard Bay .
The tributaries run on their own rules. On Utah Lake tributaries in Utah County the water is "CLOSED to the possession of walleye from March 1 through 6 a.m. on the first Saturday of May" and "CLOSED to nighttime bowfishing (sunset to sunrise) from the first Saturday of May through 6 a.m. on the second Saturday of July" .
What to watch for
Blooms, two fish you must release, one you must not, and fourteen feet of water at its deepest.
Harmful algal blooms CHECK BEFORE YOU GO
Utah State Parks publishes an algae status for this lake on its conditions page and links the Utah Department of Environmental Quality health advisory panel . Utah Lake is shallow and warm, which is the condition blooms like.
This page does not print a bloom status, because a status copied today is wrong tomorrow. Open the DEQ advisory panel →
The June sucker and the Utah sucker RELEASE ALL
The June sucker is threatened under the Endangered Species Act as of 4 January 2021 . The guidebook rule is simpler than the listing: "All suckers must be immediately released."
Northern pike DO NOT RELEASE
The opposite rule applies to pike. "All northern pike must be immediately killed." Moving one to another water is how this started .
Shallow water and wind 14 FT MAX
Average depth nine feet, maximum fourteen . Nine feet of water builds a short steep chop in a wind far faster than a deep reservoir does. State Parks notes "the South Ramp is the shallowest" .
Drones NOT PERMITTED
State Parks: "NO DRONES of any kind may be flown within Utah Lake State Park" .
A fish that exists in one lake on earth is still climbing back.
Fathom Restoration is a Utah 501(c)(3) that runs volunteer dive cleanups and is built to pull what does not belong out of Utah water, statewide.
Donate to Protect Utah LakeEvery figure on this page is quoted from the source named beside it.
Sources
How these were checked
Every figure is quoted from the sentence it appears in. Numbered sources are agencies, and they are the only thing behind science, presence and law. Lettered sources are angler sources, and they are used only for where to fish and what to throw. Where two agencies disagree, both are printed and the page says which one governs and why. On this page that happens once, on the June sucker's listing status.Utah Lake, top 20 most interesting facts
June sucker has moved from Endangered to Threatened
Reclassification of the Endangered June Sucker to Threatened, final rule
Utah Lake State Park, Current Conditions
Provo River at Provo, site 10163000
Harmful Algal Blooms
Managing Non-Native Fish
Utah Fishing Guidebook 2026, rules for specific waters
Launch into summer at one of five Utah Lake marinas
Utah Lake is a good place to fish. Here is why
Jordan River Watershed
Utah Administrative Code R657-13-12, Bait
What these numbers are measuring
The forecast cards are the National Weather Service point forecast for Utah Lake State Park on the Provo shore, not for the middle of a lake twenty four miles long.
The flow card is a river, not the lake. USGS 10163000 sits on the Provo River at Provo , upstream of the lake. It measures what is coming in. There is no active USGS gauge publishing a surface elevation for Utah Lake itself, and this page does not dress a river gauge up as one.
The Provo River is also the water the June sucker runs up to spawn , which is why this particular gauge is the one worth showing.
For lake percentage, water temperature and algae status, Utah State Parks publishes all three and this page links them rather than copying numbers that go stale the same day .
Pick your fish
Choose a fish above.