Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Seven new Utah fishing records were set in 2024.
- Four of the records came in spearfishing as Utah aims to boost opportunities in that category.
- Utah's fishing record book encourages anglers and highlights the state's diverse fishing opportunities.
SALT LAKE CITY — At least six anglers left 2024 with a fascinating new Utah fishing story to tell.
Seven of the state's now 106 different fishing records were set last year, including two from the same angler, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials said in an update to the record book on Thursday.
Spearfishing records
Four of the new records were added to the state's spearfishing category after the division implemented new spearfishing rules at the end of 2023 to grow options in the sport.
Steven Gottfredson broke a pair of spearfishing records during the year, nabbing a 29-inch-long walleye at Deer Creek Reservoir that weighed 13 pounds and 8 ounces on April 11, 2024. The catch snapped a walleye record dating back to 2010.
A little over a month later, Gottfredson caught a 12½-inch and 8½-inch-long white bass at Utah Lake, weighing 13 ounces. That set a spearfishing record now added to the record book.
Ryan Peterson caught a 7⅜-inch long sunfish weighing 5 ounces at Lake Powell on May 10 – adding the species to the record book for the first time last year. A 20⅜-inch long smallmouth bass weighing 5 pounds and 5 ounces that Dylan Bear caught in Flaming Gorge beat a spearfishing previously record set in 2017 by 3 ounces.
Other records
The three other records came from the state's catch-and-keep and catch-and-release categories.
Bryan Olsen was the first to collect a record in 2024, catching a 17-inch-long Colorado River cutthroat trout at Currant Creek Reservoir which was also a new entry added in catch-and-keep records. It weighed 1 pound and 12.6 ounces.
Scott Gubler broke a 31-year-old record when he reeled in a 12¼-inch-long bluegill at Quail Creek Reservoir on Pioneer Day. It weighed 2 pounds and 8 ounces, besting the 1993 record by an ounce.
Meanwhile, Michaell Rueckert snagged a 13-inch-long white crappie at DMAD Reservoir near Delta on Oct. 24, also narrowly beating the previous record. The old record was set at Gunnison Bend Reservoir in 2022.
Utah wildlife officials have maintained Utah's fishing record book for over a century now, but it has grown to account for fish species and categories as rules change with time. In a statement, Trina Hedrick, the division's sportfish coordinator, explained it is meant to recognize anglers' achievements, but it also helps inspire others to go out and catch fish.
"The public records are also a fun way to encourage anglers to get out on the water and hopefully encounter some of the large fish Utah has to offer," she added. "Fishing is a great way to explore Utah's beautiful outdoors, and the excitement of setting a record can make it even more fun."
