It doesn't take much for a park to fall out of favor ... a couple of bad water years, poor fishing and a gravel parking lot serving as a campground can do it.
It happened at Yuba Reservoir. The once-popular reservoir suddenly found it was being ignored. Boaters drove by, fishermen went elsewhere and campers opted for parks with covered picnic tables, fire pits and running water.
A lot has changed in the past couple of years. Still, if you ask Jeff Rasmussen, park manager, Yuba Reservoir has yet to really be rediscovered.
"Aside from Memorial weekend, you can always find a camp spot and the water is never overcrowded. And fishing is actually very good right now and getting better," he offered recently.
"A lot of people simply aren't aware of the improvements we've made ... and all that Yuba now has to offer."
Yuba was once a very popular boating water. It's a large reservoir, narrow and roughly 22 miles long, and listed as the fifth largest body of water in Utah. And, being a mid-elevation reservoir, its waters warm quickly, which is appealing to boaters and fishermen alike.
At one point, too, it was recognized as one of the best walleye-and perch-fishing spots in the state.
The drought and stories of low water, followed by a mandatory draining in 2003, turned many people away. This came with the collapse of the walleye-and perch-fishing, which sent fishermen off to other reservoirs.
And, while there were some nice camping facilities at the state-run park, camping facilities at the BLM's popular Painted Rock area were primitive and lacked the simplest of services, like running water.
Then came the changes after 2003, which started with fishing while the reservoir was nearly dry.
The draining happened when it was found that the dam and spillways, built in 1917, needed repair. The dry reservoir bottom made it possible for new habitat to grow and allowed angling groups and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to place 2,000 tons of rock cover and protective structure, such as fake and real Christmas trees laced together, on the bottom to make safe areas for spawning and protection.
The end result, said Richard Hepworth, biologist in the Central Region, is the perch have rebounded. During one survey, a single gill net held more than 500 perch, he noted. The walleye, he offered, "won't be far behind. Within two or three years, it'll be back to where it was."
Meaning he expects walleye-fishing to be excellent.
In the meantime, said Hepworth, the reservoir has been stocked with rainbow trout.
"Actually, they were extra fish," he continued. "Some of the hatchery managers called and said they had extra fish and asked if anyone wanted them. We told them to put them in Yuba. The fish being caught are not as large as those caught last year, but they're still averaging between 18 and 20 inches. A lot of them are being caught."
The problem with the walleye and perch is no different from prey/predator problems in other waters. That is, the predators, i.e. walleye, get too numerous and deplete their food supply, i.e. perch. Walleye numbers then fall, leaving anglers without much to catch.
Since the draining, the perch have rebounded, and Hepworth expects the walleye will follow close behind.
"Keeping a balance is a tough thing. You get a few good years of fantastic fishing followed by five or six years of marginal or terrible fishing," he noted. "We're hoping the habitat will help and, possibly, increasing the harvest of walleye during the good times."
"Our plan is to try and keep more of a balance so we don't have the extremes, but more good years of really good fishing by spreading the cycles out."
When the walleye and perch do peak, Hepworth said it's unlikely rainbow will continue to be planted.
As for the park itself, Rasmussen said that since the reservoir was drained and some improvements made, "visitation numbers have been growing steadily.
"What we've found is a lot of people were scared off by the drought. We still had a lot of water during that time, but so many stories were going around that we were out of water and that there were all kinds of hazards around the reservoir that people stopped coming."
Since the draining, a lot of improvements have been made. For one, the gravel parking area at Painted Rock is now a fully developed campground with 41 sites, covered picnic tables, fire pits, tent pads and a new water system.
Steve Bonar, recreation planner for the BLM, explained that the improved campground now has six new restrooms, a boat ramp, some security lighting, dump station and large group area, "and by the end of summer we'll have a host campsites completed. With all we have available at Painted Rock, we think the people will start returning to Yuba."
The reservoir is also one of the few in the state offering a boating campground, which is an improved campground with a sandy beach. Boaters are able to park their boat near their campsites.
There are, in fact, three other BLM campgrounds on the reservoir, including the state park, Eagle View, North Beach (also a boating campground) and the West Beach. Together there are a total of 240 individual campsites around the reservoir and three large group areas.
All of the camping areas are located toward the upper end of the reservoir. One reason is that much of the land to the south, roughly 33 percent, is private along with a large portion of BLM land. The BLM controls 61 percent of the shoreline, and the state park system controls six.
In the future, said Bonar, the BLM would like to finish Painted Rock this summer, then look at making improvement in its other three campgrounds.
"There's also been talk of a concessionaire with groceries, gas and ice on site. It could be possible if we find the right place and receive an inquiry from interested persons, then we'll look at just how it will fit into our system," said Steve.
Currently, there are no services available at the reservoir. But, gas and supplies can be purchased at nearby towns, including Nephi and Scipio.
Rasmussen said the state owns 50 acres adjacent to its current camping area, "and we'll look at possibly expanding as we attract more people."
He also noted that several events are planned at the reservoir this summer, including a wakeboard tournament in June, a volleyball tournament on Aug. 11 and the Yuba Triathlon on Sept. 8.
The park will also participate in the state park's 50th anniversary Geocache Adventure. Each of the 42 parks will have GPS locators visitors can rent for free and use to find treasures within the park.
Also, in a cooperative program with the DWR, state parks are offering discounts on daily use fees to those showing a valid Utah fishing or combination license.
All said, continued Rasmussen, as more and more people learn about the changes at Yuba, he expects that it won't be too long before Yuba is again one of Utah's more popular parks.
Upcoming events at Yuba Reservoir
May 25-28: Memorial Day weekend
June 9: Wakeboarding tournament
Aug. 11: Volleyball tournament
Sept. 8: Yuba Triathlon
Yuba State Park
Levan, Utah
435-758-2611
E-mail: grass@desnews.com