Here is a Mantua Reservoir fishing report from my brief stop there on my way to Idaho for work. It was stoking to see bass cruising the shallows getting amped up to spawn. Plus, I caught 7 largemouth bass in only a few of hours of fishing from the shore. Here are the logistics of where I fished, what I used, and how I “Kraked” some bass at Mantua Reservoir.

 
 
 
 
 

Mantua Reservoir Fishing Report – Stoked!

 
It’s always fun to stop at Mantua Reservoir. It’s such a beautiful place tucked in the valley behind Brigham City in Utah. It was even more exciting to see how active the fish were. There were big bluegills cruising the banks, along with a few good largemouth mixed in with them. I was able to “krak” seven largemouth, and a couple were pretty decent sized. Here are the conditions while I was there, a map of where I fished, a list of the baits I caught bass on, and even some bonus video footage of a couple bass I caught. Enjoy this Mantua Reservoir fishing report, so you can go out there and try your luck at catching a few bass!
 

Mantua Reservoir Fishing Conditions:

Here are what the conditions were for fishing Mantua on Thursday evening May 28th, 2015 from 5:30 – 8:30pm.

Weather:

Air Temprature around 70 degrees, Bright & Sunny skies.

Wind:

0 – 5 mph, an occasional breeze would blow through.

Water Temperature:

59 degrees

Water Clarity:

Lightly Stained, Visibility was about 5 – 6 feet deep.

Mantua Reservoir Fishing Spots:

 
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Here is a map of where I fished from the shore and caught some largemouth bass.

 
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Mantua Reservoir Fishing Baits:

 
Here are three baits that worked and caught several bass. Including, how to rig these baits up and use them to get the bass to bite.
 

Havoc Pit Boss:

Two of the biggest fish were caught on a summer craw havoc pit boss set up on a jika rig. The jika rig is an awesome spring fishing technique. I would throw the pit boss out to where I felt the bass would be holding, and shook my rod tip to let the craw dance along the bottom on the jika rig. Plus, the jika rig doesn’t get hung up very much fishing through the rock and brush found around the lake. It worked well for me at Mantua.

Roboworm:

The Aarons pro shad roboworm was a bass grabber. I set it up on a drop shot rig with a 1/8 oz Drop Shot Weight, and a 1/0 Gamakatsu Split Shot/Drop Shot Hook. Wacky rigging the bait, so the hook went right through the center of the worm on the drop shot was the ticket to hooking up. The key was to set it out there, and lightly shake the bait back along the bottom. The roboworm on a drop shot was a deadly combination.

Tube:

A green pumpkin 3.75 inch tube jig set up on a stupid rig worked really well. There were a couple things I did to this bait that helped me get some strikes. The first was I used a 1/8 Bagley Shaky Head Jig for my stupid rig. It’s just the right weight to get you down there, but it doesn’t get hung up in the rocks as much. The second was I dipped the tails of the tube in some chartreuse garlic dye to give it a little flair. Lastly, I slathered it up in some crawfish scented smelly jelly. Those little things seemed to draw a few extra strikes. Casting the stupid rigged tube out, and slowly hopping it along the bottom caught some good fish.
 

Detailed Mantua Fishing Report:

I pulled up to Mantua, and ran down to the dock next to where I parked. I was excited to start fishing. First thing I did was place my water temprature guage in the water, and made a few casts around the dock. I saw several big bluegill swirling up shallow under the flooded trees, and I saw a couple little bass cruising around. After a few casts, I pulled up and looked at my water temp guage, and it read 59 degrees. The perfect temprature for the largemouth to start moving in shallow for their spring spawning.

I pulled out the Jika Rig on my baitcasting rod and reel, and started pitching into the flooded timber along the bank. I came to a hole in the trees, and made a couple parellel casts to the shore. My line started swimming, and I set the hook on this nice bass!

I made another cast to the same spot, and caught another one! I was pretty pumped. You can check out the video footage of this event at the end of this post. Here is a picture of the next guy I caught.

A little further down the shore I spotted a bass cruising shallow sitting under a branch. I spent some time trying to get him to bite, but he wasn’t having it. I continued on and found another bass sitting in about 2 feet of water. I pitched the jika rig pit boss a few times to him, but he would just stare at it and not move on it. I tied on a drop shot rig with a roboworm, and pitched out behind the bass. A small one ran out and grabbed it that I didn’t even see. I ended up dragging the small bass right through the big one. Then several people on bikes came by, and another pair of shore fisherman walked up to see what was going on. Needless to say the big one was quite wary at this point, and it proved fruitless trying to catch him.

I moved down the bank, and caught a couple more on the roboworm. I also busted out a Squarebill Crankbait to see if I could get the shallow bass to munch a reaction style bait, but they didn’t seem to care for it. Lastly, before I had to head back on the road I tied on the stupid rig tube. I fished back the way I had come, and popped a couple more.

It was a great evening of fishing. I didn’t catch any monsters, but it was fun getting the line stretched. Plus, sight fishing for bass gets the heart pumping when you can see them sitting there staring at your bait.The trip ended with me landing a total of seven bass, and a big stoked smile on my face.

Hope you enjoy this Mantua Reservoir fishing report. Subscribe to the blog, so you can get these reports straight into your email. Plus, check out the video of the trip below, and subscribe to my YouTube channel. I’m having fun using my go-pro camera on my trips. The hope is the video’s will give you a perspective you can’t get from reading, and get you jacked to get out “Kraken” Bass!

As Always,

Stay Stoked!
 
 

Mantua Reservoir Fishing Video:

Gear Used:

Baits:
Aarons pro shad roboworm
summer craw havoc pit boss
green pumpkin 3.75 inch tube jig

Terminal Tackle:
Gamakatsu Split Shot/Drop Shot Hook-Pack Of 25 (Black, 1/0)
1/8 Finesse Lead Drop Shot Weights Hand Poured (10 per pack)
Owner Jika Rig 1/4 oz
Bagley SJ18-19 1/8-Ounce Jig Head Hard Bait Fishing Lure, Brown Finish