I’ve recently had some fun times at Genola Warm Springs fishing. Here is my report on bass fishing in this warm spring where the bass are still active and fun to catch even in the cold of December. The following fishing report contains all the logistics of how I caught some bass in this little secret spot. Plus, I’ve got a little bit of video footage from my adventure as well.
Genola is a small little town a couple miles outside of Santaquin, Utah. Next to the town of Genola lies a warm spring that fills some ponds of water. These little ponds hold some bass. It never freezes over in the winter, and because of the warm water temperatures the bass stay fairly active. Here are the logistics of my recent expeditions out to these warm springs. I’ve included a map of the spots to fish, what baits caught bass, and conditions during my fishing excursions. Plus, some more juicy details along with video footage to hopefully help you catch a few out at Genola Warm Springs as well.
Here is a map of the warm springs, and the areas where I fished to catch a few bass.
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Here are the main baits that caught bass for me at Genola Warm Springs. The water was crystal clear, and there was a lot of vegetation with cover along the edges of the bank. I stuck with baits that didn’t pick up to much of the vegetation, and could go through the brush and cover along the bank.
The small 3 inch Jackall Cover Craw in green pumpkin
was a great bait for getting bites. I rigged the cover craw up on a 3/0 gamakatsu offset worm hook
without any weight. I fished this set up with a spinning rod and reel because it is super light and easier to use this way. The key to fishing the cover craw is to rig the eye of the hook where the claws of the bait are, so the hook point is in the butt of the bait. It’s backwards from traditional texas rigging craw imitations. Texas rigging the bait backwards enables the butt of the bait to glide backwards into the cover you are fishing. Once you’ve cast the cover craw out fish it slowly back to you along the bottom. It keeps up out of the vegetation pretty well because it is so light.
The Keitech Noisy Flapper in green pumpkin/chartreuse
drew up a lot of strikes for me at Genola Warm Springs. I rigged the noisy flapper up on an red 4/0 spring lock hook
with the nose of the bait set in the screw lock, and the hook buried up through the plastic in the traditional texas style. The subtle buzz of this bait was awesome in the calm water of the ponds. Although I didn’t hook up as much as I would of liked with this bait, It was heart pumping to see those top water strikes. I threw the noisy flapper on a bait casting rod and reel. After your cast as soon as the bait hits the water you start slowly reeling to keep the bait flapping on the top of the water. It’s pretty easy to fish. Just crank and wind.
I made two trips out to Genola Warm Springs. Both times the conditions were very similar on each day. I went in the morning on December 23rd, and December 31st for a few short hours. All the hours seem short when I’m fishing. Guess that means it’s a good time.
Air Temperature 15 degrees. Overcast and Light Snow.
70 Degrees.
Crystal Clear.
0-5 mph. Flat Calm on both trips.
Genola Warm Springs fishing was a very unique experience with such frigid air temperatures, yet the water was so warm. It presented a unique set of challenges with casting problems because my fishing guides on my reel would freeze up. Plus, just being able to keep warm was a challenge. I definitely wasn’t dressed right for the occasion. I needed my full blown snowboarding gear. Still I managed to catch some bass, and had a blast doing it in the snow of winter. It was a great way to end the year doing a little bass fishing.
On my first adventure out here I only had a few minutes, I just wanted to scope it out before I headed into work. I’d heard rumors of bass being in Genola Warm Springs, but you never know what to expect. When I arrived I saw a small bluegill dart into some rocks, and a giant carp cruising around. There were also some duck hunters present. I spoke to a couple of them, and they told me they saw a big bass in the pond ahead. It got me really excited.
Because of all the grass and vegetation I used a Jackall Cover Craw, and it worked well. I landed one bass, and had a couple other bites that I missed. Nothing really giant to speak of, but it was fun. It made me stoked to come back and give it another shot.
My next trip I started out with the noisy flapper as part of my arsenal, and it worked well. I had a lot more strikes on this bait than the cover craw, but unfortunately didn’t connect on any except for one. There were several bigger bites on this trip I’m still sick about that I wish I would’ve landed. There is nothing better than having some sick topwater action on the last day of December.
I used the cover craw again on this second trip, and had a couple other bites I missed. I also tried throwing a drop shot rig, but didn’t get any takers. You could tell the bass in these springs where ambush predators. All my bites came in the typical shallow water areas bass like to hold along the banks, brush, and cover.
Here is some footage I put together with some narration to help you get a feel of fishing Genola Warm Springs. Hopefully, the tips in this video can help you catch a few here yourself. It was so cold the timing was off with the audio. It feels like a bad dubbed over japanese film. Still though, hope you can appreciate it. I’ve also added some little branding flair. Let me know what you think of it.
Please leave any questions or comments below about your thoughts on fishing Genola Warm Springs. I had a good time out here, and it was fun to find a place to use some of my new Christmas bass gear on. Plus, how stoking is it to find a spot where you can go catch a bass all year long!
Hope your new year is full of plans for some excited fishing. Don’t be afraid to reach out to me if you’d like to hire me for a trip next year. I’d love to get some stuff on my calendar, and get you “Kraken” Bass!
As Always,
Stay Stoked!
The links above and below in this post are affiliate links were you can pick up baits, rod’s, reels, line, and anything else I use to “Krak” some bass on this trip. Krakenbass receives a small percentage of the sales through these links. I only use links to baits, and gear I personally trust and know work. I put these links to make them helpful for you, and not for the small amount I make for the sale of the products. I hope these products can help you “krak” some bass! Thank you for your support.
Keitech Noisy Flapper in green pumpkin/chartreuse
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9 Responses
Nice to see you getting bass on the last day of the year. I live in Saint George and have followed your blog the last six months. Great stuff! Learned a lot and after seeing your Ivins reservoir post I went there in late November and got two bass. One was 20″ long and 3 lbs.at the pillar. You got me stoked for 2016. I’m gearing up this winter for Sand Hollow and Quail Creek. Thanks for all the tips and info. Keep kraken, Mark Kraz
Thanks man! You live in a great area for Bass Fishing! Stoked to see some hawgs coming out of Ivins.
Can’t believe you caught a bass in the snow. So crazy! Good job!!! Loved the video!
JB, first off I love your posts! Not a lot of people in Utah get excited about bass fishing so it is awesome to see all the great spots there are around us. I went out to Genola this afternoon but didn’t have much luck. I was curious if all of those ponds hold bass? I recognized which one you were fishing in the video, but did you try fishing the large pond to the west? I am going to try and give it another shot next week and I was wondering if I should focus on one of the ponds more than the others. Thanks for all the great insight!
I didn’t fish the west pond much. I had one strike there, so it might be worth exploring. The water is extremely clear, so make sure to have ultra thin flourocarbon fishing line. Hopefully, it will get you a few bites. Plus, they hold extremely tight to cover. Flip right into the thick of the stuff, and hopefully you can snag one or two out. It’s not a place that has a ton of bass, but there are a few swimming around. Have fun!
Wow here I am sitting indoors in freezing temperatures in Ohio wishing I knew where a warm spring was around here so I could get out and go fishing. I love the report and video, will definitely be visiting your blog more often – great stuff!
Thanks heaps man!
I just checked this place out and caught a few out the big pond on jerkbait, thank you for shedding light on all the places to catch bass.
update, you cannot fish here! The DNR will cite you for trespassing so just a friendly heads up