Southern Utah Smallmouth Bass Fishing – Newcastle Reservoir

Southern Utah Smallmouth Bass Fishing Newcastle Reservoir

Here’s what you need to know about Southern Utah Smallmouth Bass Fishing on Newcastle Reservoir to have a fun weekend of catching fish. This article will walk through some of the best spots on the reservoir and a list of great baits to catch them on the spot. Plus, I’ll outline some of the unique attributes of this lake to help you put together a winning game plan to “Krak” some bass. Don’t forget to check out the YouTube video at the bottom of this post to see more Newcastle’s smallmouth bass fishing in action.

About Newcastle Reservoir

Newcastle Reservoir is a small lake about an hour north of St. George, UT. It’s primarily stocked with rainbow trout but is also known for producing the state record wiper bass fish. Newcastle is also home to a good population of smallmouth bass.

The lake’s shores are primarily chunk rock and ledges. The bottom of the lake fills up with grass as the summer approaches to provide plenty of cover for the baitfish and game fish in the lake. There are an abundance of chubs, sunfish, and crayfish that feed the predator game fish in the lake.

Newcastle’s water levels ebb and flow all year long. However, it’s usually at its highest in the early spring, gradually falling down to its lowest levels in the fall. There is one boat ramp, no docks, and little-to-no facilities. Its primary purpose is to provide water for the valley fields below the dam.

5 Baits For Newcastle Smallmouth Bass

There are a lot of baits that will trigger bites on Newcastle for smallmouth bass in Southern Utah. To help you narrow techniques down, here are 3 baits and techniques that primarily work well throughout the year. Armed with these baits in hand, you are going to be successful catching fish on this little reservoir.

Ned Rig

The Ned Rig really works well along the chunk rock shorelines at Newcastle. One of the best colors is “The Deal” as it matches both the crayfish and small baitfish you find in the lake, causing the bass to bit your line more consistently. Throw this on a good spinning spinning rod setup for optimal casting distance and let it sit on the bottom, adding in an occasional light twitch. You will definitely catch some fish on this technique at Newcastle.

Swimbait

A Keitech Easy Shiner is a perfect imitation of the small chubs in the lake the bass like to feed on. It has a natural swimming action these bass can’t resist. Throw it on a 3/16 oz ball Jig Head with a spinning rod to get a good, long cast. Slowly retrieve your swimbait along the bottom and wait for the rod to completely load up–really getting the bass to bite down on your bait–before you set the hook. You will get a lot of little bites, and they will rip off your tails if you don’t wait for the bait to be completely engulfed by the bigger fish.

Drop Shot

A Drop Shot Rig works incredibly well for the smallmouth on Newcastle reservoir. It keeps your lure up out of the grass and off the bottom so they can key in on the bait and eat it. Use 3″ or 4″ baits on your drop shot for optimal results and the most bites. Use natural colors to mimic the chubs, crayfish, or sunfish found in the lake. Often with the drop shot, you’ll need to let your bait sit a little longer; the bass will pick the bait up off the bottom when you just let it sit still. Don’t overwork it!

Topwater

Topwater fishing can be awesome on Newcastle when the water heats up. The bass prefer to hit the topwater baits in low light conditions and calm water. Look for these conditions in the early morning and late evening. One of the best topwater baits for this lake is the megabass pop-x. It gets tons of bites, and has a good hook-up ratio. The bass here don’t have big mouths, so the 4″ size topwater baits tend to work the best.

Jerkbait

The bass at Newcastle absolutely crush jerkbaits. The rip-rip-pause action really draws them up and gets them biting. When the air gets a little windy, this is when the jerkbait performs its best.

A good jerkbait on Newcastle is the Vision 110 by Megabass. The Vision 110 comes in three different depth diving sizes. The regular Vision 110 dives 3 – 5 feet. The Vision 110 +1 will get dive to 7 – 10 feet. Lastly, the Vision 110 +2 will dive 12 – 15 feet. Pick one that will get down to where you feel the fish are at. Plus, don’t forget to use 100% fluorocarbon line because the bass in Newcastle are extremely line shy.

Bass Fishing Baits Newcastle
The Ned Rig was the best bait for us for catching numbers and quality and produced this nice smallmouth bass.

Best Fishing Spots On Newcastle Reservoir

The best places to find bass on Newcastle are in the pockets and in the points with the chunk rock structure. Below is a map of some good areas to find bass on this lake. Explore these spots both shallow and deep until you dial in where the bass are located.

Video Southern Utah Smallmouth Bass Fishing Newcastle

Check out this video to see the potential you can accomplish while smallmouth bass fishing at Newcastle. The video will help you see the size and quality of the fish. You will also see how some of the baits and techniques can work together to get you some great catches. This video was filmed on Memorial Day weekend, and it still was good fishing.

Additional Helpful Information Newcastle Fishing

Newcastle does have a lot of little smallmouth bass, but there are some bigger bass living there as well. The key is to use bigger baits to eliminate some of the smaller bites you’ll get. Yet, if you want to get a lot of bites and have fun with your kids on the weekend, using the smaller baits will yield the most exciting results for you. Please leave a comment below with any helpful information you found while fishing at Newcastle so others can experience your same success.

Lastly, the links above and below in this post are affiliate links where you can pick up baits, rods, reels, line, and anything else I use to “Krak” some bass in Utah. 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. These links are supposed to be helpful for you, not for the small amount I make on the sale of the products. I hope these products can help you “Krak” some bass like they have for me. Thank you for your support!

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