Here’s some general information on Starvation Reservoir bass fishing. This lake is primarily known as an awesome walleye fishery, but it also has some fantastic smallmouth & largemouth bass fishing. If you’ve never made it out to this place, this will give you some ammo of  techniques and baits to try during different times of the year to catch fish. The goal of this post is to get you “Kraken” bass out at Starvation Reservoir.

 
 
 

Starvation Reservoir Bass Fishing

 Location:

Starvation Reservoir is about a 2 hour and 15 minute journey from the Salt Lake Valley. It’s located off of the US-40. If you head East from Salt Lake on US-40, you will run straight into it. It’s in Duschene county about two miles northwest of the town of Duschene. Here is a map of what the lake looks like.
 

 

General Information:

Starvation Reservoir is a classic desert mountain reservoir sitting at an elevation of 5,200 feet. The lake covers about 3,310 acres. There are a variety of different fish in the lake. The most sought after is the Walleye. The lake also has a good abundance of bass to be found in its waters. The main forage for the bass and walleye are the yellow perch and crayfish also found in the lake. Starvation Reservoir is commonly used for local bass tournaments because of the great fishing that can be found on it. Plus it is relatively close in proximity to the Salt Lake Valley.

There are several access points and boat ramps at the lake. As always make sure to check the regulations before you go fishing any new body of water. Here is the link to the Utah Division of Wildlife’s page for more detailed information on Starvation Reservoir: Fishing Starvation Reservoir

Seasonal Patterns & Baits:

Spring:

Spring fishing is usually good on Starvation from April until June. Once the surface temprature hits 56 degrees the fish start moving in shallow for the spawn. Look for lightly sloping gravel shorelines inside of points, and the backs of coves. In the spring great things to use are a drop shot rig, crankbaits, and jerkbaits to get bites. Also, soft plastic swimbaits are a good choice to catch bigger bass as they are feeding up from their cold slumber from the winter.

Summer:

June through August are also great times to get out and catch some bass. The bass are usually spread out through the main part of the lake this time of year, but the warmer water speeds up their metabolism which makes them eat aggressively. Try using search baits in the summer to locate fish such as a topwater spook, and medium diving crankbaits. Once you locate the bass, look for similar areas on the lake and slow down your presentation. Other great techniques to get them to bite are throwing tubes, texas rigged soft plastic craws, and a weightless rigged senko.

Fall:

September through October can be tricky, but the bass are still feeding preparing for the winter slumber. The key is just finding them. The bass will move shallow again once the surface temperature hits around 55 degrees with the fall turnover. Topwater baits, are great during this transitional period such as poppers and spooks. Slowly crawling tube baits is also deadly for crushing fish.

Winter:

Starvation Reservoir will ice over in the winter. Dropping a small jig through a hole in the ice will occasionally yield bass. Fishing usually cools down with the cold of winter, but if you are a die hard try using a float n fly. It’s a technique used with a small foam or cork bobber, and a small 1/16 oz hair jig attached to the end of a 10 foot leader. You never know what can happen.
 

Best Colors for Starvation Bass Fishing:

The lake is filled with crayfish and yellow perch. The best colors to use for your baits are ones that match the forage. The water is also really clear, so typically natural colors work best. Use natural crayfish colors such as green pumpkin, smoke, and watermelon for  tubes & soft plastics. You won’t go wrong with those choices. For your other moving baits, use perch colors with chartreuse and orange to draw strikes. They will usually bring a few fish in the boat.
 

Baits to Use Starvation Bass Fishing:

Here are some links for good baits to get you started bass fishing on Starvation Reservoir.

Topwaters:

Megabass Pop X
Rapala X-Rap Pop Yellow Perch
Megabass Giant DOG-X Gill Topwater

Crankbaits & Jerkbaits:

Strike King Square Bill 2.5 Crankbait, Chartreuse Perch, 5/8-Ounce
Megabass DEEP-X 150 Gill Diving Crankbait
Lucky Craft Pointer 100-mm Bait (Ghost Minnow, 4-Inch)
Jackall Squirrel Chart Striped Ayu

Tubes & Craw Softplastics:

Strike King Coffee Tube (Green Pumpkin, 3.5-Inch)
Gary Yamamoto Double Tail Hula Grub – 5
Gene Larew Biffle Bug
Jackall Sasuteki Craw
 

Starvation Reservoir Bass Fishing Video:

Here’s a short youtube video to get you amped about what you might find Starvation Reservoir bass fishing.
 

 
Hope this helps you to help get you “kraken” bass in Starvation Reservoir. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog for more great posts on lake specific bass fishing information. Also, leave a comment if you have any additional thoughts about Starvation Reservoir bass fishing!

(Photo’s in this post were used from www.ultimatebassteams.com photo’s and stories of Starvation Reservoir tournaments to illustrate the bass that can be found in this lake. The scenery pictures were provided by a starvation reservoir trip report at www.backcountrypost.com)

As Always,

Stay Stoked!!