Fishing forecast (December through February): Between the lake itself and its tributaries, anglers have open water fishing opportunities throughout winter. For the lake, ice does begin to form in the marinas/harbors and in Provo Bay/Mud Lake the latter part of December into January. Fishing the lake's open water is typically slow to fair, but white bass fishing can be good in areas — particularly around the Lincoln Beach warm spring. Most, if not all, the marinas/harbors have fishable ice (ice that is at least 4 inches thick) around the first part of January. The lake can completely freeze over, but ice thickness and ice conditions vary wildly. Cracking/fragmenting and ice movement often results in large ice stacking events along the shorelines, creating large areas of open water. Use extreme caution, particularly if/when fishing outside the marinas/harbors. An ice safety guide is available here. Ice thickness in the marinas/harbors throughout January averages 4-6 inches, and fishing is typically good for white bass, yellow perch, black crappie and bluegill using small jigs (1/16- to 1/32-ounce) tipped with nightcrawler, mealworm or waxworm. Anglers typically fish from the docks in the marinas/harbors because they are a safer angling strategy and the additional structure/cover the docks provide produces good numbers of fish. Late January into February, anglers targeting open water in the tributaries — namely the Provo River Delta, Lower Provo River, Powell Slough, Mill Race and Lower Hobble Creek — can see fair to good fishing for largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, white bass and northern pike. We recommend using tube jigs, marabou jigs, finesse baits, natural baits and inline spinners. Reminder: Northern pike are invasive to Utah Lake, special fishing regulations are in effect.