08/25/2026
I had the opportunity to attend the Western Warmwater Fisheries Conference, and I came home more excited than ever about where fisheries management—and the relationship between anglers and our wildlife agencies—is headed.
I was honored to be asked to sit on the Angler Co-Management panel and share the perspective of the fishing public. I’m extremely appreciative of the partnership we’ve been able to build with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the willingness of their biologists and leadership to listen, communicate and work directly with anglers.
One of my biggest takeaways from the conference was pretty simple:
The UDWR wants the fishing public involved.
They see tremendous value in working with anglers, organizations, tournament groups, influencers and others who spend a tremendous amount of time on the water. We talked quite a bit about what anglers can actually do to help, and one of the biggest opportunities is fish catch data.
There are thousands of anglers on Utah waters every year collecting information without necessarily realizing it. What we’re catching, where we’re catching it, size structure, numbers, tournament results and changes we’re seeing over time can all provide valuable information. Going forward, I think organizations like UBAC and Fish It Forward, along with other influencers and partners who already work directly with the DWR, can play a big role in helping connect that information with our fisheries managers.
Another huge topic was habitat.
Arizona shared some of the incredible success they’ve had with their large-scale Christmas-tree habitat projects. Seeing what other states have accomplished reinforced something I’ve become increasingly passionate about: we have opportunities to do more with habitat here in Utah.
I was also able to be part of conversations about shallow-water habitat and what it could potentially do for black bass and many other species. Right now, one of the biggest hurdles is that shallow habitat can be viewed primarily as a potential boating hazard by water-management organizations. That’s a legitimate concern that has to be addressed, but I believe there is an opportunity to find solutions that protect boaters while also creating productive nursery, spawning and feeding habitat where it can have a tremendous biological benefit.
One of my favorite presentations came from Mike Barnes, who talked about the success South Dakota has had using Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) to grow fish.
This is especially relevant to Utah.
As water becomes a more limited resource, RAS is going to be an increasingly important part of Utah’s fish-growing and stocking efforts. These systems allow water to be reused and give fisheries managers another tool to produce fish efficiently with significantly different water demands than traditional methods. Hearing what South Dakota has accomplished gave us a glimpse at what may be possible here.
We also heard from biologists and fisheries managers from several western states about studies they’ve conducted in recent years—everything from fish growth and stocking success to population management, genetics, tournament movement and habitat. There is an incredible amount of science happening behind the scenes that most anglers never get an opportunity to see.
But maybe my biggest takeaway from the entire conference was this:
The future of fisheries management shouldn’t be anglers on one side and wildlife agencies on the other.
It should be biologists, anglers, organizations, tournament groups and water managers sitting at the same table—sharing information, identifying problems and working together on solutions.
That’s exactly what I’ve hoped Fish It Forward could represent.
Educate. Connect. Conserve.
When we’re given an opportunity to do something that can make fishing better for the next angler and the next generation, Fish It Forward. 🎣
A huge thank you to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources for allowing me to be part of the conversation, and to everyone at the Western Warmwater Fisheries Conference who shared their research, ideas and experiences.
I’m excited about what comes next.
