Welcome to the competition!
The Utah Lake Authority hosts an annual fishing tournament to help get rid of the invasive carp in Utah Lake. Carp are terrible for water quality and the lake environment. By participating in the Great Carp Hunt, you are helping to keep Utah Lake beautiful and healthy. In 2025, Team BPS won the $10,000 grand prize, with various other teams winning monthly tournament prizes. Overall, we removed 4,686 invasive carp from Utah Lake.
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
Register between Feb. 9-28 and get $15 off an adult ticket.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-great-carp-hunt-tickets-1982218514938?aff=oddtdtcreator
How it works:
Each team consists of five members. Each member needs to register online and pay the one-time $45 fee, which covers all of the tournaments for the season. Children age 11 and under are free. All team members aged 12 and above are required to have a Utah fishing license.
There will be six tournaments between April and June, roughly every other Saturday. Each tournament will be designated for either shore fishing or boat fishing.
Tournament Times –
Check in: 7 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.
Tournament starts: 8 a.m.
Tournament ends: 5 p.m.
Bring back all the carp your team has caught for the day and receive your prize money!
New to 2026:
The prizes for the 2026 Great Carp Hunt will be a bounty. For every carp brought in, a team will win $1.50. The Utah Lake Authority will also contribute $1.50 to the grand prize pot that will be won at the end of the season for the team who catches the most fish. The more fish that are caught, the larger the grand prize. There will be two grand prizes, one for shore fishing and one for boat fishing. If a fish is under a designated size (to be determined later after consultation with ULA biologists), the prize money will be increased to $3 to the team and $1.50 to the pot. Prize money will be given in the form of mailed checks.
Dates:
These are the anticipated dates for the tournament. They may change slightly to accommodate other ULA events but will be finalized by March.
Locations coming soon!
April 11, 2026 – Boat Fisherman
April 18, 2026 – Shore Fisherman
May 9, 2026 – Boat Fisherman
May 23, 2026 – Shore Fisherman
June 13, 2026 – Shore Fisherman
June 27, 2026 – Boat Fisherman
Registration page to come!
*There are new and updated rules for the 2026 season so please be sure to read the rules & regulations document below.*
For any questions, contact Kelly Cannon-O’Day at kelly@utahlake.gov.
Why are carp so bad for Utah Lake?
Carp are huge problem at the Utah lake. Carp are an invasive species that were introduced to Utah Lake by the federal government as a reliable food source. However, they are devastating to the water quality and other wildlife and plantlife. Carp are bottom feeders, meaning they get their food by essentially vacuuming up the sediment. This causes two problems: First, it churns up the above mentioned nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) that have settled in the sediment. This in turn feeds the harmful algae blooms and makes Utah Lake have a muddy appearance. Second, the carp rip out native underwater vegetation. This vegetation is beneficial by 1. holding down the sediment so the nutrients don’t get mixed in the water (and thereby not feeding HABs), 2. by competing with the HABs for those nutrients (thus starving HABs) and 3. providing a habitat for adolescent fish so they can grow large enough to fend for themselves.
That third point is especially important for the June Sucker, which is endemic to Utah Lake. Without the native vegetation, the young June Sucker had nowhere to live and were easy prey for predators. The June Sucker quickly became endangered. At one point, it was thought there were only 300 June Suckers left. Thanks to efforts from the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program, the new Provo River Delta Project has provided that habitat for the June Sucker and it has since been downgraded to just threatened.