Juniors At Worlds Spearfishing (JAWS)

!! Register Here !!

Fish Lake is a beautiful alpine lake located three hours from Salt Lake City. This picturesque venue is  known for its clear waters and abundant fish species, including perch, sucker, carp, various trout  species, and tiger muskie. The lake has produced world record catches of muskie, lake trout, splake, and  brown trout. 

We want to continue to expand our focus on spearfishing  opportunities for youth of all experience levels. We will be hosting an annual event that will focus on education and a fun competition for youth from 5 to 17 years of age. This is our 3rd annual JAWS or Juniors  at Worlds Spearfishing event. A banquet and awards ceremony will be held in the evening. Youth divers, as in previous years, will be paired with  experienced adult mentors, who can assist in every aspect except shooting the fish. To safely host this  event, we will cap the JAWS tournament to 50 youth divers. Additional details and schedules below. 

This year we will have some incredible prizes from our amazing sponsors, which will be given to winning  raffle ticket holders. Raffle tickets will be given out as awards during several activities, to tournament  winners, and may also be purchased.

Event Directors
Garion Rowett – Fish Lake Tournament Director
(801) 400-5242
growett@lehi-ut.gov

Kenny Western – NFSA Event Director
(435) 627-7275
nfsaeventdirector@gmail.com

Friday, July 31st - JAWS Tournament Schedule 

  • 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM Pre-dive meeting at Twin Creeks Picnic area. We will review safety, rules, needs, etc. All divers  depart at the same time. 
  • 8:30 AM to 9 AM – Travel to starting dive locations. This is a swim/kayak only event. You may be in the water and  traveling to your starting location, but loaded guns are not allowed during this time. 
  • 9 AM – 2 PM – JAWS competition. NO loaded guns before 9 AM or after 2 PM. 
  • 2:45 PM – All divers must be back to Twin Creeks Picnic area by this time for the fish count.  5:30 PM – Banquet dinner at Twin Creeks Pavillion 
  • 6:30 to 8 PM – Award ceremony and prize raffle 

 

General Rules for JAWS

  1. All spearfishing participants must join NFSA, which is free, complete the online registration and the  payment for this event, sign a waiver or have a guardian sign a waiver if under 18 years of age, and  complete the online survey regarding gear, experience, mentors, camping, etc. By signing the Waiver, you  understand the potential dangers and risks of this sport. Registration will start on Jan. 1, 2026. https://nationalfreshwaterspearfishing.org/pages/membership 
  2. Adhere to the JAWS tournament schedules above. 
  3. No loaded guns out or above the water at any time. No loaded guns before or after the competition time on  the tournament day. 
  4. This is an individual event so please keep your fish separate from others. 
  5. No motorized boats of any kind on the competition day. Motorized boats are allowed for scouting only.
  6. Each diver or mentor must display a legal dive flag on a float or their non-motorized vessel for safety, as  there can be boat traffic. Divers without a float and dive flag will be disqualified. 
  7. Fish hauling devices are legal, such as buoys, boogie boards, kayaks, or canoes. Divers may use kayaks,  canoes, paddleboards or similar for transport. 
  8. All participants must abide by the fishing regulations. Please be familiar with the DWR rules for this lake.  No limit on carp, sucker or perch. Limit of 4 combined trout/salmon with only 1 exceeding 24”. 1 muskie  and it must be 40” or longer. Utah Fishing Regulations - https://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/fishing regulations.html. Buy a fishing license - https://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/main-fishing-page.html
  9. This is a freediving event only.  
  10. No chumming is allowed at any time. Flashers may be used. 
  11. If you shoot extra fish, they may not be discarded in the lake. Please bring them to the fish count.
  12. Judges reserve the right to disqualify divers who have intentionally or unintentionally violated any rules.  Please know and observe the rules. If you have a violation or witness other divers violating rules, whether  intentional or not, please respectfully review the violation with the weigh-in judges.

JAWS Scoring 

  • 50 perch  
    • 1 point per perch 
    • 1 point per lb. (Example – If total weight of perch =10.83 lbs., that would = 10.83 pts.)
  • 1 trout of any type – 5 points 
  • Unlimited carp and sucker – 3 points each. 
  • There will be a division for ages 5 to 12 and a second division for ages 13 to 17. 

 

Lodging Options 
NFSA reserved the Frying Pan group campsite for 100 people from July 30 to August 3. Please contact an event  director to reserve for your group. This is first-come, first-served and included with the event fee.  

Other options include camping in free unimproved camp areas, improved campsites at Fish Lake, cabin rentals or  hotels in nearby towns such as Loa, UT, etc. 

The main cabin rental options are with Bowery Haven Resort -  The cabin reservation for  2025 starts on November 15, 2024 at 6 AM. The cabins book right away, so if you are interested, plan to book  right as the booking opens.

 

Map location of Fish Lake
https://goo.gl/maps/dvLnM3ybcgmrV4fu7

Need a Fishing License?

Information on Fishing Regulations