01-16-2017, 06:04 PM
Monday, January 16, 2017
UDWR Bear Lake Fishing Report:
There is about 24” of snow on the ground at Bear Lake and the lake is open water. There is also a fair amount of floating ice on the lake, so be careful when boating. Deicers are being used to keep the marina open and the ramps have been plowed, but are slippery. You can launch at First Point and the Rainbow Cove boat ramp on the east side but Cisco Beach ramp is not accessible due to deep snow. There are no courtesy docks at any of the east side ramps. If you are launching a larger boat at Rainbow Cove, be careful about not backing in your trailer so far that it will go off the end of the concrete. There is a large drop off at the end of the ramp and this could ruin a trailer axle.
The Bonneville Cisco run has not begun yet. There were no Cisco running off the Cisco Beach or State Park marina dikes as of this morning. Anglers are just beginning to snag a few Cisco off the rockpile, but only catching one or two fish. This should only improve in the coming two weeks. However, fishing for Cutthroat Trout and Lake Trout is very good at this time. Anglers are mainly jigging off the rockpile area in water from 38-70’ deep. Best lures have been tube jigs tipped with cisco or sucker meat. Fishing for Whitefish has been good for anglers using smaller vertical jigging spoons such as Kastmasters and Swedish Pimples. You can also try running a 6-8” dropper line below the spoons with an ice fly for the whitefish. Anglers are also catching a few trout casting off shore at Cisco Beach. Try larger spoons or large spinners (#5 or #6) when casting or use streamers/leaches on fly rods.
Please remember, all Cutthroat Trout that are caught and don’t have a healed fin clip must be released. Large Lake Trout are not very good eating and take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
The UDWR will update the Bear Lake office answering machine with lake conditions, status of the Cisco run, and other fishing opportunities every other day until the end of the Cisco run, but please call after 5pm in order to keep the line open during business hours (7am – 5pm). The number is 435-946-8501. The annual "Cisco Disco" , Polar Plunge, and Bear Lake Winterfest will be held on Saturday, January 28th. More info is available at: https://bearlakemonsterwinterfest.com/
Garden City Community Fishery Pond
The pond is now frozen and ice thickness is 10” with about two feet of snow on top. Anglers need to be extremely cautious since there are two deicers on the pond which makes the ice weak on those areas. They are clearly marked with black plastic floats but may be buried under the snow. The best luck is coming on very small jigs (1/32 oz or smaller) ice flies in green or orange colors. Tip your lure with a Gulp maggot or small waxworm for best results.
Laketown Reservoir
Laketown Reservoir is also frozen and the ice is at least 10” thick at this time. Vehicle access now blocked due to the snow depth, but you can still access the reservoir by snowmobile, snowshoe, or skis. Fishing has been good for rainbow and a few cutthroat trout using ice flies tipped with a meal worm or nightcrawler.
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UDWR Bear Lake Fishing Report:
There is about 24” of snow on the ground at Bear Lake and the lake is open water. There is also a fair amount of floating ice on the lake, so be careful when boating. Deicers are being used to keep the marina open and the ramps have been plowed, but are slippery. You can launch at First Point and the Rainbow Cove boat ramp on the east side but Cisco Beach ramp is not accessible due to deep snow. There are no courtesy docks at any of the east side ramps. If you are launching a larger boat at Rainbow Cove, be careful about not backing in your trailer so far that it will go off the end of the concrete. There is a large drop off at the end of the ramp and this could ruin a trailer axle.
The Bonneville Cisco run has not begun yet. There were no Cisco running off the Cisco Beach or State Park marina dikes as of this morning. Anglers are just beginning to snag a few Cisco off the rockpile, but only catching one or two fish. This should only improve in the coming two weeks. However, fishing for Cutthroat Trout and Lake Trout is very good at this time. Anglers are mainly jigging off the rockpile area in water from 38-70’ deep. Best lures have been tube jigs tipped with cisco or sucker meat. Fishing for Whitefish has been good for anglers using smaller vertical jigging spoons such as Kastmasters and Swedish Pimples. You can also try running a 6-8” dropper line below the spoons with an ice fly for the whitefish. Anglers are also catching a few trout casting off shore at Cisco Beach. Try larger spoons or large spinners (#5 or #6) when casting or use streamers/leaches on fly rods.
Please remember, all Cutthroat Trout that are caught and don’t have a healed fin clip must be released. Large Lake Trout are not very good eating and take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
The UDWR will update the Bear Lake office answering machine with lake conditions, status of the Cisco run, and other fishing opportunities every other day until the end of the Cisco run, but please call after 5pm in order to keep the line open during business hours (7am – 5pm). The number is 435-946-8501. The annual "Cisco Disco" , Polar Plunge, and Bear Lake Winterfest will be held on Saturday, January 28th. More info is available at: https://bearlakemonsterwinterfest.com/
Garden City Community Fishery Pond
The pond is now frozen and ice thickness is 10” with about two feet of snow on top. Anglers need to be extremely cautious since there are two deicers on the pond which makes the ice weak on those areas. They are clearly marked with black plastic floats but may be buried under the snow. The best luck is coming on very small jigs (1/32 oz or smaller) ice flies in green or orange colors. Tip your lure with a Gulp maggot or small waxworm for best results.
Laketown Reservoir
Laketown Reservoir is also frozen and the ice is at least 10” thick at this time. Vehicle access now blocked due to the snow depth, but you can still access the reservoir by snowmobile, snowshoe, or skis. Fishing has been good for rainbow and a few cutthroat trout using ice flies tipped with a meal worm or nightcrawler.
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