Strawberry Help

[gmwahl]

Hey guys, I'm swallowing my independent fishermans pride and begging for some help!

I just found out that I have been drafted to go with my brother and several kids up to strawberry tonight through Sunday. I haven't camped or fished for trout up there for many year now, so I have a few questions that maybe some of you can help me with. I AM very familiar with the entire lake and fish it for kokanees from time to time, but haven't fished it for puposely for trout in ages.....so here goes.

First.....what are the odds of getting a campsite without reservations that we could stay in for the whole time (thurs-sun)? Used to be that we could just show up and find spots at strawberry or at soldier creek, but I'm not sure if that still goes on up there. We will have a 28' boat and tent camping. I am hoping that I won't have to go primitive and stay in one of the nearby canyons. We would prefer to be walking distance from the lake (strawberry or soldier creek).

Second.....I want to try jigging for the Cutts this time. We used to troll it back when you could keep a few, but now with the slot limit being so high I'm wondering if jigging would allow us to target deeper and bigger Cutts? Anybody have a good suggestion of some places to try for them? I'm not asking for secret spots, just good areas that offer a good chance while jigging. My goal is to get a decent one to grill for dinner one night.

Also, are there still many Rainbows in there and are they chunky like they used to be? If so, how do you target those separately from the Cutts? We normally fish for kokanees on single day trips so I'm just not familiar anymore with the camping and trout fishing scene like I used to be 20 years ago.

Any help would be very appreciated and I'm willing to trade some of my Bear Lake hotspots for a few good Strawberry hotspots! PM me if you feel more comfortable doing it that way and thanks in advance!

Mike

[a_bow_nut]

When we were up there a couple of weeks ago we found some rainbows while trolling in the narrows where the two arms meet. We were running dodgers and squid down about thirty feet. Nothing huge but they still fought better than most of the cuts that we caught. I have never jigged for the cuts there so I can't help you on that part.

Good luck.
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[brookie]

You should not have a problem with the campsite. We have been in Strawberry Bay Loop F all season and yes we reserved the season, however other than July 4 and Memorial day, the camp is rarely full. Loop G looked almost vacant yesterday. Even the weekends are rarely busy. If you camp in Loop F, you can beach right near the camp.

No much help on the cutts
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[fish_hntr]

An easy way to book a site is here [url "https://www.recreation.gov/camping/strawberry-bay/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70120"]https://www.recreation.gov/camping/strawberry-bay/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70120[/url]
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[Kent]

Right now you want to jig on the bottom in about 35 to 45' of water for the cutts. Try tipping a white or lighter colored tube jig up to 3 1/2" with 1/2 of a night crawler, or better yet cut bait. Tie the jig on with a tight knot and keep the jig horizontal. The odds of catching a rainbow (and yes, after they get some length to them they are like footballs) are far greater on the Soldier Creek side. You will likely catch a few fishing the same way as you do for cutthroat, although they are likely in shallower water (I would guess most are in 20 to 30' of water). If you really want to target rainbows use PowerBait.
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[gmwahl]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm leaving in a few minutes and will give a report when I get back. I was planning on going yesterday, but I got tied up in the initial attack on the North Eden fire at bear lake and just got released.

Mike
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