02-22-2018, 06:47 PM
Bear Lake Fishing Report – Thursday, February 22, 2018
The Bear Lake area received about a foot a snow this week and the temperatures have been well below freezing all week. Bear Lake has all open water, but there are some large sheets of ice and ice chunks floating on the lake. Boats can be launched at the Utah State Park marina, 1st Point, Cisco Beach and Rainbow Cove boat ramps in Utah AND courtesy docks are in the water at all locations. Boat ramps have been plowed and sanded except for Cisco Beach. There is also boat launching available on the Idaho side of the lake at their East Shore State Park ramp and North Beach ramp and those ramps have not been plowed.
The cutthroat trout and lake trout fishing has been fair to good. Anglers have been catching cutthroat trout and lake trout by jigging off the Gus Rich Point/Rockpile area as well as off the pump house and Cisco Beach. Trolling has also work well in these areas. If you are jigging for trout, use tube jigs or swim baits in various colors in ½ to 1 ounce sizes and 3-6” long tipped with cisco, sucker meat or Gulp minnows. Reliable colors are white, green and chartreuse. If you are trolling; use minnow type lures in #9-13 sizes and flatfish in size U-20 or larger. At this time of year a squid behind a dodger can really work well too. Whitefish fishing along the weed beds south of Gus Rich Point and between 1st and 2nd Points, in depths of 25-35’ should also be good at this time. Use smaller jigging spoons (castmasters, buckshot, Hopkins, etc) and tip your lures with worms or rubber salmon eggs. You can even add a small dropper ice fly about 8-12” below the main lure and tip that with a maggot. As for shore fishing, try casting or still fishing with cisco off the Cisco Beach, 2nd Point and State Park marina. If you are casting you can use large spinners, spoons or even crankbaits.
The trout limit is two fish. Cutthroat trout with a fin clip may be kept; cutthroat trout with all fins intact must be immediately released. Large Lake Trout take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
Garden City Community Fishery Pond
The pond is frozen, but ice conditions may not be safe in all areas due to snow on top the ice. Use extreme caution if you decide to try to ice fish right now. The fishing should be good for rainbow trout using small ice flies tipped with a maggot. Please use the self-service creel cards and let the UDWR know how you did fishing.
Laketown Reservoir
Laketown Reservoir is about 1/2 covered in ice at this time. The new snow on top the ice may insulate the ice but the ice thickness can vary greatly. Along the dam the ice is about 6-8” thick in the areas that were checked. You can also fish in the open water area using bait, flies or spinners. Use extreme caution if you decide to try to ice fish right now
Little Creek (Randolph) Reservoir
The water level nearly full and it is ice covered, however, you need to use caution when getting onto the ice. Snow is now covering the ice. There has been some pressure, but anglers should have good luck for rainbows using worms and powerbait.
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The Bear Lake area received about a foot a snow this week and the temperatures have been well below freezing all week. Bear Lake has all open water, but there are some large sheets of ice and ice chunks floating on the lake. Boats can be launched at the Utah State Park marina, 1st Point, Cisco Beach and Rainbow Cove boat ramps in Utah AND courtesy docks are in the water at all locations. Boat ramps have been plowed and sanded except for Cisco Beach. There is also boat launching available on the Idaho side of the lake at their East Shore State Park ramp and North Beach ramp and those ramps have not been plowed.
The cutthroat trout and lake trout fishing has been fair to good. Anglers have been catching cutthroat trout and lake trout by jigging off the Gus Rich Point/Rockpile area as well as off the pump house and Cisco Beach. Trolling has also work well in these areas. If you are jigging for trout, use tube jigs or swim baits in various colors in ½ to 1 ounce sizes and 3-6” long tipped with cisco, sucker meat or Gulp minnows. Reliable colors are white, green and chartreuse. If you are trolling; use minnow type lures in #9-13 sizes and flatfish in size U-20 or larger. At this time of year a squid behind a dodger can really work well too. Whitefish fishing along the weed beds south of Gus Rich Point and between 1st and 2nd Points, in depths of 25-35’ should also be good at this time. Use smaller jigging spoons (castmasters, buckshot, Hopkins, etc) and tip your lures with worms or rubber salmon eggs. You can even add a small dropper ice fly about 8-12” below the main lure and tip that with a maggot. As for shore fishing, try casting or still fishing with cisco off the Cisco Beach, 2nd Point and State Park marina. If you are casting you can use large spinners, spoons or even crankbaits.
The trout limit is two fish. Cutthroat trout with a fin clip may be kept; cutthroat trout with all fins intact must be immediately released. Large Lake Trout take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
Garden City Community Fishery Pond
The pond is frozen, but ice conditions may not be safe in all areas due to snow on top the ice. Use extreme caution if you decide to try to ice fish right now. The fishing should be good for rainbow trout using small ice flies tipped with a maggot. Please use the self-service creel cards and let the UDWR know how you did fishing.
Laketown Reservoir
Laketown Reservoir is about 1/2 covered in ice at this time. The new snow on top the ice may insulate the ice but the ice thickness can vary greatly. Along the dam the ice is about 6-8” thick in the areas that were checked. You can also fish in the open water area using bait, flies or spinners. Use extreme caution if you decide to try to ice fish right now
Little Creek (Randolph) Reservoir
The water level nearly full and it is ice covered, however, you need to use caution when getting onto the ice. Snow is now covering the ice. There has been some pressure, but anglers should have good luck for rainbows using worms and powerbait.
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