Fishing Forum

Bear Lake Fishing Report – Thursday, January 27, 2022
 
The Bonneville cisco run has begun and should continue for the next week.  The cisco began running along the shoreline on Wednesday 1/26/22 and anglers were able to dip limits that morning.  They were also able to dip limits Thursday and Friday.  The lake has open water, so it would be helpful to bring waders, hip boots or muck boots.  Dipnetting for cisco should be good until about the first week of February.  
 
Boats can be launched at the Bear Lake State Park marina, as well as 1st Point and Rainbow Cove and the courtesy docks are in place at all locations, however, they may need to be removed at 1st Point and Rainbow Cove if the lake starts to freeze. 
A lot of ice has been forming on the lake in large sheets and is being pushed around by wind.  Boat access to the lake will be dependent on how much ice forms and where the wind is blowing it.  Currently the boats are able to access most of the lake including the rockpile area. 
 
Fishing for cutthroat trout, lake trout and whitefish has s been very good at Bear Lake and is expected to stay that way through January.  Cisco are also being caught are from boats off the rockpile, the pumphouse and off the marina.
 
Anglers are doing the best using jigs or spoons for cutthroat trout, lake trout and whitefish.  A few anglers are also trolling and doing fair for cutthroat and lake trout.  During the peak of the cisco run, which we are at right now, the fishing will typically slow down for a week or two while the cutthroat and lake trout gorge themselves with cisco.  Fishing will then pick up once again.  When jigging, use a ½ to 1 ounce jig with a tube, twister tail or swim bait tipped with a piece of cisco or other fish meat.  Or you can use a 1/2 ounce jigging spoon such as a Kastmaster or Swedish Pimple.  Jig right on the bottom, bumping bottom and coming up about 12-18”.  Many of the strikes happen when the lure is falling back to the bottom, so pay attention to your line.  If you notice the lure/line stops sinking, set hook and hold on!  The best luck is coming in 40-70’ of water and good spots have been off the “rockpile” at Ideal Beach and also off 2nd point on the east side of the lake.  Another good spot is the rockpiles just north of the Utah State Park marina in about 40’ of water.  Remember, all foul-hooked sport fish, other than cisco, must be immediately released. 
 
Anglers who are trolling are using downriggers in the same depths as jigging but using flatfish and jointed minnow-type lures fished very close to bottom or even bumping the bottom occasionally. The same areas listed above for jigging are also the areas to target when trolling. 
 
Anglers who are fishing from shore are having a difficult time off of marina right now due to ice conditions.  However, the area off Cisco Beach has been open and anglers are catching some nice cutthroat from shore.  They are casting large (#5 or #6) Mepps or Blue Fox Vibrax spinners or large spoons like Dardevles. Fly anglers are also catching some nice fish using large sculpin patterns or streamers in bright colors.  You can also still-fish in these same areas using cisco, sucker or other fish for bait. 

If you are targeting Bonneville whitefish whitefish use a ¼-1/2 ounce vertical jigging spoon such as a Kastmaster or Swedish Pimple and tip the spoon with a salmon egg or meal worm.  Whitefish feed on cisco eggs so jig the spoon right on the bottom where the cisco spawn (rockpile off Ideal Beach, off the Utah State Park marina, east side pump hour or along Cisco Beach).  Try fishing in anywhere from 15’-45’ of water.  You can also use 1/8 ounce jigs in a variety of colors (white, black and yellow are all popular) and tip the jig with a piece of worm or meal worm.  It really helps to use a braided line/super line with a 4-5’ long monofilament leader in order to feel the bottom with the lightweight lures and to detect the whitefish bites.  Don’t be surprised if you hook into a big cutthroat and/or lake trout while fishing for the whitefish. 
 
Remember the trout limit is two fish.  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.    

Thanks for the report. Yesterday I went to Bear lake twice. Once in the morning, and once in the evening. In the morning, I dipped my limit of Cisco in less than 30 minutes. Sometimes I got 10 at a time! The sweep the net method was working better for me than the scoop method. The fish weren't getting close enough for me to just scoop them, so I swept the net to one side and lifted it.

After we got our limits at Cisco Beach, my friend and I wanted to try the rock piles north of the marina. Since we don't have a fancy boat, we launched a canoe and braved the ice. We only made it to Cisco rock pile, and we didn't mark anything. The ice was too thick to go any further, so we tried to troll around the marina, but the ice was too thick and started grabbing our lines.

I went up in the evening with a different friend to try for cutthroat and Cisco from Cisco Beach. We got there as the sun was setting and the waves were too large for the Cisco to come in. After the sunset, the waves calm down a little bit and we went hunting for Cisco with headlamps. In the dark, the Cisco are more stationary and less easily spooked. They also only travel alone. We saw maybe 10 Cisco, but my friend only scooped up one.

I've got a question, I have access to a canoe, and would really like to get into some lake trout, cutthroat, trout, and whitefish. Jigging the rock pile off ideal beach or trolling Cisco Beach seems like a good bet. The rock pile is 4 mi away from the marina, but only a mile and a half away from hunters Point. I think all of the marinas by Gus riches point and ideal beach are private, so I might have to launch out of Hunter's Point in order to get to the rock pile. Besides those two areas, are there any other places I should try? I hear a lot about the pump house and first and second point, but I would probably need GPS coordinates to find where to actually fish. I also don't know where the pump house is. Any help is appreciated.

Also, Cisco are delicious!

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Additionally, does time of day matter for jigging Cisco/ other species? What about trolling?

I got to Cisco Beach at around 7:15 AM this morning and dipped my limit in about 45 minutes. Fish were there pretty thick, but there was about a quarter inch of ice in a sheet that was moving north along the beach. That made it a bit hard to keep an open area to net fish, but it did help that the fish couldn't see me. I spent more time moving ice chunks than dipping fish.

The south end of Cisco Beach was open water. West side of the lake was open with ice floating around, but the east side of the lake was locked up with ice from the south end all the way up past second point. The pumphouse and first point boat launch are completely iced in. I don't think any of that ice has any thickness at all, so conditions could change pretty quickly with a little breeze. The guy that showed up at Cisco Beach with a bass boat looked disappointed when he pulled out.

It was COLD over there this morning. My gloves were freezing to the handle of my cisco net.

I went to Cisco Beach at around 7:00AM this morning and dipped my limit. Fish were there pretty thick, but there was about a 1/2 inch of ice that had formed overnight. That made it a bit hard to break an open aeea to net fish, but it also helped that the fish couldn't see us as easily.

The entire area of Cisco Beach was iced over but not thick enough to walk on yet. Most of the lake was iced over with some open water around, a few people were out on the ice near the pumphouse and first point boat launch. I would cautious. I don't think much of that ice has good thickness. But conditions could change pretty quickly with these cold temps. The guy that had his boat out today on the rock pole had to have gone out breaking ice.  There was one kayak out there as well. He came from south of Gus Rich point. Pretty risky business with the shifting ice. The marina was iced up from the entrance out several hundred yards and ice was building all over the lake. Neither of these two boaters have been trapped out in shifting ice or I’m sure they would not be out there today. Sure hope they make it back safe. There was only a small area clear of ice over the rock pile today. A narrow channel of open water extended around the point to the south. That boat will be breaking ice almost all the way back to the marina today. 

Great report and pics. Those guys out there in that boat are crazing, really taking chances going out in those conditions.

(01-30-2022, 12:05 AM)Jbworkin Wrote: [ -> ]





I went to Cisco Beach at around 7:00AM this morning and dipped my limit. Fish were there pretty thick, but there was about a 1/2 inch of ice that had formed overnight. That made it a bit hard to break an open aeea to net fish, but it also helped that the fish couldn't see us as easily.

The entire area of Cisco Beach was iced over but not thick enough to walk on yet. Most of the lake was iced over with some open water around, a few people were out on the ice near the pumphouse and first point boat launch. I would cautious. I don't think much of that ice has good thickness. But conditions could change pretty quickly with these cold temps. The guy that had his boat out today on the rock pole had to have gone out breaking ice.  There was one kayak out there as well. He came from south of Gus Rich point. Pretty risky business with the shifting ice. The marina was iced up from the entrance out several hundred yards and ice was building all over the lake. Neither of these two boaters have been trapped out in shifting ice or I’m sure they would not be out there today. Sure hope they make it back safe. There was only a small area clear of ice over the rock pile today. A narrow channel of open water extended around the point to the south. That boat will be breaking ice almost all the way back to the marina today. 

I was the guy in the bright yellow kayak! I wanted to see if I could get any big fish off the rockpile after I got my cisco limit at Cisco beach. (It took me only 8 minutes to limit out on Cisco.) No luck on the rockpile, though the guys in the boat next to me were doing well snagging cisco. 

It was a beautiful day for a paddle, but the journey probably took 3 times as long as it should have due to all the ice I had to break. It was a memorable experience to be sure.

(01-30-2022, 09:08 PM)Boundless Bryce Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-30-2022, 12:05 AM)Jbworkin Wrote: [ -> ]





I went to Cisco Beach at around 7:00AM this morning and dipped my limit. Fish were there pretty thick, but there was about a 1/2 inch of ice that had formed overnight. That made it a bit hard to break an open aeea to net fish, but it also helped that the fish couldn't see us as easily.

The entire area of Cisco Beach was iced over but not thick enough to walk on yet. Most of the lake was iced over with some open water around, a few people were out on the ice near the pumphouse and first point boat launch. I would cautious. I don't think much of that ice has good thickness. But conditions could change pretty quickly with these cold temps. The guy that had his boat out today on the rock pole had to have gone out breaking ice.  There was one kayak out there as well. He came from south of Gus Rich point. Pretty risky business with the shifting ice. The marina was iced up from the entrance out several hundred yards and ice was building all over the lake. Neither of these two boaters have been trapped out in shifting ice or I’m sure they would not be out there today. Sure hope they make it back safe. There was only a small area clear of ice over the rock pile today. A narrow channel of open water extended around the point to the south. That boat will be breaking ice almost all the way back to the marina today. 

I was the guy in the bright yellow kayak! I wanted to see if I could get any big fish off the rockpile after I got my cisco limit at Cisco beach. (It took me only 8 minutes to limit out on Cisco.) No luck on the rockpile, though the guys in the boat next to me were doing well snagging cisco. 

It was a beautiful day for a paddle, but the journey probably took 3 times as long as it should have due to all the ice I had to break. It was a memorable experience to be sure.

Glad you made it back safely.  Some friends of mine were on Strawberry a while back in similar conditions and the wind kicked up and shifted the ice around causing the channel they went out through to fill with thicker ice that they could not break with their boat but it was not stable enough to walk on either. Had them stuck out there for quite a while before they were rescued.