Fished Bear Lake today. Started at 0800. We were only after Bonneville WF and fished both east and west shorelines in several places. We caught a few WF, but they were all males and nothing larger than maybe 15". This tells me the run is barely getting started. The good news was: while fishing for WF we landed 7 cutthroat and they were all really nice sized fish and fought really well in the shallow, cold water. Never fished over 12' of water and we caught the WF in 4-8' over rocky shoreline areas. Sorry, no pics since it's a pain to dig out the camera with all the clothes on! All fish were caught on 1/8oz roadrunner or small marabous or plastics tipped with Gulp earthworms. Color did not seem to matter. So, the WF spawning run is just starting and should really get going by the weekend and it should be good fishing for WF though next week. Take advantage of the high water, good weather (cold but calm) and just get outside!!
Awesome, thanks for the report!
Thanks Scott, that is a great news and I appreciate your report... Thank you... Jeff
It's funny how if you catch WF on the fly in rivers, they're second class citizens, but they're all the rage at Bear Lake during the spawn.
Personally, I'd rather catch them in shorts and a t-shirt and not bundled up like an eskimo. They are definitely good eats!
(12-05-2024, 10:54 PM)MWScott72 Wrote: [ -> ]It's funny how if you catch WF on the fly in rivers, they're second class citizens, but they're all the rage at Bear Lake during the spawn.
Personally, I'd rather catch them in shorts and a t-shirt and not bundled up like an eskimo. They are definitely good eats!
The whitefish you catch in rivers are a completely different species...mountain whitefish. They have smaller mouths and feed mostly on insects. The larger Bonneville whitefish in Bear Lake get a lot bigger and have bigger mouths. And once they get over about a foot long they feed heavily on small fish...piscivorous.
But, ya cain't ketch 'em where they ain't. And during the warm weather months they are scatttered out in deeper water. Still some caught by deep jigging, but not like when they swarm in and congregate to spawn in the shallows in "Eskimo" conditions in the winter.
Hey Pat, so there are two types of whitefish in Bear Lake right? Bonneville and Bear Lake if my remembering is correct, are the mountain whitefish another type? Or are the Bear Lake whitefish the same as mountain whitefish? Seems like they are smaller fish like those in the rivers... I personally like the size of the big Bonnies they are a hoot to catch and as mentioned they eat pretty well too... especially smoked... I'll bet it's getting good over there now days.... The weather seems a lot better than last year, I learned the value of GPS last year after getting in a fog bank that you could only see several yards around you and for some reason I kept wanting to drive in a big circle, would have spent a long time on that lake without GPS showing me the way back to the marina...
I was supposed to be done with my project before whitefish, but I'm still cleaning up a few last things... Hopefully we'll do the final inspection next week so I can catch the end of the whitefish or at least give the Willard Perch a try... So many good fishing options this time of year... I need to get out, it's been too long... Later Jeff
(12-06-2024, 12:02 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: [ -> ]Hey Pat, so there are two types of whitefish in Bear Lake right? Bonneville and Bear Lake if my remembering is correct, are the mountain whitefish another type? Or are the Bear Lake whitefish the same as mountain whitefish? Seems like they are smaller fish like those in the rivers... I personally like the size of the big Bonnies they are a hoot to catch and as mentioned they eat pretty well too... especially smoked... I'll bet it's getting good over there now days.... The weather seems a lot better than last year, I learned the value of GPS last year after getting in a fog bank that you could only see several yards around you and for some reason I kept wanting to drive in a big circle, would have spent a long time on that lake without GPS showing me the way back to the marina...
I was supposed to be done with my project before whitefish, but I'm still cleaning up a few last things... Hopefully we'll do the final inspection next week so I can catch the end of the whitefish or at least give the Willard Perch a try... So many good fishing options this time of year... I need to get out, it's been too long... Later Jeff
3 separate whitefish species. Mountain whitefish are found in many western waters...and eat mostly insects...and have much smaller mouths than the Bonneville. Both Bonneville and Bear Lake whitefish are found only in that one water. The Bonneville gets much bigger and has a bigger mouth. But the small males that come in early in the run can be easily mistaken for the smaller Bear Lake species...which are usually "underfooters". Here are pics of all 3 in the attached PDF file. (pictures not loading in standard way)[attachment=1982]
Thanks Pat, always wondered that question and never asked before... Thanks Jeff