09-30-2004, 03:56 PM
Bear Lake Fishing Report
[size 3]Updated Thursday, September 30, 2004[/size]
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[size 3]The surface water temperature is 57 F. Fishing for both cutthroat trout and lake trout off the east side of the lake around the North Eden and South Eden deltas has been slowly picking up[
]. The fishing off the "rockpile"/Gus Rich Point area has continued to be slow [unsure] but is expected to improve when the water temperatures cool off a few more degrees. Overall the last few weeks have been very spotty. Some anglers have done well on one day and on other days its tough to get a bite. The lake trout should begin spawning around mid October so the "aggression" bite should definitely be getting better. However, prior to that time the fish are still feeding and if you can find some active fish the "catching" can be great. Cutthroat fishing typically picks up right around the lake trout spawn since cutthroat will feed on the eggs of lake trout or other fish that are feeding on lake trout eggs.[/size]
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[size 3]Anglers have mainly been trolling with downriggers and running their lures close to the bottom and catching both lake trout and cutthroat in depths of 70-90 feet. Best luck has been on flatfish or rattling crankbaits. In addition a few anglers are also reporting some success jigging using tube jigs tipped with cisco or sucker meat. Color is a personal preference, but your best bet is to keep switching until you find the right combination.[/size]
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[size 3]The only boat ramp that has not been dewatered is the Bear Lake State Park marina. The depth of the marina is approximately 5-6' at this time. The pumping of water from the lake continues, but is intended to only fill up the Bear Lake refuge to the north for the waterfowl hunting season. Anglers are encouraged to use the new fish cleaning station at the Bear Lake State Park marina. This location makes it convenient to clean you catch before you go home. Anglers can also launch small boats from the sandy beach around many parts of the Bear Lake shoreline but should do so at their own risk, since there are many areas with deep, soft sand on the lakeshore. The concrete boat ramp at Cisco Beach is out of the water but trailers can still be backed in over the rocky area below the boat ramp. There is a dock provided at this ramp to aid in launching/retrieving your boat.[/size]
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[size 3]Finally, for those BFT board members considering a float tubing trip I would NOT recommend fishing the rockpile area with a float tube. It is much farther from shore than it looks and the weather on Bear Lake can go from calm to 4' waves in a matter of minutes. (A whole lot quicker than ANYONE could paddle back to shore!) Even if there are "support" boats in the area it can be very difficult to try to climb onto someone's boat from a float tube. If you want to fish Bear Lake from a tube try along the east side shoreline where deep water is much closer to the shore.[/size]
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[size 3]Updated Thursday, September 30, 2004[/size]
[size 3] [/size]
[size 3]The surface water temperature is 57 F. Fishing for both cutthroat trout and lake trout off the east side of the lake around the North Eden and South Eden deltas has been slowly picking up[
]. The fishing off the "rockpile"/Gus Rich Point area has continued to be slow [unsure] but is expected to improve when the water temperatures cool off a few more degrees. Overall the last few weeks have been very spotty. Some anglers have done well on one day and on other days its tough to get a bite. The lake trout should begin spawning around mid October so the "aggression" bite should definitely be getting better. However, prior to that time the fish are still feeding and if you can find some active fish the "catching" can be great. Cutthroat fishing typically picks up right around the lake trout spawn since cutthroat will feed on the eggs of lake trout or other fish that are feeding on lake trout eggs.[/size] [size 3] [/size]
[size 3]Anglers have mainly been trolling with downriggers and running their lures close to the bottom and catching both lake trout and cutthroat in depths of 70-90 feet. Best luck has been on flatfish or rattling crankbaits. In addition a few anglers are also reporting some success jigging using tube jigs tipped with cisco or sucker meat. Color is a personal preference, but your best bet is to keep switching until you find the right combination.[/size]
[size 3] [/size]
[size 3]The only boat ramp that has not been dewatered is the Bear Lake State Park marina. The depth of the marina is approximately 5-6' at this time. The pumping of water from the lake continues, but is intended to only fill up the Bear Lake refuge to the north for the waterfowl hunting season. Anglers are encouraged to use the new fish cleaning station at the Bear Lake State Park marina. This location makes it convenient to clean you catch before you go home. Anglers can also launch small boats from the sandy beach around many parts of the Bear Lake shoreline but should do so at their own risk, since there are many areas with deep, soft sand on the lakeshore. The concrete boat ramp at Cisco Beach is out of the water but trailers can still be backed in over the rocky area below the boat ramp. There is a dock provided at this ramp to aid in launching/retrieving your boat.[/size]
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[size 3]Finally, for those BFT board members considering a float tubing trip I would NOT recommend fishing the rockpile area with a float tube. It is much farther from shore than it looks and the weather on Bear Lake can go from calm to 4' waves in a matter of minutes. (A whole lot quicker than ANYONE could paddle back to shore!) Even if there are "support" boats in the area it can be very difficult to try to climb onto someone's boat from a float tube. If you want to fish Bear Lake from a tube try along the east side shoreline where deep water is much closer to the shore.[/size]
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