I miss fishing for Macks on the Gorge, so I am going to head to Bear Lake on Monday with a friend in his 12' boat (thanks Mike) to see if we can tie into some. Anyway, neither of us have fished Bear Lake other than from the shore and could use some advice. I like jigging for them, but I am not sure where to try and at what depth. I have a fishfinder and a whole box full of Flaming Gorge jigs to try. It is always fun to fish new places. Thanks forwarded.
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Liquid ice is evil. Wait until it freezes.
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thats a nice post you have there WH2! I am not an expirienced fisherman on bear lake, but by all info I have, you may find tough conditions, due to the cisco run. If the cisco go up shallow at this time of year, the water temps may allow for the fish to be very spread out. You may find them deep, but they may be shallower than you would expect due to bait fish migration. But, like I said, what do I know. Thats just the thought I had when I read your question.
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Just out of curiousity, what is the average size of a Cisco?
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I don't know what happened to my last post but I'll try again.
My partner and I will be there Monday also and should be launching from the SPM(State parks marina). If you launch from the SPM you can go straight out into 75 to 85 ft. of water and try for the macks and cutts. The jigs you use at the Gorge should work but you will need to use some bait to do good. Cisco,whitefish,sucker and carp meat will all work but cisco is probably best. Predator is right about it being tough because of the cisco spawn, those fish are chasing the cisco but that doesn't mean you can't catch fish. Check out my post on fishing at Bear lake on Monday. I think you might be better off trying to catch some cisco, if you have a dip net? If not, go out to 35 to 40ft. and try jigging, try using
a small kastmaster in gold or silver and jig constant up and down because most cisco that are caught are foul hooked. It is legal to catch foul hooked cisco but anything else you catch like that will have to be released. BLM and RNL might have some other ideas but good luck and if I see a couple of guys in a 12 ft boat I'll stop by and say hi. WH2
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Cisco are usually around 6 to 9 inches.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Without knowing how familiar you are with the Bear Lake area, it’s hard to determine what kind of detail you will need. Do you know where the rock pile is? The state park marina? How to get to cisco beach? Give me a little synopsis of what you know and want and I can go from there. [/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3](edit)Teroy, the size of the cisco very. If you are consistently getting 6" inchers, consider yourself a lucky person. You'll see a lot in the 4" range. I've never seen a 9 inch cisco supposedly they can reach that size.
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My Bear lake knowledge is fairly limited, I know where Spinnaker Marina, State park Marina and Cisco Beach are, but I don't know where the Rock pile, Gusses point, or Sweetwater are. The boat we are taking is 12' powered by a 15 horse motor so weather will dictate how far we will be able to venture out. I want to try for some cisco if they are concentrated enough. Pretty much a greenhorn on the Bear, so we will see how it goes.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Once you launch at Spinnaker Marina, head north along the shore line. You'll see a brand new marina about a 1/4 of a mile up the shoreline. You're on Gus's Point. Anywhere off that point is good fishing; just pick your depth. [/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]If you look to the northeast from there, in about 35'-40' of water, you'll see boats piled up in one small area. That will be the rock pile where they are snagging cisco. Try and go there first, make bait then go fish. Any where in that area has the potential to deliver on macks. Again pick your depth. Move if it isn't panning out. Good luck! [/size][/font]
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Thanks BLM and WH2, I have seen boats piled up out there before, I wondered if that was the famous Rock Pile. Do they charge to park at Spinnaker?
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Nope, not in the winter.[/size][/font]
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We caught at least two that were 9inches last year fishing the Rock pile, I'll have to say that they were the largest I've caught. If we catch any of those big ones Monday I'll let you know and tell you the secret. WH2
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