01-19-2007, 02:53 PM
Plan on trying to catch whitefish through the ice at Bear Lake. Any tips on what to use, bait, color and size, depth and location/structure to look for in choosing a place to fish, etc.
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01-19-2007, 02:53 PM
01-19-2007, 03:06 PM
[cool][#0000ff]The "old" rock pile has traditionally been a good spot through the ice. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Those whitefish are piscivorous...they feed on fry of other species more than they do bitty bugs. Small silver Kastmasters or other jigging spoons work well, especially when tipped with worm or a bit of fish flesh. They will also smack a lot of different jigs...plastic, hair or feathers...in white, chartreuse or even black and white. Basic white or silver is usually best. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A good combo is to rig a silver Kastmaster as a "flasher", a foot or so above a white tube jig on a light head. Tip both with a sliver of cisco, chub, perch meat or even carp meat. Crawler works too, as will more expensive waxies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Haven't heard any reports about the new rock reefs yet. Hasn't been any good ice fishing situations since they went in. Chances are that they will be productive though. They are in the 30 foot depth range of the other good rocky reef spots. That attracts spawning activity from several species and the whities follow the spawners...and the hatching fry.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I expect there will be quite a few anxious folks out drillin' and chillin' this next weekend. Look for the crowd over the rockpiles and then watch what the successful folks are doing. If you go on a midweek day, just follow the tracks and drill where all the other holes are. As always, it is best to have a good sonar system and keep moving until you find the fish, or at least where they come through. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Those whitefish are piscivorous...they feed on fry of other species more than they do bitty bugs. Small silver Kastmasters or other jigging spoons work well, especially when tipped with worm or a bit of fish flesh. They will also smack a lot of different jigs...plastic, hair or feathers...in white, chartreuse or even black and white. Basic white or silver is usually best. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A good combo is to rig a silver Kastmaster as a "flasher", a foot or so above a white tube jig on a light head. Tip both with a sliver of cisco, chub, perch meat or even carp meat. Crawler works too, as will more expensive waxies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Haven't heard any reports about the new rock reefs yet. Hasn't been any good ice fishing situations since they went in. Chances are that they will be productive though. They are in the 30 foot depth range of the other good rocky reef spots. That attracts spawning activity from several species and the whities follow the spawners...and the hatching fry.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I expect there will be quite a few anxious folks out drillin' and chillin' this next weekend. Look for the crowd over the rockpiles and then watch what the successful folks are doing. If you go on a midweek day, just follow the tracks and drill where all the other holes are. As always, it is best to have a good sonar system and keep moving until you find the fish, or at least where they come through. [/#0000ff]
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01-19-2007, 03:24 PM
From my 2/16/04 fishing diary:
"We fished the entire day on the Rockpile in 31.5 feet of water. Lloyd caught 33 whitefish, Ira probably caught around 25, and I caught 32. Caught them on small Ratfinkee type ice flies (chartreuse glow worked the best) tipped with a meal or wax worm, or a red salmon egg. Ira would watch many of them bite through the AquaVu."
That year the cisco run was almost over on January 31st, so we were fishing a week or two after the main cisco spawn. Looking through the AquaVu we would often see over 25 whitefish right on the bottom sucking up cisco eggs. If our jig was over about 4 inches (better if it was only 2 or 3 inches) off of the bottom they would not bite. The bite is extremely soft and remember that they have small mouths. For awhile Ira would look at the monitor on the AquaVu and tell me when to set my hook, and he would also tell me the size and species (if it was something other than a whitefish, such as a sucker).
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"We fished the entire day on the Rockpile in 31.5 feet of water. Lloyd caught 33 whitefish, Ira probably caught around 25, and I caught 32. Caught them on small Ratfinkee type ice flies (chartreuse glow worked the best) tipped with a meal or wax worm, or a red salmon egg. Ira would watch many of them bite through the AquaVu."
That year the cisco run was almost over on January 31st, so we were fishing a week or two after the main cisco spawn. Looking through the AquaVu we would often see over 25 whitefish right on the bottom sucking up cisco eggs. If our jig was over about 4 inches (better if it was only 2 or 3 inches) off of the bottom they would not bite. The bite is extremely soft and remember that they have small mouths. For awhile Ira would look at the monitor on the AquaVu and tell me when to set my hook, and he would also tell me the size and species (if it was something other than a whitefish, such as a sucker).
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01-19-2007, 04:08 PM
Quote:Tip both with a sliver of cisco, chub, perch meat or even carp meat. Crawler works too, as will more expensive waxies.
Can't use perch meat at Bear Lake according to the "fishing guide"
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01-19-2007, 05:15 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Sorry...didn't check before typing. Most lakes that have perch allow them to be used as bait. I assumed incorrectly.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That's my prerequisite mistake for the year, just to show everybody I am mortal and CAN make mistakes. Actually, I plan to do it often, just so I don't set too high a standard.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The bottom line is that plain old worms probably work as good as anything.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That's my prerequisite mistake for the year, just to show everybody I am mortal and CAN make mistakes. Actually, I plan to do it often, just so I don't set too high a standard.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The bottom line is that plain old worms probably work as good as anything.[/#0000ff]
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01-19-2007, 06:37 PM
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[#0000ff]Actually, I plan to do it often, just so I don't set too high a standard.[/#0000ff] [/reply]
It's a little too late for that! About 10K posts too late [laugh]
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[#0000ff]Actually, I plan to do it often, just so I don't set too high a standard.[/#0000ff] [/reply]
It's a little too late for that! About 10K posts too late [laugh]
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01-19-2007, 06:44 PM
You have received good advice from everyone on fishing for whitefish in Bear Lake. The majority of the whitefish that are caught are Bonneville whitefish (the larger of the two). The Bear Lake whitefish only grows to about 9-10" so they are not really sought after by fishermen. I like vertical jigging spoons (castmaster-style) with a dropper to an ice fly. Tip both with salmon eggs (whitefish eat cisco eggs at this time of the year and that really works well).
The new rockpiles are producing some whitefish and nice cutthroat right now.
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The new rockpiles are producing some whitefish and nice cutthroat right now.
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