Fishing Forum

I met Wyoguy this morning at Starvation and we were greeted by stiff NW winds that persisted all day. Gary and I used his ATV to access the lake from the Camperworld/State Park boat ramp. The winds have deposited quite a bit of snow on the east shore of the bay near the bridge. Due to the rising level of the reservoir, there is some slush in areas near the shoreline. The slush is about 18 inches deep near the boat ramp we used. Once we were out on the lake we didn't have any trouble using the ATV.
Fishermen should expect some slush in areas where there are snow drifts. The ice was 15 inches thick where we were fishing so that's not a concern right now.
Gary and I did well on the perch and RBT in the bay near the highway bridge. We found the perch right on the bottom in 59 to 61 feet of water. Most of the perch were in the 8 to 10.5 inch range. I took home three Starvation Steelhead for the smoker. My three rainbows were about 18.5 inches and FAT.
The rainbows seemed to be suspended in the 22 to 28 foot range. I used one rod on the bottom for the perch and the other line was placed at 24 feet. I used a small white jig with nighcrawlers for the trout and perch eyes on a small ice fly for the perch.

Good luck to those of you fishing the tourney this weekend. I think a 21 inch rainbow would be a winner unless someone gets a larger brown. I can't remember if the prize is for any trout or only the rainbows count. Anyway take care and have fun. I have to work this weekend or I would have given it a try this year.

[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/Perchamdtrout013113Starvy_zps37d4228f.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/Perchamdtrout013113Starvy_zps37d4228f.jpg[/url]
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I just checked the Utah State Parks website for information on the tourney. The correct date is Saturday, February 9 and not this weekend. Any trout will count at Starvation, so a large brown might be the winner.

Mike
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Hey there TopH2O

Your brother took me fishing last weekend in that same spot I think. We got 26 perch all around that same size (though Pete did pull in one 13inch toad of a perch), 4 trout (one went 20inches roughly) and a walleye


Had dinner at his place on Tuesday night and his coconut perch is pretty good.

Good luck and thanks for the report.
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Yea those smaller perch fillets are perfect for making coconut perch. I made a batch last night and my wife and I pigged out. A cold MGD doesn't go too bad with the dish. Gary and I fished in the same area after I talked with Peter and he told me how well you guys did on your outing. We'll have to get together one of these days.

Mike
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Sure thing Mike, I may well be back in a few months. Tight lines mate
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Had a good time fishing with Mike, as always. He mentioned the wind wouldn't leave us alone but it was warm, which caused problems with the drifted snow near the ramp, turning it to slush and making getting off tough. If the warm weather persists the edges will be bad soon. We talked to two other groups who entered the ice at Indain Bay, so that may be a better option. I ended up with 35 perch, caught 6 Bows and kept two, and one of Tube Dudes cigar walleyes.. Over all another great day on the ice.
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[cool][#0000FF]Thats "see-gars". Gotta get it right. Next up is "underfooters", "footlongs" and "teen-inchers". Even better when they reach the 20's...but they are all good.

Did the guys who came in from Indian Bay do any fishing on the way? There has been some good deep channel ice fishing in a couple of spots there in the past. I was thinking that with the perch seemingly preferring the depths this year that it might be worth exploring. I usually do pretty well there in the summer, fishing from my tube. Caught some of my biggest perch in that area.
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Sorry about the slip up, I did have one "teen-incher" to the hole, he came unbuttoned and I wasn't quick enough to grab him. The one group said they dropped their camera down a few holes in Indain but didnt see anything, they had no depth finder, so they couldn't say how deep they looked.
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Nice report and pics Mike, sounds like you and Gary had a good day. Were there hoards of people there or have they thinned out some? Gary gave me a ride off the ice last year with his ATV, sure is a nice ride.
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[#0000FF]I never sneeze to be amazed at how many people go ice fishing without sonar...especially on Starvation. That lake has so many variables in depth, bottom contour, structure, etc. that without electronics you are really fishing blind. Even with sonar you can prospect a lot of water without finding fish. And finding fish is no guarantee they will bite for you. Interesting that group had an underwater camera but no sonar. Oh well.

Like everybody else, I used to go out with a single rod, a hand auger and a bucket....and I caught fish. Wonder how I ever did it. Can't go on the ice now without a sled full of power auger, sonar, multiple rods, multiple baits, 20 pounds of lures...and? And I still don't really catch any more than I used to with the simple setup.

During the warmer months you can at least guess the better spots to fish by observing shoreline characteristics and following points and dropoffs. But when the fish go deep you gotta use the biblical system...seek and ye shall find...maybe.
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If you come back in a few months and can still walk on the water, I surely wouldn't be worthy of having you onboard my boat.

Mike
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Hahahaha..... Dang, I was hoping for a ride
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