12-02-2003, 05:36 PM
BEAR LAKE FISHING REPORT 12/2/2003
The Bonneville whitefish are spawning at this time and the fishing has been good. Best spots to fish for whitefish are along rocky shoreline, however, with the lake being extremely low most of the rock is out of the water. One of the few spots with rock is along Cisco Beach. Anglers are fishing for whitefish using small jigs in the 1/16 to 1/8 ounce size. Color doesn’t seem to matter as much as keeping the jig close to the bottom, however, more popular colors are white, yellow and black. Cutthroat and lake trout will follow the whitefish in to feed on both them and their eggs and several nice trout are being taken along with the whitefish. Bonneville whitefish put up a scrappy fight and can run up to about 3 pounds, but average about 1 pound. The whitefish meat makes excellent eating either fried or baked or you can even smoke whitefish for a great holiday treat. The limit on whitefish is 10 fish, don’t feel guilty about keeping a few to make a good meal. Finally, if you are fishing from a boat and there are shore fishermen present, be courteous and give them enough room to make their casts. Boats are a lot more mobile than anglers fishing from shore.
Fishing for both cutthroat and lake trout is still good, and at times excellent. Some of the more popular places to try include the rockpile area. Another good spot is directly east of Gus Rich Point. On the east side of the lake try fishing off the drop-offs around 1st and 2nd points and off the mouth of South Eden and North Eden canyons. The trout have seemed to have moved off the top of the rockpile, so try fishing in the 60-70 foot depths to the north and east of the rockpile. The weather has moderated somewhat from the bitter cold we had last week and it looks like this weekend could be fairly mild too. The current water temperature is about 42 degrees. The most successful lure has been large (4-5”) tube jigs tipped with cisco or sucker meat jigged right on the bottom. Everyone seems to have a favorite color, but using white is a good choice to start with. Experiment with different colors until you find one that works the best.
There haven’t been many anglers trolling this past week, but those who have can still catch fish. Try the slowest speed you can get your motor down to or use a drift sock pulled behind the boat to slow your boat down even more. Sometime using rapalas will work better during the colder weather since they have a more passive action, but don’t overlook the standby lures of flatfish and spoons.
Fishing from shore using both spinning and fly tackle can be good for both whitefish and trout. Most the whitefish will be in water less than 10 feet deep. For spin fishing you can use small jigs, small spinners or even small spoons. Try tipping your lure with a piece of night crawler. For fly fishing, use a sinking fly line with a weighted wooly bugger fished close to the bottom and pulled in with shore strips. It pays to watch your line since many of the hits occur during the pause between strips. Cisco Beach or off the State Park marina dikes are likely the best places to fish from shore.
The Utah State Park will not be plowing the boat ramp at the marina since it is too steep for the plow. You may consider bringing some rock salt or sand just in case you cannot get your truck and boat back up a snowy or icy ramp. The State Park has de-icers running in the marina and the boat ramp is open for all sizes of boats. Smaller boats may be launched off the shore at several points around the lake, however, a 4-wheeled drive vehicle is recommended. The new “low water only” concrete launching ramp along South Cisco Beach has been a good spot to launch smaller boats in that area.
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The Bonneville whitefish are spawning at this time and the fishing has been good. Best spots to fish for whitefish are along rocky shoreline, however, with the lake being extremely low most of the rock is out of the water. One of the few spots with rock is along Cisco Beach. Anglers are fishing for whitefish using small jigs in the 1/16 to 1/8 ounce size. Color doesn’t seem to matter as much as keeping the jig close to the bottom, however, more popular colors are white, yellow and black. Cutthroat and lake trout will follow the whitefish in to feed on both them and their eggs and several nice trout are being taken along with the whitefish. Bonneville whitefish put up a scrappy fight and can run up to about 3 pounds, but average about 1 pound. The whitefish meat makes excellent eating either fried or baked or you can even smoke whitefish for a great holiday treat. The limit on whitefish is 10 fish, don’t feel guilty about keeping a few to make a good meal. Finally, if you are fishing from a boat and there are shore fishermen present, be courteous and give them enough room to make their casts. Boats are a lot more mobile than anglers fishing from shore.
Fishing for both cutthroat and lake trout is still good, and at times excellent. Some of the more popular places to try include the rockpile area. Another good spot is directly east of Gus Rich Point. On the east side of the lake try fishing off the drop-offs around 1st and 2nd points and off the mouth of South Eden and North Eden canyons. The trout have seemed to have moved off the top of the rockpile, so try fishing in the 60-70 foot depths to the north and east of the rockpile. The weather has moderated somewhat from the bitter cold we had last week and it looks like this weekend could be fairly mild too. The current water temperature is about 42 degrees. The most successful lure has been large (4-5”) tube jigs tipped with cisco or sucker meat jigged right on the bottom. Everyone seems to have a favorite color, but using white is a good choice to start with. Experiment with different colors until you find one that works the best.
There haven’t been many anglers trolling this past week, but those who have can still catch fish. Try the slowest speed you can get your motor down to or use a drift sock pulled behind the boat to slow your boat down even more. Sometime using rapalas will work better during the colder weather since they have a more passive action, but don’t overlook the standby lures of flatfish and spoons.
Fishing from shore using both spinning and fly tackle can be good for both whitefish and trout. Most the whitefish will be in water less than 10 feet deep. For spin fishing you can use small jigs, small spinners or even small spoons. Try tipping your lure with a piece of night crawler. For fly fishing, use a sinking fly line with a weighted wooly bugger fished close to the bottom and pulled in with shore strips. It pays to watch your line since many of the hits occur during the pause between strips. Cisco Beach or off the State Park marina dikes are likely the best places to fish from shore.
The Utah State Park will not be plowing the boat ramp at the marina since it is too steep for the plow. You may consider bringing some rock salt or sand just in case you cannot get your truck and boat back up a snowy or icy ramp. The State Park has de-icers running in the marina and the boat ramp is open for all sizes of boats. Smaller boats may be launched off the shore at several points around the lake, however, a 4-wheeled drive vehicle is recommended. The new “low water only” concrete launching ramp along South Cisco Beach has been a good spot to launch smaller boats in that area.
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