We hit the strawberry bay marina today as the sun was rising. Unlike last week, fishing was very slow. Seemed to be the story from several others we spoke with. A small flurry of bites at dawn and another after 10 am. We had fish come thru frequently, but they seemed to have lockjaw. Most fish were belly to the bottom. I believe the cold front put a damper on the bite. Two of us ended up with 6 cutts and one bow, and another cutt foul hooked. Two other groups of friends ended with 5 fish per party. Used various tubes and cutters with shiner. Mealies were ineffective.
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I fished strawberry on Friday and you just described the day we had as well. Great fishing but horrible catching. my partner caught one and I caught six. All upper slot cuts, no bows.
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That kind of bite makes it difficult on newbies trying to learn the sport. At least my girlfriend has more patience than myself! We ended up keeping the one rainbow we caught. It was an absolute "un-deflated" football!
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Thanks for the report and the picture of the "football" fish.
I have only ice fished the Berry once through the ice and that was ten years ago. Other than a few slot-limit cutts I don't remember doing all that well. I am planning on going there this Saturday with some buddies and kinda want to have an okay trip (definition: avoiding the skunk). Could you, or anyone else, point a guy in the right direction to a half-decent area? I'm not asking for the GPS coordinates to your favorite honey-hole, just a general vicinity. For example, Chicken Creek, Strawberry Bay, Trout Creek, The Ladders, etc. Any depth information would be helpful and appreciated.
Thanks!
Hazzy_Hazbourne
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How was the ice? Did you see many or any atvs or snowmobiles on the ice?
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Hazzy, we fished Strawberry Bay Marina. The bite was tough on Monday. There was a flurry of bites at dawn and then again after 10am. We did not stick around for an evening bite. I've heard action anywhere from 15-30 ft. We fished about 26 ft. They seemed to prefer white or glow jigs tipped with shiner the best. Try chub too if you can get it. The key to catching in this area is fishing it midweek! Good luck!
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Thanks, Wasatch! I appreciate the info. Are you using frozen or preserved shiners?
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The ice was in great shape and over a foot thick. But that was Monday. Saw several sleds on the ice. Hopefully the warm spell doesn't make it too wet.
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