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Bear Lake and surrounding areas fishing reports - BearLakeFishGuy - 12-16-2020
UDWR updated reports on [b]Wednesday, December 16, 2020[/b]
Bear Lake Fishing Report
Bear Lake surface water temperature is 38 degrees. Boat ramps that are available for launching at this time include: the Bear Lake State Park marina, First Point, and Rainbow Cove. You can also launch boats at the inlet structure in Idaho at the very north end of the lake at the Idaho State Park.
The whitefish run is winding down, but a few anglers are catching some whitefish jigging on the rockpile and off Cisco Beach in about 40 feet of water with Swedish Pimples and Kastmaster spoons. Tip the lures with a salmon egg, maggot or piece of worm.
Cutthroat trout fishing has been good and anglers are also picking up a few lake trout. Jigging has been the most popular method but there are some boats that are trolling too. Good spots for anglers to fish at this time are off the rockpile, along Cisco Beach and off the rockpiles just north of the State Park marina. Try using tube jigs tipped with cisco or but don’t overlook swim baits in ½ to 1 ounce sizes and 4-6” long. Fish your jig slow and close to the bottom. Tip them with a piece of cisco, sucker meat or Gulp minnow. Reliable colors are white, green and chartreuse.
Anglers who are trolling with downriggers are picking up some nice sized cutthroat trout using flatfish in size U-20 and larger with chrome or bright neon colors being the most popular. Also try jointed rapalas in J-11 or J-13 sizes. Keep the lures running close to the bottom regardless of the depth. You can also catch lake trout using the same techniques and lures.
Shore anglers are picking up a few cutthroat trout casting off Cisco Beach and the State Park marina dikes. Try using large spinners (#5 and #6 Vibrax, Mepps, Rooster Tailes, etc.) or spoons such as Crocodiles, KO Wobbers, etc. Sometimes still-fishing whole cisco will work in these same areas too.
Remember the trout limit is two fish. Cutthroat trout with a healed fin clip may be kept; cutthroat trout with all fins intact must be immediately released. Large lake trout take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
Garden City Community Fishery Pond
This pond is frozen but there have been no reports on ice thickness. Please be care if you venture out on the ice. Fish with ice flies tipped with maggots or worms. Small jigging spoons can also work well. Please use the self-service creel cards and let the UDWR know how you did fishing.
Laketown Reservoir
Laketown Reservoir is frozen and ice is about 3-4” thick along the dam area. Be cautious on the ice and watch out for thin spots. Keep away from the inflow area due to poor ice conditions. Use small jigs or small spoons tipped with meal worms or night crawlers. Access by vehicle is still possible at this time, but if the snow depth increases it will only be accessible by skiing, hiking or snowmobiles. There are no services at Laketown Reservoir, so PLEASE clean up after yourself. It is even a good idea to bring along a small trash bag and pick up any other litter you may see. If you do fish, don’t forget to use the self-service creel cards and let the UDWR know how you did fishing.
Little Creek (Randolph) Reservoir
There is about 10” of ice on Little Creek Reservoir and road has been plowed right up to the parking lot. The reservoir level is rising so ice along the shoreline is thinner. Use caution when accessing the cie. Anglers have been catching rainbow trout up to about 14” The best luck has been using small jigs and small jigging spoons tipped Powerbait, worms, and maggots.
RE: Bear Lake and surrounding areas fishing reports - SkunkedAgain - 12-17-2020
Thanks Scott, appreciate the update... how did the whitefish run turn out? I did the ice trip to Henry's and missed the main part of the run this year and I didn't hear much for reports... Was it a good year, or a little slow? Thanks Jeff
RE: Bear Lake and surrounding areas fishing reports - BearLakeFishGuy - 12-17-2020
The whitefish run was both great and no-so-great, it literally depended on the day. Somedays were great and you could catch a limit. The very next day it was slow and people only caught a few fish. Then the very next day it was slow again. Same weather, same location but the fishing was turning "on" and "off" daily. I've never seen that in my 28 years at Bear Lake. It is what it is. Its fishing!! The cutthroat trout fishing was pretty good the entire time of the whitefish run. But now the cutthroat fishing is really picking up.
RE: Bear Lake and surrounding areas fishing reports - SkunkedAgain - 12-17-2020
Thanks for the update, I may have to forget the ice and come over and visit.. Thanks again... Jeff
RE: Bear Lake and surrounding areas fishing reports - gmwahl - 12-19-2020
(12-17-2020, 09:09 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: Thanks for the update, I may have to forget the ice and come over and visit.. Thanks again... JeffMy experience this year was much the same as Scott's. I had several really fast days and several tough ones. It was literally on one day and of the next day after day. Really weird.
Mike