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+--- Thread: Tigers Through the Ice (/showthread.php?tid=961555)
Tigers Through the Ice - no_skills - 01-14-2016
Hello, I’m heading to Otter Creek this Saturday hoping to catch some Tigers through the ice. I’ve never gone after Tigers before, and was wondering I anybody has any tips for me, what to use, how deep to fish, etc. Any tips on fishing Otter Creek in general would be greatly appreciated as well as I haven’t fished there since I was a little chap. Is the Tiger population in Otter Creek even worth going after?
Thanks!
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Re: [no_skills] Tigers Through the Ice - iceonly - 01-14-2016
I have fished Otter Creek for years, and have never caught or heard of anyone catching tigers there. Anyone ?
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Re: [no_skills] Tigers Through the Ice - Envenomation09 - 01-14-2016
I am almost 100% sure there are no tiger trout in there. You could try Panguitch if your set on southern tigers.
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Re: [no_skills] Tigers Through the Ice - Fishrmn - 01-14-2016
I only looked back to 2012. No Tigers planted by the UDWR in Otter Creek Reservoir.
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Re: [Fishrmn] Tigers Through the Ice - gofish435 - 01-15-2016
According to the DWR stocking report:
2006 - 20,250 tiger trout 1.85" long
2008 - 15,000 tiger trout 2.12" long
2011 - 17,100 tiger trout 1.87" long
They have put plenty in there so you would think someone should have been able to catch some.
Maybe that is why those rainbows grow so fast down there.[
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Re: [Fishrmn] Tigers Through the Ice - no_skills - 01-15-2016
Ok, thanks for all of your replies. The DWR website lists the tiger trout as a possible catch at Otter Creek, I guess I prematurely got my hopes up.
That being said, all I remember catching there in my youth were rainbows, some really nice rainbows. What other varieties might I expect to catch? The DWR website also lists cutthroat as a possible cach. Is there a healthy cutthroat population? Any tips as far as depth or what to use?
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Re: [gofish435] Tigers Through the Ice - Fishrmn - 01-15-2016
Wonder if they were such a big success that they didn't need to plant any more, or if they weren't doing very well so they quit putting them in?
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Re: [Fishrmn] Tigers Through the Ice - gofish435 - 01-15-2016
I would say based on reports from Otter Creek that it is the latter. There are some places that the DWR has put tigers, that for some reason, they have not done well.
That might be why they decided to start stocking wipers in 2011to control the nongame fish populations and give us another great sport fish to chase.
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Re: [no_skills] Tigers Through the Ice - El_Matador - 01-15-2016
I've caught probably 150 fish out of Otter Creek throughout the past 8-10 years. Every one of them was a rainbow trout. I have heard of some cutts being caught up closer to the inlet (I usually fly fish the southern end). I have been meaning to try it through the ice. There are a lot of crawdads in there and I've done very well at times using large brown streamers fished slowly near the bottom. I think most traditional ice fishing lures work well down there if the fish are biting but it wouldn't hurt to fish a larger brown jig near the rocky areas if fishing is slow.
If you get a chance stop in at the Butch Cassidy's Hideout restaurant in Circleville. It's one of the best breakfast places in Utah and their dinners are good too.
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Re: [no_skills] Tigers Through the Ice - smittyts - 01-15-2016
Sorry no one seems to be answering your question. Too caught up on the tigers or no tigers question I guess. Here's my 2 cents. And this advice is just in general, not specific to Otter Creek. I usually try white or light colored small tube jigs tipped with meal worms, wax worms or chub meat. I also use rat finkies, cuttlefish or some other small soft plastic lure also tipped with something. I try to find between 30 to 50 feet of water. I start by dropping my line all the way to the bottom and then turning 2 cranks. If nothing happens for a while I bring it up 2 more cranks, and so on to about 15 feet. Then I move spots. If I have a fish finder, I move spots until I find fish moving through. I am learning that if I move around until I find a productive spot, I have more luck. Too often I am tempted to just pitch the tent crank on the heater and stay put. Makes for great napping but lousy ice fishing. Good luck, and I hope you have a fun safe time. Hopefully someone with better knowledge of Otter Creek will pipe up and help you out with some more useful and specific tips. Let us know how it goes.
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Re: [no_skills] Tigers Through the Ice - Kent - 01-15-2016
Tiger trout are the only fish that at times I have caught just inches under the ice. They will hit tubes or similar tipped with cut bait, night crawlers and meal worms, but not PowerBait. I have had trips where they would only hit one of the baits I listed and other times they would hit all three. They want the lure moving and rarely will hit a rod that is dead sticked. They may be in most any depth of water that you would find at Otter Creek.
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Re: [no_skills] Tigers Through the Ice - lumberjack031 - 01-15-2016
In the past few years I have been fishing Otter Creek all times of the year I have caught one german brown. I have seen a few nice cutts and browns come out of Otter but rainbow is the staple fish there. Never heard of anyone catch a tiger trout there though. Maybe my social fishing circle is small so who knows. This year for rainbows most have fished shallow for the best fishing <10'. Fish do travel though in the 20' depth range. Fishing has been reported to being slow according to the Otter Creek Facebook page but they have caught some awesome fish. Link below. In the past year and a half though i have not caught any rainbow under a pound. Most fish we have caught in the fall and through the ice are in the 1.5 to 2 lb range. Awesome bow fishery! I use manic gizzy bugs (white, pink, chartuese, smokey), rippin rap, paddlebugs, crayfish imitating plastics. Tipped with meal worms, night crawlers (typically the whole worm, huge I know), power bait, or minnows. I have used tube jigs as well. The ice is a around 16" thick last time I heard. Good luck!
https://www.facebook.com/Otter-Creek-State-Park-151308281551194/
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Re: [lumberjack031] Tigers Through the Ice - no_skills - 01-18-2016
Thank you all for your tips and advice. We arrived at the lake around 7:30am and fished until about 2:00pm. Fishing was slow. We managed to catch about 12 between the 4 of us and found our best success with white and pink or white and red varieties, tube jigs, marabou jigs, etc. tipped with a meal worm or minnow pieces, mostly fished just off the bottom. We tried depths from about 8’ to 30’ and found the best success in the shallower water. The fish we caught ranged from about a half a pound to three and a half, most were probably around the one and a half to two pound range. Even with the slow fishing, it was great to get out and spend some time with the fam.
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