Strawberry should be called Starvation 2

[chubby chaser]

I made a solo trip to Strawberry on Saturday morning to try to catch some hungry pre-ice fish from shore.   Went off the dam for a few hours.  Got there at 8:30 with 27 degrees and a slight breeze making it colder.  I was way underdressed and forgot my gloves.  I almost decided to leave after about 10 minutes of numb hands, but the sun came out from behind some clouds at just the right time and made it bearable.  

Threw out some powerbait to soak while I casted a rapala and feather jig. No love at all on the lures, but got a decent 15" rainbow off the bottom with the pb.   I noticed fish slashing at stuff on the surface in the bubble line created by the wind so I tied on a bubble and dropped a small piece of powerbait on a hook, I used just a small amount of pb so the hook would still sink under the bubble.   I was wishing I had some worms or minnows because they probably would have gotten more action, but the bubble set up still brought some snaky, starving cutts to the surface.  The longest one being 20' and having a huge tail made it look like a broom.

It was fun to see the cutts come up and slash at the bobber on the surface to see if it was edible, and then find the  bait hanging below it.  The action wasnt fast but I managed 3 cutts and another small rainbow on the pb on the bottom.  Left around 12:30 after I'd had enough of the wind and the bite died off completely. Got 5 total and lost 2 at the shore.  

Since I was solo, the pics aren't the best and dont show any scale, but those cutts were between 16-20" and SKINNY.  As previously suggested, it may be time to let anglers take a few home and thin the herds.  They are literally starving in there.

One cool thing I saw just before leaving but didnt get a pic of... was a small school of kokanee swimming around in front of me for a minute. I noticed a red fish swimming by and then about 5-6 more followed it.  I tossed a lure in front of them and couldnt get them to bite but it was still cool to see.   Time for me to dust off the ice fishing gear and get ready for scofield to freeze in a few weeks. Can't wait.

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the report and pics, those cutts do look really thin. At least you got out there and hung in there with those cold temps. Was there anyone else out there fishing?

[chubby chaser]

Thanks for the report and pics, those cutts do look really thin. At least you got out there and hung in there with those cold temps. Was there anyone else out there fishing?

yep, there were a few other folks on either end of the dam, and what looked like a family on the peninsula west of the dam. Saw a few people pulling them in but not fast action. Also saw a few boats go by, one pontoon cruised through and then anchored just off the island, saw them reel in one as they went by.