01-25-2017, 09:31 PM
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
UDWR Bear Lake Fishing Report:
There is about 30-36” of snow on the ground on the west side of Bear Lake and 18” or more at Cisco Beach. The State Park has plowed along Cisco Beach and access is much better than the last few days. The lake has a fair amount open water on the east side from South Eden north into Idaho. There is no ice along Cisco Beach. Most of the west side of the lake is frozen and therefore, the deicers have been shut off at the marina. There have been some ice anglers fishing off the “pump house”, off the State Park marina and in the weedbed areas south of Gus Rich Point. The ice is 2-4”, but there are many weak and fractured spots on the lake and we do not recommend ice fishing due to unsafe ice. Boat ramps at Cisco Beach and Rainbow Cove have been plowed but are extremely slippery and we not recommend trying to launch boats at this time.
There was choppy water along Cisco Beach today but anglers were able to dip net cisco. The run started about 7:00am and went until about 9:00am. It really helps if you dip net in pairs of people. One person uses a fishing rod with a lure to attract the cisco in and then the person with the net dips the fish. Waders or hip boots recommended. It is important to make sure you only dip net your fish and not other anglers. The run will continue to improve over the coming week and likely peak on the weekend. Fishing for Cutthroat Trout should be good off the Cisco Beach area while the cisco run continues. Try casting large spoons or spinners (#5 or #6) or use streamers/leaches on fly rods.
Those anglers who have been ice fishing are doing good for cisco, but also picking up some whitefish and trout. Spoons such as Kastmasters and Swedish Pimples are working the best. You can also try running a 6-8” dropper line below the spoons with an ice fly for the whitefish.
Please remember, all Cutthroat Trout that are caught and don’t have a healed fin clip must be released. Large Lake Trout are not very good eating and take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
The UDWR will update the Bear Lake office answering machine with lake conditions, status of the Cisco run, and other fishing opportunities every other day until the end of the Cisco run, but please call after 5pm in order to keep the line open during business hours (7am – 5pm). The number is 435-946-8501. The annual "Cisco Disco" , Polar Plunge, and Bear Lake Winterfest will be held on Saturday, January 28th. More info is available at: https://bearlakemonsterwinterfest.com/
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UDWR Bear Lake Fishing Report:
There is about 30-36” of snow on the ground on the west side of Bear Lake and 18” or more at Cisco Beach. The State Park has plowed along Cisco Beach and access is much better than the last few days. The lake has a fair amount open water on the east side from South Eden north into Idaho. There is no ice along Cisco Beach. Most of the west side of the lake is frozen and therefore, the deicers have been shut off at the marina. There have been some ice anglers fishing off the “pump house”, off the State Park marina and in the weedbed areas south of Gus Rich Point. The ice is 2-4”, but there are many weak and fractured spots on the lake and we do not recommend ice fishing due to unsafe ice. Boat ramps at Cisco Beach and Rainbow Cove have been plowed but are extremely slippery and we not recommend trying to launch boats at this time.
There was choppy water along Cisco Beach today but anglers were able to dip net cisco. The run started about 7:00am and went until about 9:00am. It really helps if you dip net in pairs of people. One person uses a fishing rod with a lure to attract the cisco in and then the person with the net dips the fish. Waders or hip boots recommended. It is important to make sure you only dip net your fish and not other anglers. The run will continue to improve over the coming week and likely peak on the weekend. Fishing for Cutthroat Trout should be good off the Cisco Beach area while the cisco run continues. Try casting large spoons or spinners (#5 or #6) or use streamers/leaches on fly rods.
Those anglers who have been ice fishing are doing good for cisco, but also picking up some whitefish and trout. Spoons such as Kastmasters and Swedish Pimples are working the best. You can also try running a 6-8” dropper line below the spoons with an ice fly for the whitefish.
Please remember, all Cutthroat Trout that are caught and don’t have a healed fin clip must be released. Large Lake Trout are not very good eating and take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
The UDWR will update the Bear Lake office answering machine with lake conditions, status of the Cisco run, and other fishing opportunities every other day until the end of the Cisco run, but please call after 5pm in order to keep the line open during business hours (7am – 5pm). The number is 435-946-8501. The annual "Cisco Disco" , Polar Plunge, and Bear Lake Winterfest will be held on Saturday, January 28th. More info is available at: https://bearlakemonsterwinterfest.com/
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