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Couldn't stand it any longer had to go fishing today... Looked really dicey last night with wind and snow and all the storm, but I checked the weather and they were saying sunny and low winds in the morning... Didn't really believe them, but I wanted to go fishing really bad... So I got up at 5:00 and loaded up and down the road I went.... Very icy, snowy road that is, up Logan Canyon, passed 4 cars in the whole canyon today, kind of freeky... No one to slow me down so I let the snowy roads set my speed, which was a lot slower than I usually drive the canyon, felt it start to break loose a couple times, but I was going slow enough that it didn't go into a real slide... Well about 7:30 ish I was the first to pull into Cisco beach boat ramp, where they pulled the dock this week... Anyway about 2-3" of new snow over night...
Luckily the weatherman got it right this time.... Clear skies and light south breeze.. After my usual monkey business getting my toon set up and ready to go a boat joined me, but they fished south of the ramp and I went north... First cast I lost my jig that I was sure was going to be the hot one of the day... Well I guess not since it was sacrificed to the rock gods... Next cast in about 9 FOW I felt a dull yank yank and it was fish on... Not a very good fighter, but it was a 24.5" Cutthroat, so I was happy to see that skunk breaker... Well then things got really slow, I didn't catch another for a long time, then I finally landed a 15" Whitefish, had a bit more slow and then the sun finally came up about 10:15 then things improved, I started getting into the cutts in numbers, I think I got 6 or 7 of them from 20" (best fighter of the day) to 25.5" which was a great fighter as well... I have to confess things was so slow with the jigs, I put on my trolling gear and started trolling and it was dang fun... I had several others on, but lost them on the way in.. After while I decided to try the whitefish again and I finally got a few nice ones... Ended up with 5 that were from 20" to 15" and TD I even got one on your jig that I got from you... I had to fish it slow and low in the pale perch... I missed a hit then nailed a 19"er... Anyway fun day, slow at times, but I think I ended up with a dozen or better fish today and that was good for me... Toon worked well other than my feet got pretty cold after 6 plus hours...Good luck if you're heading to big blue tomorrow... Weather was really clear and nice today... Much better than the fog of cache valley that I came home to... Will attach the pictures below... Using the computer and pixs are on the phone.. Later J
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[#0000FF]Sounds like you made a good call. Fishing is better than almost anything you could be doing at home. Glad you got some good tugs.
Sorry I couldn't join you but not sorry to miss the drive in the canyon. That ain't fun on dry roads. When there is snow and ice you gotta be a real masochist to brave it.
Also glad the pale perch jig scored for ya. That was the one that caught most of my fish last week...including the mack.
Not sure if I will wimp out or brave the cold next week. Would like another go at those whitefish. Almost through with the batch I smoked from last week. Yum.
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Good job Jeff!
It doesn't appear that the cutts were too picky either, it almost looks like there is a different lure in the mouths of each one. At least one clipped one too it looks like.
I am planning on going out today after our town Christmas party (I gotta deliver Santa Clause in the fire truck) and seeing how thing are biting, but I'll be going to the marina instead of the east side. Usually pretty decent there.
Good that you pulled some whities in too, we've been munching on the ones we caught last week and enjoying every mouth full.
Mike
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Hey Pat, it was a fun outing and the sun seemed to clear the roads pretty well during the day. Here's a pic from the ride home.
Do you have any advice on how to feel the bottom better? I think that is why I have such a tough time catching whitefish. When I was sure I was on bottom was when I'd get fish, but I really was having a hard time feeling the bottom through my poles. I'm wondering if a different pole would be better? I did go to a 1/4 oz jig head later in the day and it seemed to be a little better for me to get down and stay to the bottom longer.
My batch of smoked whitefish from last week will be gone today, just in time for the new batch to start. Good stuff, I have a lot of friends that want a taste and I hope this batch will cover them and leave me some to enjoy. I really like seeing how much others like that smoked fish. Kind of like being the candy man.
Well if you make another trip, good luck. I kind of wonder if second point was fishing better yesterday. A boat that looked like local regulars bounced through Cisco and kept moving every half hour, but when they got down south they stuck there for quite a while, but my eyes couldn't see if they were pulling in fish or not. Anyway good luck. J
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Hey Mike,
The Cutts were on the bite yesterday, they were even rolling up all over too. Lots of action and they did take multi colors of jigs and even squid on the troll. My RMT gear delivered as usual, I love that stuff. Good luck today, don't think you'll miss too much in the morning most of my fish came later in the day.
Hey I do have a question on the trimmed fins of the Cutts, I caught one last week and another yesterday that had the adipose fin partially cut off it appeared, would they have been legal to keep if I wanted too. Both were 24.5" and both didn't fight very well. Must have been brothers.
I see some fish have the whole fin gone and others where it's easy to tell that the fin is perfectly formed. These two it looked like they tried to trim them and only got part of the fin. Just wondering what the legal interpretation is?
We'll have fun delivering Santa and catch ya later. J
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Jeff,
the way we do it and can assure that we are on the bottom is to vertical jig right below us just like we are ice fishing. When our line goes slack we reel our rod tips down to about 6" above the water before the line tightens, then we just do tiny pops with our wrists making sure that the line is going from slack to tight and bouncing the jig about 3" up off of the bottom before it drops back down to plunk on the bottom again. You want the line to exhibit slack on every bounce and and then pop it again. The frequency of the pops are about one flick of the wrist every 2-3 seconds....its quite active actually. Its almost like we are trying to creat a medium to slow "vibration" with our wrists, but still maintaining the pop upward. It's not usually about actually feeling the bottom as much as watching the line to know that we are on the bottom (if that makes any sense).
The hits usually manifest themselves as pressure more than anything with the occasional "bites" being felt. More often than not, if you feel a decent hit it wil be a trout.
Patience is the name of the game with this style of fishing. They come and go as a school, so the bites come and go as well, but it's just like the race between the tortoise and the hare, the slow and steady approach wins out every time.
If vertical jigging is not your style, then casting and letting it sink and then twitching/popping the jig back with just using your trigger finger to provide the jigging action while reeling so slow that it drives you nuts is the other way to do it, and oftentimes that is the presentation of the day.....just try both and see what works, but give an honest 20 minutes to each before trying something else and you'll find the fish. You'll also find the rocks and that is how you know you're in the zone. Jigs are cheap and if you're doing it right you'll lose quite a few in a day.
I don't know if that helps or if you are already doing it that way, but in my experience most people are fishing slightly too fast and are missing out on a ton of fish.
Oh also, I never usually go above 1/8 oz. unless I am fishing in 15-20+ feet. I find that I get more hits and hook ups with 1/8 and 1/16 ounce jigs, I just use the lightest that I can get away with and still keep it on the bottom without too much effort.
Hope this helps you or any others that aren't quite sure how some of us "locals" are doing it, but it's rare that I don't pull a limit of decent whities fishing for them this way.
Mike
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Hey Jeff,
Many of the clipped fish only have a partially clipped fin and are legal to keep. A true native will have a fully developed adipose fin and planted cutts come with the adipose fin all the way clipped off on some fish all the way up to half clipped off with other fish. If in doubt it's wise advise to toss it back, but if the adipose fin is only partially there it is a safe bet that it is a planter.
Mike
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[#0000FF]Feeling the bottom better? Fishing for those whitefish is definitely a "finesse" game. You need to stay in constant contact with your jig and you need a rod and line sensitive enough to transmit exactly what is going on down there. And that requires that you are experienced enough to be able to interpret what is coming back up the line to you.
All the rods I use for fishing whitefish are 6-7 feet light or medium light rods...with fast action. The tips are light enough to cast and work light jigs but there is enough power in the lower part of the rod to set the hook and work on larger fish when needed. I now use Nanofil almost exclusively...both for the extended casting distance but also for the no stretch and sensitivity in feeling light bites. I know it has improved my hookup ratios.
As Mike has suggested, many of the whitefish bites will be nothing more than a "rubber band" feel. No hard trout munches from those fish...at least seldom. Some do hit harder than others. But anytime there is a change in the force, set the hook. Hooksets are free and you will find yourself connecting to fish that you might otherwise have missed by waiting for a harder bite.
Vertical jigging is a proven technique. And I use it after almost every cast...to get bites from any fish that have followed my jig in on the retrieve. But I fish mostly by casting to different areas and different depths, to try to find groups of active fish. And once I find them I keep casting to them until they leave or shut off.
I use a variety of retrieves...all designed to keep my jig on or near the bottom. Mostly it is a variation of the lift and drop routine. But sometimes the fish seem to want a slow steady retrieve...as close to the bottom as you can keep it. That may require that you stop reeling and allow the jig to sink again once in a while.
If you are fishing right...over the rocks...you WILL get snags. But when fishing from a non-anchored craft you can usually maneuver directly over the snagged lure and wiggle it free...from the rounded cobble rocks. I got a lot of "real estate" last week, but I didn't lose a single jig. Didn't lose any married ones either.
Ultimately, you will do best with a good quality sensitive rod, reel and line setup that is light enough for you to use comfortably all day. And the reel should turn freely without skips, stutters and clunks. You need to be able to concentrate completely on the feel of your lure down in fish country...not spend all cast fighting with a balky reel. After that, it is a matter of making a bazillion casts and doing things right to develop both muscle memory and intuition. Then, even when your mind wanders off in the middle of a cast your wrist will still set the hook when you get an inquiry. Simple...but not easy.
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Thanks Mike, I was trying to figure out what you were doing last week, why you guys were pulling in fish after fish while I could only find a few. I did see yesterday that I was missing the light bites, I need to keep the line tight all the time because I missed several when I didn't keep it tight on the jig. I think I can figure out the verticle jig ok, but I may have to have you show me that casting technique. I'd like to learn that, I know you really know how to do it. I do think I fish too fast and I noticed on one fish that I really slowed my retrieve and got a fish that cast. So I really appreciate your advice.
Thanks for the cut fin answer as well. I figured that was the case but I didn't know if the officer would see the same way so I returned it.
Well good luck today, I'm sure you'll do well. I noticed yesterday some of the Whities were already spawned out and two were females and didn't seem very close to spawning, so how long do you think this will last? Been fun and it was nice to catch two good weather days so far. Catch ya later J
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I think the spawn will go at least one more week before it tapers off.
If the water is open during the Cisco spawn (around Jan. 20-31) then the whities can be caught in big numbers on the rock pile and jigging just off of Cisco beach, so that is usually round two for me and the white fish.
If ya head over this way to fish, give me a buzz and I'd be more than happy to show you how I do it up close, but I could have also just cursed myself by sounding too cocky!
Mike
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Jeff those are some nice trouts! Love the pics.
You're brave floating out there in these temps!
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Mike...what are the odds Bear Lake freezes up this winter? Seems it only happens every 3 or 4 years.
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It'll most likely freeze, but when and for how long is the question. Average freeze up is about January 26. The water is around 33-35 right now, so the real issue is wind. If there isn't much wind then the odds of ice are good.
Mike
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Thanks for the pics. Hope your smoker is happy with those fish in it! [  ]
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Great day on the water for sure. Not so keen about the drive though.
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Thanks Pat for the tips on how to improve my feel technique... Sorry been tied up and didn't get a chance to respond till now... The week looks a little fury, not sure when you'll get a chance to get back to the lake, but I hope you do... Thanks again... J
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Thanks for offer Mike, I'll try to get a hold of you ahead of time, if I get back... Might be cisco before I make it though... Pulled a batch of fish out of the smoker this morning and I did pretty good this time... Can sure tell the difference between trout and whitefish... I like them both, but the whitefish is so mild and non-fishy I think most everyone would like it... even my daughter tried a piece and ate it and said it was okay... She usually hates fish... So it must be okay... later J
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Hey Derek,
Yup those trout are going to make Hyrum really hard to be satisfied this winter... It really wasn't too scary out on the toons, the wind was very light and I kept my feet up on the pegs so it's really not too much of a worry... My biggest problem was having too many clothes on and not being able to move where I needed too from the seat... Still perfecting my set up and outfitting for the trips... It's close, but still needs some tuning to make it better... Thanks for the hello... J
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Hey Wagdog, yup if a smoker could  , mine was grinning, well at least I was when I started snacking on the goods.... One big issue though is the time it took to get the fish ready... I'm too tight on wasting any meat and so it took me forever to trim bones and such out... I think I spent a couple hours just filleting after I buzzed through them with the electric knife... the trimming took me a long time then I realized I really didn't gain much meat for all my efforts I think next time I'll find a different use for the rib meat... thanks for the howdy... J
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