ICE FISHING UTAH

[TubeDude]

Pat, thanks for all you have done and keep doing.

As my little old green friend Yoda might say "Welcome, you are".  Glad you like it.

Pat,
Can I pick you and Yoda's experience for a minute.  I've been shut out 0 and 8 so far on Cutler this year, that hasn't ever happened in past years, but I'm giving up on the shallower waters I've found fish in years past and looking at the River channel.  Now this is where my big warning is posted in case anyone else tries to duplicate...  The Bear River is frozen, but river currents vary and ice thickness is highly variable, last night I found from 12" of ice near shore on the slack side down to 4" as I approached the blasted side of the river channel...(I drilled check holes every 3 steps or so and the ice kept changing, plus I had my PFD on and a rope around my waist and tied to the truck in case I went through.. I never trust river ice...) That is where I turned around and went back to thicker ice.  My question is where do the fish go during the winter on a shallow reservoir with a deeper river system attached to it?  I figured if they weren't in the shallows anymore after food, they would be in the deeper holes where the water may be warmer... Well I graphed very few fish in the 15 fow that I tried fishing.. (Punched maybe a dozen holes looking to find fish) Years past this hole (area) has been full of at least carp, but last night I only seen a couple marks in a couple hours... Any thoughts as what I can try that might help find some fish to at least frustrate me when they won't bite?  Guess I need to fish elsewhere, but I keep holding out hope for a quality size fish when I find them... Plus this is close so I can run out for two hours after work, without spending all my time traveling back and forth...  I know the fish are there, I catch them during the soft water season, so they should be there now, but they are sure hard for me to find... Later Jeff

I haven't had any winter experience on the Cutler area.  But I can guess at what the situation MIGHT be.  You have had success in some places in the past and are hoping they will hold up forever.  But in a shallow and flowing water like that one, a few minor differences in depth, clarity, flow and water chemistry can have the fish moving all over the place to try to find greater comfort or more food...or both.  As you well know, channels, flows and depths can vary widely from year to year...and even during the same year.  The fish respond quickly to changes and move up and down the length of their range to find better conditions.  Once they find them, they tend to remain there, rather than going back to another area that went sour on them...maybe never to return again.  You know better than I that there is a whole lot of surface area for that water.  And it is impossible to be able to look at the surface and tell what lies beneath.  It takes exploring, punching holes and sonaring...hopefully on safe ice.  Without being able to check it all...with an organized and methodical system...you could easily be missing or overlooking some fantastic potential spots that you would never know were there.  And they may only be a few feet from where you last tried.

In short, it is frustrating to blank on waters you know hold fish...somewhere...without knowing where to look next to try to find them.  But that's fishing.

I'm glad you are trying to exercise good sense and proper caution.  Don't let your guard down...especially during periods of variable temperature conditions that might weaken the ice in high flow areas.

And Yoda says "in there hang".