Minersville info

[fishinfool]

Has anyone fished Minersville. Looking for info for my dad. wondering how the fishing is good or bad.

[wiperhunter2]

Has anyone fished Minersville. Looking for info for my dad. wondering how the fishing is good or bad.

Not sure if you saw this on the fly fishing board but it is the results of the gill net survey they did there earlier this year.

Just a heads up...Minersville was gill netted on 3/30 and, though numbers are down, quite a few big fish are still there! In a typical/good year, gill nets yield at least 20 trout per net. This year gill nets averaged about 13 trout per net and about 1/3 of all the fish netted were 20+ inches.

Fishing this spring will undoubtedly be tougher simply because of the rising water (if the water muddies with runoff, it will even be tougher) and the availability of a lot of food for fewer fish. But, as the water drops and summer begins fishing will improve some. For me, the growth rates of the fish in there and the reality that quite a few fish are still in the reservoir means it's still worth fishing!

Also, FWIW, wiper numbers are similar to years past.

[richyd4u]

I've seen a few recent youtube videos of guys fishing out there with success off boats on the north end of the lake on various baits and trolling squids...bank fishing sounds like it's been really slow. Definitely not the OC of old, but should rebound the next few years.

[Saltslam]

I fished it at ice off three times. I believe I caught five fish in the three trips combined. Last year's ice off yielded closer to 20 fish a trip.

[fishinfool]

Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

[castnshoot]

Just a little update. The lake has been going over the da dam for a couple of weeks. It is the highest it has ever been in the history of the lake.

They added 6” to the height of the over flow last year. That small amount of added elevation made the lake go way beyond the historic high water mark in many places around the lake.

The wash that is the main drainage for the Greenville bench dumps into the reservoir on my property.

The water is a hundred yards farther up that wash than it has ever been. Most of my frontage road along the lake is under water.

Some miss calculating on the new cabins they put in at the park left a couple of them setting in the water.

The road around the back through Adamsville is also flooded.

The fishing has been tough, and there has been very few people fishing.

They did do a light stocking last fall and this spring. I do not know,, but I think the hatcheries will have a hard time keeping up with the demand this year.

Here are a couple of before and after photos from my front yard. 

Just what the Doctor ordered.

[joshomaru]

Wow, that's incredible.
The fish that ARE in there are going to get big. Forage is going to bloom. Fishing will be tough.... BUT, one fish could make a hell of a trip!
How have the smallies done in there competing with the wipers? I don't seem to hear much about the smallies....

[richyd4u]

Incredible! Thanks for the report! I sure hope they can get some more stockings in there to help the numbers, but the ones in there now are gonna get fat and sassy for sure! Just need more numbers!

[Therapist]

I grew up fishing Minersville! When we would visit my Grand parents in Milford, my grandmother's Brother-in-law, Dern, would take me out and fish from the bank. Back then, the fish were like footballs, a 15" rainbow would be almost that big around. Deep orange flesh from all the scuds they ate. Loved that place. Has some great memories !!

[castnshoot]

Wow, that's incredible. 
The fish that ARE in there are going to get big.  Forage is going to bloom.  Fishing will be tough.... BUT, one fish could make a hell of a trip!
How have the smallies done in their competing with the wipers?  I don't seem to hear much about the smallies....

I could be wrong, but I don’t think the Wipers have had much of an effect on the Small Mouth. That being said I did clean a Wiper once that had Small Mouth fry in it’s stomach.

They do stock thousands of small surplus Brown in Minersville most every year, but they never seem to take hold. The Wipers and Bass may have something to do with that.

Then again they used to do the same thing with thousands of small Cutthroat every year before Minersville had Wipers and they never took hold either.

If the water is clear up in the cotton woods and willows for 3 or 4 months it could make for a big bloom of chubs. In the short term that could be a good thing for all the warm water fish in the lake.
Once the water drops down out of the cover the Wipers will “wipe” them out in short order.

Speaking of fish taking hold at Minersville the Large Mouth also seen to have established themselves.

Crawdads will also bloom with so much of the lake bottom having been out of the water for so long.
The photo I attached is from last summer. All that foliage that those Antelope found to be tasty will be perfect for the crawdads. Everything in Minersville gets fat on crawdads, including the Trout.

Also this site is great for watching the day to day water levels at Minersville.


http://rocky.metridyne.com/