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Strawberry 03/05/2019
#1
Three friends and I made a return trip to Strawberry today. We met at the Marina at about 0800 and headed east from there to the general area we fished last week. The snow conditions haven't changed very much since our last trip. I did see evidence that some snowmobile riders had broken through the frozen layer and got stuck or bogged down in the slush.

We didn't have any trouble riding out at normal speeds and I really couldn't feel any slush pockets that would inhibit travel. We actually found our fishing location from last week. There has been fresh snow since last Tuesday but it wasn't deep enough to hide the disturbed area where we fished. I found a well packed down area and there was no slush to contend with today. One of my friends found himself fishing in an area that had about 2 inches of water on top of the frozen slush layer. Waterproof boots are needed if you are not fortunate enough to find a packed and frozen location.

The fishing was very good today and it began immediately after we put our lines down. We all tried to target the Kokes by using spinning equipment with mono line. We each had a "flasher" of some type, a short leader and then a small squid or tube jig tipped with either pink Gulp Maggots or a meal worm. One of our party was able to catch two Kokes and the rest of us played with the slot cutts all day. Between the 4 of us I would estimate we caught about 115 to 120 fish today. Quite a few of the cutts were good size fish in the 18 to 20 inch range. We fished from 0845 until 1600. We didn't get any rainbows today. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to get at least one Koke today. I'm pretty sure I had a hit from one of the silver rockets based on the nature of the strike. It felt like it hit my jig while it was moving 10 mph and of course, I missed the strike. There's always next week if the conditions hold up.

The weather was beautiful for most of the day with partly cloudy skies and very light winds. Around 1300 the breeze did pick up a little but you could just position yourself with your back to the breeze and it wasn't too bad. None of us put up a shelter today. Where I was fishing the frozen layer would have been OK for a shelter if I had put mine up. It would be challenging to put one up if you had the 2 inches of water on the ice like my friend had to deal with today. I think he could have packed the snow down a little better and made himself a dryer fishing hole.

There were a number of fishermen who had walked out near the Marina but I don't know how they did today. We did talk with one party who used the Strawberry Bay Marina's shuttle service to get out further on the reservoir and they said they had a great day and figured they caught about 50 to 60 fish. The Marina will shuttle people out on the lake and pick them up at a selected time for $25.00 per person which is certainly cheaper than buying and operating a snowmobile. It cost me more than that to haul my snowmobile and trailer from Price.

Mike
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#2
tks for the report, and good info....esp. the portage service..didn't know they did that, but that's a great idea, esp. this year....
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#3
Hey Mike,
Great report, now I feel even worse about not being able to go... Glad you guys had a great day... Thanks for passing on the great report too... So do you fish one rod for Koke and the other for the cuts? Or are the cuts taking the rods set up with flashers and such for the koke and do you fish different depths? My experience has shown the feeding koke are usually 10-25' down and the trout are usually lower, but I haven't ever fished them at the berry... Sounds like a lot of fun though... Thanks for sharing... Jeff
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#4
When I started I had both rods set up to target Kokes although I had Gulp maggots on one and a meal worm on the other. The Cutts preferred the meal worms. The guy who caught the two Kokes was tipping his jig with a meal worm.

We may go again next week if there is a good weather day and you are invited if it fits your schedule.
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#5
[quote TopH2O]

I'm pretty sure I had a hit from one of the silver rockets based on the nature of the strike. It felt like it hit my jig while it was moving 10 mph...

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Great report Mike. Sad that I wasn't able to join you yesterday. I hope we can catch a few tomorrow. I know kokanee are notorious for their fierce strikes. Has it been your experience that the hit is similar through the ice?
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#6
We have noticed the Kokes will often hit when they are making a quick upward movement. When hooked they often continue to move toward the surface. The rapid ascent requires the fisherman to reel very quickly to keep the line tight.

I'll PM you and Jeff if we decide to go one day next week.

Mike
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#7
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I'll be joining you next week and maybe Big Earl. Let me know when you plan to be there. We like to stop at the Hub in Heber for breakfast at 6 AM when they open. Puts us at the marina between 7 and 7:30. Making up some dodgers w/ lures to use up there. I'll probably have a couple with squid and a couple with tubes.
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."
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#8
Thanks Mike that sounds great!!! Hoping I can get down there for a day... Thanks for the info... J
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#9
Sounds good Bob. I'll add you to the PM if we decide to go next week.

Mike
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