03-19-2019, 05:40 PM
Bear Lake Fishing Report – Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Bear Lake has open water and there are still a few pieces of ice floating around, so be cautious while boating. Launching access is available at the Utah State Park marina, First Point and Rainbow Cove boat ramps where the ramps are free of ice and snow and courtesty docks are in the water. There is still about 6-12” of snow on the ground at Bear Lake.
Fishing for cutthroat trout and lake trout has slowed down a bit on the rockpile are this past week but anglers are still able to catch some fish. The hot spot has been on the east side of the lake off the Pump House, 2nd Point and also along Cisco Beach. Some anglers are trolling and some are jigging, but both methods are working well. When jigging, start off in depths of 30-70’ depending on location. When jigging for trout, use tube jigs or swim baits in ½ to 1 ounce sizes and 3-6” long tipped with cisco, sucker meat or Gulp minnows. Reliable colors are white, green and chartreuse.
Anglers who have been trolling are doing well using minnow type lures, flatfish, and a dodger with a squid. Troll with the lures off downriggers close to bottom, but also watch your sonar for suspended fish that may also be active at this time of year. Since the water is still very cold, sometimes trolling flat lines far behind the boat with crankbaits can also be very productive.
Remember the trout limit is two fish. Cutthroat trout with a healed fin clip may be kept; cutthroat trout with all fins intact must be immediately released. Large Lake Trout take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
Garden City Community Fishery Pond
The pond is still frozen and ice conditions and thickness can vary, especially along the shoreline. Be careful when fishing this community water. There were good numbers of rainbow trout in Garden City Pond and the ice fishing pressure has been light. Use small ice flies tipped with a waxworm or a piece of night crawler. Sometimes active jigging works well and at other times the fish want a dead-stick presentation. Please use the self-service creel cards and let the UDWR know how you did fishing.
Laketown Reservoir
Laketown Reservoir is also frozen and ice thickness can vary. Access is either by snowmobile, skiis or snowshoes. Expect to catch of rainbow trout and cutthroat trout using small ice flies or jigging spoons tipped with a worm or salmon egg.
Little Creek (Randolph) Reservoir
Frozen with almost 12 inches of ice. Be cautious around the shoreline areas. Fishing for rainbow trout has been good using ice flies and small jigging spoons tipped with a worm or salmon egg.
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Bear Lake has open water and there are still a few pieces of ice floating around, so be cautious while boating. Launching access is available at the Utah State Park marina, First Point and Rainbow Cove boat ramps where the ramps are free of ice and snow and courtesty docks are in the water. There is still about 6-12” of snow on the ground at Bear Lake.
Fishing for cutthroat trout and lake trout has slowed down a bit on the rockpile are this past week but anglers are still able to catch some fish. The hot spot has been on the east side of the lake off the Pump House, 2nd Point and also along Cisco Beach. Some anglers are trolling and some are jigging, but both methods are working well. When jigging, start off in depths of 30-70’ depending on location. When jigging for trout, use tube jigs or swim baits in ½ to 1 ounce sizes and 3-6” long tipped with cisco, sucker meat or Gulp minnows. Reliable colors are white, green and chartreuse.
Anglers who have been trolling are doing well using minnow type lures, flatfish, and a dodger with a squid. Troll with the lures off downriggers close to bottom, but also watch your sonar for suspended fish that may also be active at this time of year. Since the water is still very cold, sometimes trolling flat lines far behind the boat with crankbaits can also be very productive.
Remember the trout limit is two fish. Cutthroat trout with a healed fin clip may be kept; cutthroat trout with all fins intact must be immediately released. Large Lake Trout take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
Garden City Community Fishery Pond
The pond is still frozen and ice conditions and thickness can vary, especially along the shoreline. Be careful when fishing this community water. There were good numbers of rainbow trout in Garden City Pond and the ice fishing pressure has been light. Use small ice flies tipped with a waxworm or a piece of night crawler. Sometimes active jigging works well and at other times the fish want a dead-stick presentation. Please use the self-service creel cards and let the UDWR know how you did fishing.
Laketown Reservoir
Laketown Reservoir is also frozen and ice thickness can vary. Access is either by snowmobile, skiis or snowshoes. Expect to catch of rainbow trout and cutthroat trout using small ice flies or jigging spoons tipped with a worm or salmon egg.
Little Creek (Randolph) Reservoir
Frozen with almost 12 inches of ice. Be cautious around the shoreline areas. Fishing for rainbow trout has been good using ice flies and small jigging spoons tipped with a worm or salmon egg.
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