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ICE FISHING UTAH
#1
Over the years I have written bits and pieces on fishing different Utah waters...and most of these things include special sections or pages on ice fishing aspects.  In response to a couple of requests to post more stuff on ice fishing, I went back and extracted the ice fishing stuff from my larger writeups...to post up here.  I also spent a whole lotta time going through the DWR website on Utah Fisheries and copying and pasting the written info on many of the fave ice fishing spots.  Probably didn't get them all, but if I missed some you can look them up yourself at the link provided.

Hope this stuff is helpful to at least a couple of members.  Makes me wish I was still trudging across the ice and jerking fish up through a hole.
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#2
(01-10-2021, 08:57 PM)TubeDude Wrote: Over the years I have written bits and pieces on fishing different Utah waters...and most of these things include special sections or pages on ice fishing aspects.  In response to a couple of requests to post more stuff on ice fishing, I went back and extracted the ice fishing stuff from my larger writeups...to post up here.  I also spent a whole lotta time going through the DWR website on Utah Fisheries and copying and pasting the written info on many of the fave ice fishing spots.  Probably didn't get them all, but if I missed some you can look them up yourself at the link provided.

Hope this stuff is helpful to at least a couple of members.  Makes me wish I was still trudging across the ice and jerking fish up through a hole.
I will give these a read, Im sure it has useful information. I hear a rumour that Deer creek is freezing over and I might have a look-see this week or next. I gotta ice some more eyes. Thanks Pat,
Gabe
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#3
(01-10-2021, 09:49 PM)Freakyfisherman Wrote:
(01-10-2021, 08:57 PM)TubeDude Wrote: Over the years I have written bits and pieces on fishing different Utah waters...and most of these things include special sections or pages on ice fishing aspects.  In response to a couple of requests to post more stuff on ice fishing, I went back and extracted the ice fishing stuff from my larger writeups...to post up here.  I also spent a whole lotta time going through the DWR website on Utah Fisheries and copying and pasting the written info on many of the fave ice fishing spots.  Probably didn't get them all, but if I missed some you can look them up yourself at the link provided.

Hope this stuff is helpful to at least a couple of members.  Makes me wish I was still trudging across the ice and jerking fish up through a hole.
I will give these a read, Im sure it has useful information. I hear a rumour that Deer creek is freezing over and I might have a look-see this week or next. I gotta ice some more eyes. Thanks Pat,
Gabe
Yeah, it is about time for it to cap...if it's going to.  I'm pretty sure nobody caught all the toothy critters this year so you got a chance.  Hope your spots pay off.  Water level is rising and that should help.
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#4
Here is toothy critter showing us breaking through the ice:

https://rumble.com/vbdxnp-ice-breaking-b...snack.html

https://rumble.com/vchui3-beaver-chews-t...conds.html
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#5
Thanks tubedude! I think you have probably forgotten more about fishing than the average Joe has ever learned. Always good info from your posts!
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#6
Thanks Pat, hey if you feel the urge to hit the ice for perch at Hyrum let me know? I have a fairly safe way to get less mobile folks on the ice. I put my gearbox in my Smitty and it’s just the right height to sit on. Then I pull that out slowly with the snowmobile to the fishing location. Got plenty of rods and gear to share so let me know if you’d like to join me. Can take a shelter or not. Later Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#7
(01-11-2021, 04:34 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: Thanks Pat, hey if you feel the urge to hit the ice for perch at Hyrum let me know?  I have a fairly safe way to get less mobile folks on the ice. I put my gearbox in my Smitty and it’s just the right height to sit on. Then I pull that out slowly with the snowmobile to the fishing location. Got plenty of rods and gear to share so let me know if you’d like to join me. Can take a shelter or not. Later Jeff
I appreciate the kindly offer, but I really don't miss ice fishing THAT MUCH.  Yeah, still a lot of good memories.  But I'm not sure I could get a release from the "home" to get out on the ice.  And it might be a bother with all of the life support equipment hooked up to my frail old body.  But thanks again for the offer.
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#8
(01-11-2021, 03:47 PM)Saltslam Wrote: Thanks tubedude! I think you have probably forgotten more about fishing than the average Joe has ever learned. Always good info from your posts!
At my age I forget a lot of things.

Thanks for your kindly comments.
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#9
hope you can get well and post more fun fishing videos.
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#10
(01-11-2021, 05:27 PM)TubeDude Wrote:
(01-11-2021, 04:34 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: Thanks Pat, hey if you feel the urge to hit the ice for perch at Hyrum let me know?  I have a fairly safe way to get less mobile folks on the ice. I put my gearbox in my Smitty and it’s just the right height to sit on. Then I pull that out slowly with the snowmobile to the fishing location. Got plenty of rods and gear to share so let me know if you’d like to join me. Can take a shelter or not. Later Jeff
I appreciate the kindly offer, but I really don't miss ice fishing THAT MUCH.  Yeah, still a lot of good memories.  But I'm not sure I could get a release from the "home" to get out on the ice.  And it might be a bother with all of the life support equipment hooked up to my frail old body.  But thanks again for the offer.
Forgot about the COVID fun going on, but if you have a hankering let me know, been taking the FIL long enough that I'm getting pretty good at dealing with the life support stuff... never easy, but always worth it....  Catch ya later Pat....  Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#11
Pat, thanks for all you have done and keep doing.
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#12
(01-11-2021, 11:12 PM)Springbuck1 Wrote: 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.
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#13
(01-11-2021, 11:21 PM)TubeDude Wrote:
(01-11-2021, 11:12 PM)Springbuck1 Wrote: 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
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#14
(01-14-2021, 05:20 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote:
(01-11-2021, 11:21 PM)TubeDude Wrote:
(01-11-2021, 11:12 PM)Springbuck1 Wrote: 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".
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#15
Thanks Pat, it is really frustrating not finding the fish, I just keep wondering what other type area I could try... I did notice that the area that was previously my go to spot, had much clearer water this year... I thought that would help make it better, but maybe it was just a sign that there aren't any fish there stirring it up this year... Well I hope when I find them, they are all schooled up in a big pile so I can catch a bunch and make up for wasted trips in the past... Any tips on getting cold cats to bite this time of year? What would you rig up with to get them to take your offering? Thanks Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#16
(01-14-2021, 07:24 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: Thanks Pat, it is really frustrating not finding the fish, I just keep wondering what other type area I could try... I did notice that the area that was previously my go to spot, had much clearer water this year... I thought that would help make it better, but maybe it was just a sign that there aren't any fish there stirring it up this year... Well I hope when I find them, they are all schooled up in a big pile so I can catch a bunch and make up for wasted trips in the past... Any tips on getting cold cats to bite this time of year?  What would you rig up with to get them to take your offering?  Thanks Jeff
No top secret stuff about catching cats through the ice.  First ya gotta find some.  Then you gotta put something tasty where they can take their time looking it over and sniffing it.  They still eat under the ice but they slow way down...almost to a stop at times...but they do occasionally munch something.  I have caught cats from several Utah waters under the ice.  But never more than a few and one or two on a trip is more likely...if any at all.  
The one thing that was common to most of my winter cat catches was that they were on small jigs tipped with small pieces of bait...being fished for other species.  Nightcrawler was the most common munch.  But have also caught them on waxworms and pieces of fish flesh.  Howsomever, I have caught cats under the ice by deliberately fishing for them with whole crawlers or minnows being allowed to sit on the bottom...or being suspended a foot or so off the bottom...and fishing with an open bail to allow them to move off with the bait.
If you put "ice fishing for catfish" in your search engine you can find a few videos that show how others fish for cats around the country under the ice.  "In Fisherman" has had a couple of segments on that if you can find them.
Another thing I can reckymember is that winter cats sometimes tend to hang out near each other...in loose schools.  So whenever you score one cat, your chances of getting one or more others seems to be greater.  But there's always the search for that first one.
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#17
Great info there Pat, and it sounds like I'm basically doing the right things, if I can find them...  Sounded like dead sticking may be the better option for cats under the ice if I read correctly through your comments... I've been using a jig/flig combo tandem set up for perch that has done fairly well... Sounds like it might work for the cats as well... So I'll try that next trip and put it on my bait feeder reel/ rod.  Thanks again Pat.... Later Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#18
(01-14-2021, 08:27 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: Great info there Pat, and it sounds like I'm basically doing the right things, if I can find them...  Sounded like dead sticking may be the better option for cats under the ice if I read correctly through your comments... I've been using a jig/flig combo tandem set up for perch that has done fairly well... Sounds like it might work for the cats as well... So I'll try that next trip and put it on my bait feeder reel/ rod.  Thanks again Pat.... Later Jeff
One more observation I forgot to add.  Most of the bites from ice cats are definitely not like they hit in the summer...grab and go.  On an ice rod a lot of the cat bites I have had are no more than from a sneaky little perch...peck - peck.  And a lot of them are not a real bite as much as just taking hold and sinking slowly back down to the bottom...pulling the rod tip slowly and steadily down.  Weird.

On a couple of the videos I watched a while back I noticed the same thing.  They were rigging with a brightly colored float on the line...between the guides.  They allowed it to settle down when the rod was set.  Then, when a cat came calling the colored float would slowly pull up as the line tightened.

So I guess what I am saying is that you gotta pay attention as much or more as you would for any finicky biting fish.  Don't wait for a smashing strike.
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