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Fish Cisco on Saturday...seven of us in pontoons from about 4am until 10am... and we came away with a big ZERO between us.
It was windy and there were lots of waves. The water clarity was bad for Bear Lake, and of course there was no moon. I don't know how many of these things were a factor...
Did anyone else fish BL this weekend? How did you do???
...p.s.
Are the lack of posts about Bear Lake this year the result of fishing being not a good this year as last year?
Brent
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850]Stout,
The last couple of years have been slow for me at Bear Lake. But my first trip (and only so far) this season was much better. I suspect that the fact that the mack spawn is in progress right now has an effect. Some say that the mack spawn slows catching down while others say the macks are more aggressive during the spawn.
I suspect that someone who is good at locating spawning macks and good at presentation would do just fine.
But, I expect that by mid November, you will start seeing plenty of Bear Lake reports showing up.
Till then, I may just run up there and do some jigging during the spawn to see which side of the “mack fishing during the spawn” controversy I stand. [/#002850][/size][/font]
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Stout,
I met one of you "pontooners". I was in the boat. We didn't fare much better. I ended up with a 20" cut and that was it. Oh well....
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That was me in the blue pontoon. It was good to meet you.
Thanks for the validation Old_Coot. I guess I just need to be a little more patient...and try again in a few weeks.
Being that I'm flyfishing...I have to wait until they come in shallow before I stand a chance.
Thanks all,
Brent
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I guess I just need to be a little more patient...and try again in a few weeks.
Being that I'm flyfishing...I have to wait until they come in shallow before I stand a chance.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850]The spawn in on right now and in a few weeks they will be heading back down deep where they spend most of their life. So, if shallow macks is your preference, I suggest you go soon. I've heard that wolly buggers can get their attention early in the morning before sunup.[/#002850][/font][/size]
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i talked to a fly chucker a couple of years ago that was killing them on the marina rocks (the northeast corner), he was using white zonkers on full sink line bout this time of the year. sounded fun but i hate cleaning ice from stripping streamers, i'd rather jig'em up. fished today and got a few, thanks blm for the chat and jigs-mm
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Wiperslayer and I were up there Saturday as well, we caught three cutts with the largest being 20 inches. You should have stayed a little longer, the wind calmed down around 10am. Some days are better than others but during the spawn the catching can be as goods as it gets, you just have to hit it on the right day. WH2
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#002850]The spawn in on right now and in a few weeks they will be heading back down deep[/#002850][/font] [/quote]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]From what I've seen, if the spawn is in full swing on BL, than the lake trout population is in big trouble. The numbers of fish that usually inhabit the rock pile during the spawn are way down. I've been on the pile for three straight weeks now and the fish have not moved into the pile in any significant numbers. In fact, it's pretty piss poor. I hope that they are just late in coming this year.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]MACMAN, It was good seeing you too and chatting. It was a good break from the tremendous fishing! LOL![/size][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I, along with others, will be up there this week helping the DWR with their gillnet survey. I think research is needed to manage the lake properly and personally knowing the fisheries biologist, he takes his job very seriously.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]You want to talk carnage? Go out to the dikes of the state park marina some night or early morning during the mack spawn and see the snagged macks coming out of there. Almost every fish taken off those dikes is snagged and kept but then again, how many snaggers are catch and release type of individuals? Some of the fish will strike but not very often. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Flaming Gorge, at least, shuts down the spawning beds from dusk till dawn. At Bear Lake, the lakers are allowed to be harvested when they are most vulnerable and most of the time, through illegal means. You've heard it before "Use big spoons off the state park marina dikes during the mack spawn for best results".[/size][/black][/font]
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I truthly wasn't passing judgement. Just pointing out what might be responsible for a slow year. I do, however, sometimes question research for the sake of research. I truly want to read all the reports this work generates (The effectiveness of deep-water gillnetting.....) . It would also be interesting to know who's funding it. It's very intersting to speculate what might come of the findings. Are macks displacing native cutthoughts on the rock piles?? Hum!! Doesn't bode well for the future of the Mackinaw fishery. Yellowstone style gill netting here we come. Yea I'm just speculating and ranting and raving. Probably would be best for the ecosystem to get rid of all those introduced species.
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Copro, let me try to help you with the function of gill netting macks or any other species. They are simply taking a look at the population. Is it increasing or decreasing? What condition are the fish in. That is the same kind of information they are collecting at the deer checking stations. One of the things you need to be aware of with macks at Bear lake is they are the result of a fish stocking program. The macks in the lake seem to have little if any success reproducing because most of their eggs are eaten before they can hatch. The macks they are stocking now are triploid and can't reproduce. The macks at fish lake and the gorge do a good job of keeping the lake stocked on their own. A good question for BLM to ask the biologist this week is if they are sterile do they still go through the spawning activities. If not then they wouldn't have a reason to gather at the rock pile. Hopefully if the numbers are down after the drought years maybe they will stock more macks in the future. It depends on the information they collect with the gill nets.
It is unfortunate that they can't find a way to sample the fish without killing them. gshorthair
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[size 1]A good question for BLM to ask the biologist this week is if they are sterile do they still go through the spawning activities. [/size]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I will ask the question but I know that a lot of sterile fish will go thru a "false" spawn. I guess the instinct to reproduce is very strong and they'll go thru the motions even though it's pretty much invane.[/size][/black][/font]
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We spent Friday morning before dawn till about 1:00 at the Bear. Saw a lot of fish on Cisco but they were 100 feet deep. There were plenty on the rock pile but we trolled through them over and over. There were 3 and 4 foot waves. She was raining off and on and a rough day on the Bear. Caught only 1 mack, a nice one for Bear lake but poor fishing. The last time we fished the same weekend and caught 13. What a difference a year makes. One guy in the marina said he had checked the rock pile the week before and didn't see any fish. We saw plenty of fish, in fact a lot of them were around the flats near the pile. Go figure.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I guess it depends on what you consider a lot of fish on the pile. It a subjective call. In my opinion, the fish are not there that have been in years past. You could always depend on the pile being cover 3-4 foot deep in spawning macks. You're lucky to find a few pods of fish here and there now. I plan on trying it again tomorrow if the weather will ease up in the afternoon.[/size][/black][/font]
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how many big fish were killed. They had at least 4 or five nets set on the rock pile the weekend I was down there. Watching them in binoculars revealed quite a bit of carnage in the name of research??? Sometimes its worth it others times it just another way to get research dollars or another student a thesis. I guess we'll have to read the report when it come out.