UDWR Bear Lake fishing AND conditions report for March 3-4, 2007

[BearLakeFishGuy]

[/url][font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Bear Lake Report for Friday, March 02, 2007:[/size][/font][/url]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][font "Verdana"][size 2]T[/size][/font]he ice thickness on Bear Lake is 12-15” thick. There is at least 10” of new snow on top of the ice at this time. Access to the lake is excellent for snowmobiles and 4-wheel drive four wheelers. It is actually deep enough to get stuck with only a 2 wheel drive four wheeler. This week we also saw a couple of pickup trucks out on the ice fishing the rockpile!! Although the ice is thick enough to support a vehicle, it is not recommended due to weak spots caused by methane gas vents and springs. Tempertures during a few nights this week have been well below zero! The whitefish fishing has been good-excellent this past week. Bear Lake whitefish are spawning and the larger Bonneville whitefish are feeding on their eggs. Try fishing off the new rockpiles north of the marina, the Rockpile off Ideal Beach, and the weedbeds south of Gus Rich Point. The weedbeds are in depths of 15-30’ and run parallel to shore. Use small lures such as Swedish Pimples, 1/64 to 1/8oz. jigs, and/or ice flys tipped with a salmon egg or wax worm fished close to bottom. When fishing for the whitefish, several really nice cutthroat trout have also been caught. Overall the cutthroat and lake trout remains fair-good. Lake trout are still being taken in the deeper depths (60-110’) and cutthroat are being taken in depths from 20-90’. Fishing is good just about anywhere on the lake at this time, but the most popular spots this week have been off Gus Rich Point, the public access area in Garden City (150 South Street), Second Point and the Idaho State Park. Use tube jigs or larger Swedish Pimples and Castmaster-type lures tipped with cisco for the cutthroat trout and lake trout. Remember with the new snow many of the open water vent holes and springs could be covered over with drifted snow. Be careful and as an added safety measure, wear a set of ice picks around your neck on the outside of your clothing. The picks will help you to pull yourself out of the water if you should fall through. Remember a Utah license is valid on the Idaho side of Bear Lake, but you may NOT use a second pole when fishing on the Idaho side of the lake. [/size][/font][size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The GPS coordinates for the new rockpiles using WGS84 datum going south to north are:[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]41 degrees 58.097’[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]111 degrees 23.682’[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]41 degrees 58.187’[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]111 degrees 23.728’[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]41 degrees 58.292’[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]111 degrees 23.765’[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]41 degrees 58.418’[/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]111 degrees 23.798’[/font][/size]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]The latest fishing report is also available on line at: [/size][/font][url "http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots/detailed.php?id=1"][size 3][#800080][font "Times New Roman"]http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots/detailed.php?id=1[/font][/#800080][/size][/url]
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[tlspyder13]

Hey thanks for the report. Hope to hit Bear Lake for the first time Tuesday with lunkerhunter2 and Out4aFloat. Any color tube jigs better then another? I'm guessing we will be going after Macs. I'm just going to relax and learn about a new water. They need bigger fish for the ice fishing contest.
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[Kent]

Sounds like a little bribery of the judge to me.[]
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[JoyRide]

A friend of mine cut close in going around Gus's point on a snowmobile and durn near ran into open water. There is a gas bubble up there so watch for it.
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[tlspyder13]

You would think wouldn't you. Last time I fished on the same lake as them I only caught 1 fish and it wasn't much bigger then the Rapala I was using.[crazy]
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[lunkerhunter2]

You watch, you will catch the fish me and your brother have been trying to catch since the contest started.[mad]
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[Out4aFloat]

Give spyder the most information you can and he will stress himself out and catch nothing. Tell him nothing and he will catch fish using all the wrong gear all day long.

Good news is that I want size not quantity. And I usually can at least do that when fishing new water.

Lookin forward to Bear Lake
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[fishOn1]

Thanks scott for info, that big blue has been fishing great, have caught some nice size macks and this weekend got some good cutts 1 went 6lb, i can not believe the size of the macks this year and how healthy they are, we have on average caught 24" to 27" macks with a couple of bonus sized ones 2- 30" and 1- 33" but they all are fat and healthy and still swimming!!!!!!!!! Those who dont believe there are fish over 20 lbs in old Bear should of seen the one that a friend of mine lost below the hole about 8' down, from gauging it on the ice where we marked it by sight was close to 34" had to be a 20 lb + he was sure bumbed after fighting it for 20 min. on 8 lb test before snapping off. We have been up every week end since the sisco disco, best year yet for the MACK ATTACK, You guys are doing great on this lake keep up the excellent work.
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[wiperhunter2]

Those big macks at Bear lake are very deceiving, it usually takes a very old fish or one that grows fast to get the length needed to weight 20 lbs. I don't think a 34 inch mack from bear lake could weigh any where near twenty pounds. Just to show you what a 35 in bear lake mack looks like I'll attach this picture of a 15 pounder that was caught last fall. No matter how big the fish was, I'm sure it was very exciting to see it that close to the hole, those big macks are a blast to catch. Sounds like you guys have had a great ice fishing season at the Bear, thanks for sharing. WH2
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[goindeep]

How about fishing the Utah side of Bear Lake with my Idaho licence and a second pole permit.
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[Fishrmn]

A second pole permit is a 365-day permit, but you must also have an
unexpired one-day, seven-day or 365-day Utah fishing or combination license in order to use it (a second pole permit is not valid unless it’s accompanied by a valid fishing or combination license). Only the person to whom the second pole permit is issued can use the permit. Utah Admin. Code R657-13-9


If you have a valid Utah resident or nonresident fishing or combination
license, or a valid Idaho resident or nonresident fishing or combination license, you can fish anywhere on Bear Lake that’s open to fishing.

That's what the Utah Fishing Guide says. And below, is what the Idaho Fishing Regulations say.

Bear Lake: The holder of a valid Idaho or Utah fishing license
may fish all of Bear Lake EXCEPT in areas CLOSED to all
fishing by the respective states. Anglers are subject to the rules
and regulations of the state in which they are fishing.

Two-Pole Validation: A person who has a valid resident or
nonresident fishing license may purchase a two-pole validation.
This validation authorizes the license holder to use two poles or
rods at the same time on waters and during seasons specified
by Commission Rule. Valid for all fish including salmon and
steelhead.

BEAR LAKE Not more than 2 baited hooks,
flies or lures per line.
One line only when ice fishing.

I don't know why Idaho would only allow one pole for icefishing. But I can't see why you couldn't use an Idaho license with a validation for a second pole at Bear Lake. Utahns are allowed to use two poles with a valid license and a second pole permit. Maybe someone knows more about it than I do, but that's the way it reads to me.