Strawberry From Shore

[LOAH]

This week, the cooling trend of late had me wondering about Strawberry Reservoir. The trout are known to stay in deeper water while the summer sizzles, but they really hug the shorelines in the fall. Needing a trip within an hour or so from home, it fit the bill nicely and I was off.

Normally from shore at Strawberry, the action is slow, yielding only one or two fish per hour, if that. A few times in the past, I've been able to find a good school and follow it while catching a handful of dinks, but my usual Berry experience is full of casting, waiting, casting, and more casting with an occasional fish coming in.

The fish are usually pretty long and it's almost a sure thing to get into some 20+ inch cutthroat, but to find the slot buster is not as common for this bank tangler.

This trip would be slightly more productive than most others, in terms of catching quantity, but I failed to find a slot buster this time out. A couple of fish came close, but it just wasn't meant to be. Still a fun day though.

Here are some pics:



This snake was my longest fish of the day. 21.5", but skinny and kind of roughed up. A good percentage of these fish have been caught before.



My first stop was the bay just north of Pine Hollow. Parking on top and hiking down to the rocky areas, it wasn't long until some fish were thrashing on the end of my line. Plenty of structure to work around here.

My second stop was the cliff area near the dam. I found some fish there too.









This one went over 20", but it wouldn't stretch out to the mark on my rod.



These Bear Lake (strain) Cutthroat have some teeth. I've cut my finger many times while handling them.









So it wasn't a spectacular day, but I have to say that I'm pretty satisfied with the catching, as compared to most outings I have at the Berry. The fish are pretty close to shore right now and fishing points is a sure way to find schools passing through.

Happy Fishing, Humans.
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[UintaIce]

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing the photos.
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[lavaman]

Strawberry has some of the prettiest trout anywhere. Love the pics, thanks for sharing.
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[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

Nice work LOAH...those are some beautiful fish in your hands. Strawberry is one of those places where it is either good or bad from shore...looks like you got into one of those good days. Nice to see the trout are cruzing the shores again. Might have to convince my twin this fall to get up there and chase some big trout.
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[TyeDyeTwins]

Glad to hear you found some trout LOAH. Looked like a great day to me at the berry. Did you play in the river below the dam at all? Those cutts sure do have some teeth. I have never cuaght more than 4 fish outta there so good on ya pal! Now that my knee is getting better I might be able to have a better time and fish some new and better spots this fall. I have been waiting for a shore trip report on the berry, thanks for the post.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Very nice. It's fish like that those that make one understand why so many lures are effective with SPOTS on 'em.

Don't suppose you ever get into Kokanee from shore there? Maybe during a spawning move?

Sounds like a fun trip. Bet a 20incher puts up a good wrastle!

[LOAH]

I've never hooked a kokanee there, but I've seen a few glowing red ones in the fall. Even got some underwater video of one swimming next to shore a couple of years ago.

Honestly, most of the cutts there aren't much of a tug. Not until they get close to your feet, at least. They hardly fight until they see you or feel your hand, then it's a mad dash for them.

The rainbows are much better fighters in Strawberry.

Another thing I've noticed from the slot sized cutts is that they're usually pretty snakey. Long and skinny. Once they hit that magic 22" though, they really put on weight and start growing into their long frame.
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