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Fished Strawberry this afternoon,from 1:30 until 4:30.Caught lots of fish,several 20"+. Strawberry is coming back like it was in early 1990's!Used 3' white tube jigs and 1/4 jig heads.The fish seemed to be deep.
A storm came up with lightning strikes,so I got off.I heard on the news tonight that a fisherman was struck with lightning and killed a Solder creek loading his boat!!
Mike
'30
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Nice report Mike, it sure is amazing how fast the fishing improves when the number of people fishing a lake is cut in half. Next year should be even better if we don't get too many people ice fishing this winter. What does the 30 at the bottom of your post mean? WH2
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It must be like the '33 on the back of the rolling rock beer bottle!!! No one really knows what it stands for [cool]
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Thanks for the report. This is my favorite time of the year to fish. It is good to see a fishing report.
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[#000080][size 2]Where did you get the report? I've had near strike experiences at the "Berry" too. Just wondering...[/size][/#000080]
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Thanks for the report FC! Glad to hear you made it off the lake in one piece. I heard the same story about the guy at soldier. What a tragedy[unsure]
It is rather exciting news about the comeback the fish are making up there. Thanks for sharing ]
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They guy killed was a person my mom worked with for 10 years at Hinckley Dodge. He was GM for the service department and he had just retired a short 3 months ago. Man, isnt retirement supposed to be a time to relax and go fishing alot???? Not get struck by lightning, where is the justice????
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WH2-Last winter I saw very few people icefishing.The '30 at the bottom of my post is a very secret code (or I made a typ[crazy]ing error)
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Polokid-The thought entered my mind as I hurried off the lake,that getting struck by lighting and killed could sure cut into my fishing time.Sorry for the guy that got killed,try to value your time in this world every day.
FC
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I gotta chime in on this one. I always wonder what the guys who only fish the soft water are thinking when it comes to persecution of guys who dabble on the Hard Water. Do you really think that there are THAT many folks on the water when it's frozen? I hear my grandpa making the same argument that Ice Fishermen are killing Strawberry, and that we should go back to when there was a memorial day openner on that lake to protect the fishery.
I can't imagine a lip-hooked fish caught jigging through the ice is anymore injured than a gill hooked or gut hooked fish caught on a marble sized chunk of power bait (not that I'm a purist, if powerbait is working, use it). Fish will bleed much slower in the cold winter water, and have a much higher chance for survival once returned to the water. I just can't see the limited number of icefishing dudes putting that much pressure on them.
I think that the bigger threat to Strawberry and any other fishery in this state is not the icefisherdudes or the flyfisherdudes, or the baitfisherdudes, or dudes in boats, or anyone class of folks, but rather the folks that think a slot limit means that you keep all fish qualifying to be kept. The old limit would have worked fine n the berry if folks didn't say "OK, we've got one at 18 1/2 inches, that's a keeper, now all we need is three under 18". A 4-fish limit doesn't mean keep 4 fish unless you need them. A 4 non-cutthroat trout limit doesn't mean keep all rainbows and salmon you catch either, but that's what that lake has come to. That is why the limit was adjusted, not because the ice fishermen were putting too much pressure on them. No offense WH2, I love reading your posts, and you have the same opinion that a lot of folks have on this issue, I just don't agree with it.
Fisch R. Mann
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Dude, don't read anything into my post, I'm a ice fisherman too. All that I'm saying is the fish will do better with fewer people fishing for them and keeping them. Last winter there were fewer people fishing the Berry and I think it was the new regs that made people change their mind about going there. I'm a 90% catch & release fisherman, the fish I keep the most are walleye and kokanee, most trout go back in the lake unless they are bleeding. I think the new regs are the best thing that could have happened to the Berry and as long as the people that catch and keep, don't over harvest like they have in the past the fish will grow to a large size once again. The fact that Fishcrazy and others are reporting bigger fish is proof that less people are keeping the fish and if that continues until next spring or summer there will once again be the big fish in Strawberry that we all remember. I think we are all looking forward to that day and I hope that is something we can agree on. WH2
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I see your point about the decreased pressure, and agree with that. But I also think that it has been a good lake in the past with tons of pressure. Unforutuately, like you said, it can't sustain fish populations with as much pressure as it gets all the time. I think that I agree with you that the new regs have resulted in fewer folks fishing the Berry in the winter and summer, which means fewer fish coming out of the lake, and more growing to be over 20 inches. I am encouraged by the fishing report and am anxious to give i a try. I have to admit, it's hard to let those tasty walleye go (gotta love them walleye on th other lakes). I just tried them this year and love them. Anyway, I didn't want you to think I was slamming you on the ice fishing issue. Like I said, I love your posts, I just don't see ice fishing as the problem. I hope that when others find out that the lake is producing in good numbers again that they all don't come out to claim their 4 fish every day like they have. Take care WH2!
Fisch R. Mann
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I wish they would move the slot to 4 Kokes and no trout under 25". Now that would make a fishery. Too bad everyone doesn't see it the same. That way even if they kept a bunch in the slot at least you would have fun catching 20"+ fish all day that you let go. It would make for some great pictures with my kids. I beleive one fish over 25 in a day should satisfy most anyone. It would be considered the fish of a lifetime for more than %50 of the trout fisherman in Utah.
tightline.
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FischRMann-I'm a avid icefisher,didn't mean anything but that the pressure on the Berry was down last winter.
FC
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Yeah, I agree Fishcrazy that the pressure decreased ice fishing, but i think that it also decreased on the soft water. I think that the decreased icefishing pressure is a direct function of both the rule change and people's spotty success last year and early this year. The times I as out there ice fishing this season, there were probably 1/2 to 1/3 the total people I've seen in the past. The times I've hit it on the warmer water days, the same thing was true, even on weekend days there were only about half the people from comparable weekends the year before. I think that the decreased pressure all year and the new slot has resulted in the bigger fish being caught this fall. Can't wait to get up there to see it for myself! Great point Fishcrazy. Take care!
Fisch R. Mann
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I think some people are upset to have to pay the $ to park in the winter. Actually, I'm glad to pay to get places plowed to park and have reasonably good access. It seems the ice fishermen use more jigs, ice flies and the like that are not swallowed by the fish; therefore, less damage. And, personally I think it takes more finesse to get a 7" girth fish through an 8" diameter hole in the ice than to run around a boat or drag one in from shore. Just one man's opinion.[angelic]
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I agree,in the "old days" you better have a 4x4 and if you parked on the Hi-way you got a ticket!Have to give old Doug Miller some credit on that one.
FC
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