Deep Freeze on the Bear River

Fishing Time: 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Weather: Snow, no wind, high teens
Moon Phase: 71% Moon
Location: Bear River
Bait: Spinners, rapalas, swimbaits, tube jigs, streamers, glow bugs
Who Went: Rick, Josh, MeRick called me and wanted to hit the Bear River as a last ditch effort to catch some big browns this year. He’s been there twice already during the spawn, but with the overwhelming flows on the rivers this year, both times he went were a bust. The flows were 3 times greater than average this fall and he said the river was high, fast, and really muddy both times he went. The rivers have finally settled down for the year, so we gave it a shot. It was snowing during our drive up and the high for the day was in the teens. With no wind it wasn’t too bad, but the river was feeling the cold and had almost completely iced over! The areas that had moving water looked good, but we never did see a fish.One of Ricks fishing buddies, Josh, came with us and even though the fishing was miserable, the trip was fun as usual with good talk and a lot of laughs! Hopefully we don’t get pounded by snow this winter and can actually fish some rivers next year. 2011 was crazy! The Great Salt Lake rose over 5 feet in 2011, which is a record, but just one of the many records that were broke this year. Don’t get me wrong, we need the water and I’m glad the lakes are full, but we could have spread it out over a few years instead of getting it all in one. It’s time to start looking forward to ice fishing.