Winter Bass Fishing in Sunny St. George

Fishing Time: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Weather:  Perfect, no wind, T-60

Moon Phase:  89% Moon

Location:  Sand Hollow

Water Temp:  43-44 degrees

Bait:  ¼ oz jig or drop-shot rigged with 3-inch plastics (sweet beaver)

Who Went:  Rick, Bobber John, Greg Giacomazza (guide), Me

Last year’s Lake Powell trip spurred some questions about this year’s upcoming trip.  Due to the low water levels experienced at Lake Powell last year and another low precipitation year looming, talks started about moving the spring trip to the St. George area to fish a few of the bass lakes in that part of the state instead.  We started doing a little research to see if it was really worth replacing our most anticipated trip of the year (Lake Powell), and fish lakes we have no prior experience fishing.  After a bit of digging I was searching the internet and ran across a fishing guide in St. George that has 8 years experience fishing the three main reservoirs (Sand Hollow, Quail Creek, and Gunlock) that have peaked our interest.

On a whim I decided to email this fishing guide to ask him a few basic questions about these lakes and what the fishing is like during the spring spawn.  Never did I expect him to give me any information without booking his services first, but I figured worst case was he doesn’t respond to the email.  Within ten minutes after sending the email, my phone rang and Greg Giacomazza (guide) was on the other end of the phone giving me extensive details about each lake and how to fish them.  Greg went on to answer all of my questions and we talked for a half hour covering all three lakes.  Then Greg made the statement that sold me…  He said, “Chris, it sounds like you already know how to bass fish, but you realize your time is limited to learn and pattern these lakes with your busy work schedule and young kids.  Is this correct?” I said “Yes you’re exactly right.”  Then he went on to say, “If you were to book me for just ONE trip, I will show you everything there is to know about each lake and you will immediately be able to come down here any time of the year with your family and friends and catch fish.” 

He had me hook, line, and sinker.  I do realize that I don’t have the time to drive 4 hours to St. George and spend enough time on the water to learn these lakes, so this would be one day of sacrifice for 8 years of his fishing knowledge.

 

Two days later our planned ice fishing trip to Yuba turned into a guided trip on Sand Hollow with Greg.   Unfortunately we were unable to launch on Quail Creek because the winter hours had the reservoir closed, but Greg marked up a map for us with all the information we should need to get on fish.  At Sand Hollow Greg gave us a boating tour of the entire lake while I entered GPS points straight onto my fish finder.  I asked him questions throughout the day about Gunlock reservoir just to get a feel for that lake as well.

Of course we couldn’t do a trip without getting our lines wet, so Greg took us to his winter spot and showed us the techniques that he uses to land Sand Hollow bass in January’s 43 degree water temps.  I was amazed at how many fish we saw on the fish finder, but as you would expect with bass in cold conditions, they were tough to persuade into biting.  

We landed nine fish total all in the 2 lb range.  However, the only other guy on the lake today fishing next to us landed a 5 lb 3 oz toad, so they are there and will occasionally bite.

It was definitely worth the trip to learn these lakes and I feel like we gained a new friend with Greg.  He was a truly genuine guy that really wanted to help us out.  He told us to call him every time we come down and he would try to dial us in on the patterns and areas that are producing fish.  You can’t beat that!