First Ice Fishing Trip... Almost a Bust

Fishing Time:  7:00 am to 11:00 am
Weather: Snow blizzard and windy.  (6-10-inches of snow)
Moon Phase: 20% Moon
Location:  Utah Lake
Best Bait:  Marabou jig tipped with earthworm
Who Went:  Bobber John, Dunc

The word was out that Scofield Reservoir has capped with 4-6-inches of ice.  The plan was to beat the crowds and catch hoards of fish still yet to see pressure from the masses.  First ice is always the best.  However, mother nature had other ideas.  I woke up at 5 am to a winter wonderland.  The first snow storm of winter had hit with a vengeance.  There was a couple inches of snow on the ground already, and it continued to come down quickly.  I slowly made my way to Bobber Johns house to pick him up, but as we hit I-15 to head south it quickly came apparent that we weren't making it to Scofield.  Cars were sliding all over the road.  We watched one SUV slam into the freeway barrier.  This storm had no signs of stopping and the plows were just getting started.  By days end there would be 6-10-inches of snow on the ground depending on area.

Luckily we made it to the Provo Boat Harbor unscathed and sat in the dark watching the snow fall until the sun made it's way over the Wasatch Mountains.

The snow was still falling and now the wind was driving it sideways.  We geared up anyway and hit the docks.  There's no ice at Utah lake yet, so we jigged our ice fishing rods around the docks in open water hoping for a white bass or any other species willing to take.  After 20 minutes with no bites we decided it was time to move locations.  We braved the treacherous roads once again and made it to one of our secret inlet spots where the fishing is usually good.

Once there, Bobber slid down the hill on his butt to the shoreline and on his first cast he landed a little largemouth bass.

I slid down to fish next to him and we continued to catch a mixed bag of largemouth, bluegill, and white bass.  I caught one decent white bass and Bobber landed the fish of the day with a chunky largemouth bass.

It's nice to have a secret location in your back pocket when the first planned ice fishing trip of the year goes badly.