No Ice at Flaming Gorge... Wheres My Boat?

Fishing Time:  January 16 to 18

Weather:  Partly cloudy, breezy cold mornings, calm warm afternoons, T-40s

Moon Phase: 11% Moon

Location:  Flaming Gorge Reservoir

Best Baits:  Rainbow pattern tube jigs

Who Went:  Bobber John, Rick, Dunc

Typically this time of year we are planning an ice fishing trip to Flaming Gorge, but this year there was no ice to be found, so the plans had to change.  We thought about going somewhere else and ice fishing some different lakes, but the allure of the almighty lake trout was too strong to resist.  Not a big deal, I loaded up my boat and away we went.  Bobber John and I arrived Thursday night to the luxurious (kidding) Flaming Gorge Inn Motel and set up home base for the next three days.  It’s not the Ritz Carlton, but it worked out fine for a couple hardcore mack fishermen. 

FRIDAY:  The alarm went off early and we were on the lake before the sun came up.  The temperature was 25 degrees, which is actually warm for this time of year, but driving the boat across the big lake was a bit cold to say the least.  

We ran through a few of our best areas before making a decision on where to fish.  We found a good area showing quite a few fish on the bottom and went to work. 

It was Bobber John's day to shine, which seems to happen a lot for the “lake trout whisperer” as he put on a clinic landing four nice lake trout with one going over 20 pounds.  I struggled, which also seems to happen a lot, as I couldn’t seem to stick a hook set to save my life.  We both had many bites that ended with a swing and a miss and a few that made it half way to the boat.  Despite my hook up struggles I was encouraged at how active the fish were and it fueled my excitement for the next day.

SATURDAY:  Same story different day, only this time I got in on a little of the action.  The fish were extremely active and interested in our jigs (not usually the case).  John hooked up on the first drop of the day, but was so cold that he could barely reel the fish in.  After handling the fish to get it out of the net my hands were frozen solid as well.  I snapped a few quick photos then threw my phone on the floor and winced in pain.  This is what a frozen Bobber John looks like holding a 20 pound lake trout...  I think his mouth stayed that way for another 20 minutes.  

We enjoyed the early success, but tried not to take it for granted.  We both know how difficult these fish are to catch and when you find a day that they actually bite, you bow to the fishing gods and give thanks immediately!  We tried a few different areas and it felt like if you found fish you could usually coax a few bites.  

It was a good day to be lake trout fishing.  We ended the day with two fish over 20 pounds and some smaller fish between 5 to 10 pounds to fill the gaps.  Again we missed quite a few hook sets, but overall it was a very successful day.

SUNDAY:  After seeing all the photos of our success, Rick decided to make the long journey up from SLC and met us at our motel Sunday morning.  Rick has struggled to land big lake trout (join the club) and was anxious to get in on the recent success.  We hit the water in the dark ensuring we made it to our best spot before the sun was up.  After the first few drops with our jigs, Bobber John and I both looked at each other with the “ah oh” look.  The fish were not being active like the previous two days of fishing.  We tried to keep it together for Rick, but we both knew it wasn’t looking good. 

Rick managed a couple bites, but no big fish were landed.  It seemed it was the fishing god’s way of letting us all know that as soon as you think you have lake trout figured out, he lowers the hammer and puts you back in your place!  The last day ended with the two smallest lake trout of the trip in the boat, and I felt really bad Rick went to all the trouble of driving up, but hey, that’s lake trout fishing.  

To make matters worse, we went to the local bar in town after fishing to watch the Green Bay Packers play the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC championship and a shot to play in the Super Bowl.  Rick is a diehard Packers fan.  The Packers blew a 16 to 0 half time lead in one of the most crazy comeback games I have ever seen.  Needless to say… between the snub from lake trout, and the turnout of the game, it must have been a long 3 hour drive home alone for Rick.  

You can check out all the action from the trip on my YouTube channel...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y34BS2V9GY 

First Ice at Pineview and Walking on Water at Willard

Fishing Time:  Pineview- 8:00 to 11:30 pm, Willard Bay- 12:30 to 3:30 pm

Weather:  clear, no wind, T-40s

Moon Phase:  98%  Moon

Location:  Pineview/Willard Bay

Best Baits:  Small spoons tipped with meal worm

Who Went:  Bobber John, Me

The recent urge to ice fish has been strong, but the warm weather has made it tough to find a lake that’s capped with any ice.  Bobber John and I had this epic plan to catch a Tiger Musky through the ice at Pineview Reservoir this winter.  This isn’t a new idea, but one that has been revisited many times by me and my buddies, but has yet to produce a musky.  I’ve seen photos and heard the stories of it actually happening, but it’s usually a fisherman that lucks into one while ice fishing for perch.  Either way, Bobber John and I decided that we would take a chance knowing the odds were against us.

We were pleasantly surprised on arrival as the entire lake was capped with what looked to be safe ice.  After a quick check with the ice bar we began our hike on 4 to 5 inches of ice around the point towards the narrows.  We set up shop in 15 feet of water where we dropped a couple tip ups down with an anchovy attached.  Then we proceeded to deeper water to try our luck for perch and crappie.

The tip ups never budged the entire morning (surprise) and the perch were even hard to find.  Usually you can’t keep the little perch and crappie off at Pineview, but not today.  We didn’t last long before our impatient fishing minds began wandering and thinking about somewhere else to go.

We finally made a decision and packed up our gear and headed down the canyon.  We ended up going to Willard Bay to see if we could drag a wiper onto the ice (why do we punish ourselves). Once we were at the lake we quickly realized it had not been frozen very long.  There were only a couple holes drilled in the marina and the ice outside of the marina was 3-inches of crystal clear ice.  It felt like we were walking on water as we made our way out onto the main body of water.  We followed the GPS on my fish finder until we were sitting over a hump that treated us well the previous year fishing from my boat.

The fish finder immediately started showing fish on the bottom, but getting them to bite was a different story.  I finally hooked into the mystery fish only to find out it was a big fat 11-inch perch. The bite never did turn on much, but they were nice perch to say the least.  It was pretty cool being one of the first ones on the ice at Willard Bay, and the chunky perch made the day a success. 

The Kids First Ice Fishing Trip

Fishing Time:  3:30 to 5:30 pm

Weather:  Cold, clear, T-30s

Moon Phase:  94% Moon

Location:  Utah Lake (Pelican Bay Harbor)

Bait:  Ice flies tipped with meal worm

Who Went:  Devin, Addison, Dayton, Cari, Me

I had some time off work over the holidays and I promised the kids I would take them ice fishing.  I could see the wheels turning in there heads as I talked to them about how we would use a hand auger to drill through the ice covered lake so that we could drop our fishing lines down to the bottom. Their imaginations ran wild with the whole idea and they had to see it to believe it.   

The weather has been unbelievably warm this winter and I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep my promise to the kids.  Finally a cold snap settled in the week after Christmas and some of the nearby lakes gave in and iced over.

  

I figured Utah Lake would be the best place to take the kids if for any other reason its close to home and if they got cold we could leave without much hassle.  Cari and I bundled them up and headed to Pelican Bay Harbor on the west side of Utah Lake.  

We first tried drilling a few holes in an area with no snow, but the kids kept slipping and couldn't seem to stay upright, so we moved to an area covered with snow.  I popped three holes as the kids watched with amazement.  

Devin and Addi picked their holes and started fishing, but Dayton still wasn't sure about the whole idea.  He was pretty happy cozying up with mom and staying warm.

The two oldest dedicated themselves to fishing for a whopping 15-20 minutes before I started to lose them.  Not catching fish wasn't helping.  The sled I brought from home soon became a bigger hit than the fishing.  As I pulled Dev and Addi around on the slick ice, Cari and Dayton tried their hands at fishing for a bit. 

They didn't have any luck either and with the sun going down and an early moon popping over Mount Timpanogos the temperatures dropped dramatically and it was time to find some hot chocolate and get warm. 

Great Way to End the Boating Year

Fishing Time:  8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Weather:  partly cloudy, calm wind all day, T-40s

Moon Phase:  42% Moon

Location:  Strawberry Reservoir

Best Bait:  White tube jig tipped with worm

Who Went:  Rick, Bobber John, Dunc

It’s been unusually warm this fall and it made for the warmest late November day on the water at Strawberry I can remember.  No wind and warm sun didn’t hurt my feelings and it didn’t hurt the fishing either.  We got off to a quick start at Haws Point and stayed there most of the morning.  It was a mixed bag all day with rainbows and cutthroats.  No cuts were over the slot limit, but we did land some very nice chunky rainbows.  The fishing was so fast I failed to take enough photos. 

Late morning we started to move around covering more water.  Some areas were productive with other areas producing only a few fish.  We ended the day with over 60 fish in the boat between the three of us. It was a great way to finish out the year from the boat.

On the way home the car in front of us hit a deer and we didn't have time to swerve as the carcass was left in the middle of the road.  Rick had no choice but to drive right over the top.  We heard the first thud as it went under the jeep and a second thud as it drilled the lower axle of the boat trailer.  The boat and trailer took the brunt of the damage.  We made a stop at the car wash near my house to clean off the carnage. 

Just a Little More Daylight

Fishing Time:  Dusk to dark
Weather:  Clear, calm, T-50s
Moon Phase:  New Moon
Location:  Hams Fork River/Lake Viva Naughton
Best Bait:  Hams Fork- glow bug (egg pattern), Viva Naughton- brown/green renegade
Who Went:  Dunc

I spent the week working in Kemmerer, Wyoming and tried to get out and fish as much as possible with the very limited daylight I had after work.  I just purchased a new Reddington 6 weight (moderate action) fly rod and I was anxious to try it out. 

The first night I literally had about 15 minutes of daylight to fish, so I skipped the river and went straight to Lake Viva Naughton to get a few casts in before dark.  The fish were rising and I was excited to try the new rod.  I've recently been using an 8 weight fast action rod at the Bear River for those big bruiser browns and it took me awhile to get used to the lighter weight moderate action Reddington rod.  I was struggling to get any distance and I needed more distance to reach the rising trout.  Right before dark I hooked up with the only fish of the night, but it was a beautiful 18-inch rainbow that fought me into dark.  It was a good way to break in the new rod.

I only made it out one more night with daylight to spare.  This time I had about an hour and a half of daylight and I strung up the fly rod at work before I left so I was ready to roll as soon as I hit the river.  I started making my way up the Hams Fork hitting all the best looking spots.  I was throwing the same glow bug (egg pattern) that I use at the Bear River in hopes of finding a big Hams Fork spawning brown trout. 

I worked as much river as I could before dark with nothing to show for it, but as I was walking back towards the truck I saw a deep hole that caught my attention.  I let the glow bug drift through the deep hole, but had no signs from my indicator so I pulled the rod tip back to make another cast, and it was fish on!  Never had that happen, and after a few seconds it popped off.  I was totally bummed. 

I casted into the deep hole again and this time I saw my indicator go under and I set the hook on a nice little rainbow.  Man those rainbows fight.  Very fun on a fly rod.  I was able to pull two more carbon copy bows from the same drift before darkness overtook me and I could no longer see my indicator.  No big browns from the Hams Fork, but the rainbows made the night a success.

The Hunt for Big Brown Trout

Fishing Time:  8:30 to 2:30 PM
Weather:  Partly cloudy, breezy, T-50s
Moon Phase:  79% Moon
Location:  Bear River
Best Baits:  Pale orange glow bugs (egg pattern)
Who Went:  Rick, Bobber John, Dunc

It’s time to chase those spawning browns again on the Bear River.  We arrived to breezy conditions that became windy by noon.  It made it tough with a fly rod, especially for an amateur like me. 

We were a bit early in the spawning process, but there were a few fish starting to fan beds.  We hit all the usual spots with a few early fish giving us the middle finger.  We taunted a couple fish for over an hour, but couldn’t get them to commit.  We finally found one group that wanted to play and Rick was able to trick one into biting and bring it to shore.  You can check out the action on my YouTube Channel...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCimYTZtOyg&feature=youtu.be

 

At the next spot it was my turn to get into the action.  I rigged up a fresh glow bug and on my first cast into a group of about three fish I hooked up with a nice Bear River Brown. 

 

Bobbers tried and true method with the orange jighead with a worm didn’t have any luck this outing.  It was tough fishing, but should only get better as the spawn progresses.

Color Changes at The Berry

Fishing Time:  8:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Weather:  Sunny, clear, no wind, T-70s
Moon Phase:  97%  Moon
Location:  Strawberry Reservoir
Water Temp: 61 degrees
Best Bait:  Tube jig tipped with worm
Who Went:  Bobber John, Dunc

It's fall at Strawberry Reservoir and the leaves are not the only thing changing colors.  The kokanee salmon are in full spawning colors as well. 

A quick check on the strawberry river prior to launching to see if any kokanee salmon have begun spawning came up empty.  We launched the boat in warm weather and moss infested waters.  From past experience I knew this wasn't good.  The lake has yet to turnover and the moss is thick throughout the water column.  This usually makes for tough fishing at the Berry. 

We started fishing just outside the narrows and soon ventured into the narrows with only a few fish to show for it.  Bobber did land one nice picture worthy cutthroat deep inside the narrows. 

We moved to Haws Point only to find fishless water.  We made one more big move over near the mouth of Mud Creek Bay and finally started putting some fish in the boat.  Most were rainbows with a few cutthroat mixed in, but the surprise of the day was when my jig bounced off the bottom in 40 ft of water and got walloped by an unsuspected fish.  As I reeled it in I noticed the bright red color and yelled to Bobber to grab the net.  This was my first kokanee salmon from Strawberry and what a fish it was.  A three and a half pound kokanee salmon in full spawning colors!  It wasn't a long fish, but man was it fat!  I was shocked the fish took a jig.  Must have been a last meal before hitting the river to spawn. 

Scary moment in the morning on our way to Strawberry.  We stopped at a gas station in Heber to grab some breakfast and as I pulled out of the gas station I failed to see this giant sandstone boulder.  The boat trailer slammed into it and I immediately thought the worst.  I looked at Bobber and said, "this is gonna be bad!"  Luckily the axle took the brunt of the hit and no noticeable damage occurred, but a scary moment when you think you have demolished your boat trailer.  First close call in seven years of owning the boat, so I guess I was due.  Lucked out big time!