Bear Lake Cisco Run

Location: Bear Lake

Fishing Time: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Weather: Partly cloudy, Temps: 35-50° F, morning breeze that turned to glass by early afternoon

Moon Phase: 98% Moon

BP: 30.4 Hg – 30.3 Hg

Water Temp: 38 degrees

Best Baits: 1 oz spoons

Who Went: Casey Davies, Dunc

The weather was too nice not take the boat out.  I read some reports saying the cisco run was starting at Bear Lake, which I have never done.  There are two stages to the cisco run.  In the first stage they move onto some rockpiles in approximately 40 ft of water.  About one week later they move to the shorelines.  When they are on the rock pile it is legal to snag them and when they are near the shoreline you can net them.  Some people eat them while others keep them for bait. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while because it’s the best bait you can use up there and we go every September.

I read reports they were just starting to show up on the rock pile. I called my buddy Casey, and we decided to go up and give it a try. Bear Lake Winterfest was happening the same day at the main State Park ramp, so we launched from first point on the East side to stay away from the crowds and other activities.  On arrival there was a strong breeze that slowly moved to glass by afternoon. 

We motored across the lake to the rock pile and were greeted with about 15 other boats.  As I moved towards them the fish finder showed a thick layer of fish along the bottom.  We decided to anchor and started jigging.  After two jigs off the bottom, I was hooked up and caught my first ever cisco.  Soon after Casey caught his first ever cisco.  

It wasn’t fast and furious, but we were also pulling up a bunch of whitefish. Some good-sized ones too!

After filling half a bait bucket with cisco and catching around 20 whitefish, Casey hooked into something even bigger.  After a good fight he brought in a decent cutthroat. Not long after I got on the board with a small cutthroat.  All we needed was a lake trout to hit the Bear Lake grand slam.

Eventually we pulled off the rock pile and decided to troll.  We gave it a couple hours without a bite.  The fish were probably all on the rock pile eating cisco!

By early afternoon we gave jigging a try but didn’t find many fish.  We did have two bites off the bottom in 80 feet but unfortunately neither of us hooked up.  We never caught a lake trout, but what a fun day catching new species and a bunch of whitefish and two cutthroat trout.  This fall when I go up with my family, we will have the best bait to jig for lake trout! Once I got home, I sealed them in zip-locks and tossed them in the deep freezer.

Three-Peat at Flaming Gorge

Location: Flaming Gorge (Day 1 – Sheep Creek Bay, Day 2 – Anvil Draw)

Fishing Time: Saturday – 3 pm to 5 pm, Sunday – 8 am to 3 pm

Weather: first evening was sunny, 45° F, but windy.  Second day was sunny, 48° F, with no wind all day. 

Moon Phase: New Moon

BP: Saturday- 30.28 Hg and steady, Sunday morning - 30.33 Hg, Sunday afternoon – 30.11 Hg

Water Temp: 40° F

Best Baits: River2Sea, 200 Series, Glide Bait (powder color)

Who Went: Chad Fuller, Dunc

With recent success I decided to take one more trip to the Gorge.  My friend Chad, helps me on so many projects at my own house and on our flip houses and has always said I could repay him by taking him to Flaming Gorge to catch a big lake trout.  So, I called him up and we planned a trip.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and the weather was beautiful, so we decided to launch at Sheep Creek Bay for a couple hours.  The wind came up wicked 30 minutes after launch, but it wasn’t cold, so we stayed on the water.

It was sure nice finally having my electronics on this trip.  We found a decent group of fish off a point but never could get them to commit. Towards the end of the day, we found another good group of fish that seemed more active and on the first pass we hooked up. 

See Video Link:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/SDZnYKGzTXCXNV4IPJzwww?sf=1&ref_=APH_SNT77

I laughed watching Chad reel in a big fish.  He kept asking if this was normal and if it should take this long.  I laughed and told him yes, just keep reeling.  He got the fish to the boat a couple times just out of netting distance only for it to go straight back to the bottom.  After sore arms and a good fight, we finally put a net on a beautiful 20-pound lake trout!  Chad was thrilled and it made his night!

The next day we launched further north at Anvil Draw.  I still can’t get over these January temperatures.  We were on the lake at sunup, and I didn’t even put a coat on… so weird!

We fished some areas around the Anvil launch ramp but didn’t see many fish.  We made a big move a bit further north and finally found an area with a bunch of fish.  Unfortunately, the fish seemed to have lock jaw and didn’t seem to be interested in our baits.  It was a bluebird sunny day pushing 50-degrees with zero wind.  It was nice on our bodies but didn’t have the feel of a good fishing day.  Either way we got skunked.  I told my wife it was good I got skunked cause now I think I’m good for a bit and don’t need a 4^th weekend in a row at the Gorge!  It was a good 3-week run with amazing weather and some really good fish.

Deja Vu at Flaming Gorge

Location: Flaming Gorge (Lucerne)

Weather: Partly, 39 °F, slight breeze in the afternoon

Moon Phase: 39% Waning Moon

BP: Morning - 30.58 Hg trending down, Afternoon - 30.44 Hg

Best Baits: River2Sea 200 series glide bait (party crasher)

Water Temp: 40 °F

Who Went: Dunc

Catching a monster lake trout does something to your brain.  It becomes all you think about and the only thing you want to do is get back up there and do it again!  Luckily, I have a wife that understands my addiction and so I planned another trip over the weekend.  I invited others to go but due to sickness or different plans they couldn’t make it.  Another solo trip!  No problem, I don’t mind being alone (just ask my wife).

With all the electronics issues from the last trip I took my lithium battery to someone smarter than me to check it out.  It seemed like we fixed the issue and had it figured out. All my electronics were working before I hit the road.

I arrived to another gorgeous morning.  This weather is unlike any I’ve ever seen in January.  The best part was seeing one truck and trailer beside mine on arrival and departure!

The solo launch went great, and I was ready to roll.  I went to turn on my electronics and nothing!  Same story different trip.  Only thing I can come up with is the cold temps overnight are causing my batteries brain to shut it off.  Lithium batteries are great, but only when they work correctly.  I was so sad!  I had lots of plans of trying new things and here I was in the same situation as last week.  So disappointing!

After a few cuss words and contemplating life, I got over it again and headed to the area where I had success last week.  I also rigged up my manual depth finder that became my best friend for the day (sigh).

I fished the entire area I focused on last week but never got a bite.  I moved a bit further south and finally hooked up with a feisty pup lake trout.  Not what I was looking for, but a fun fish to get me started and add some confidence to keep going.

I ended up moving a bit further south and this time I had a rod bender that literally twisted my rod holder to the back of the boat.  I knew it was a good fish, but as soon as I grabbed it, the fish was gone.  It’s becoming obvious to me that this is just part of the technique and they don’t always stick.  I went 1 for 2 on bites last week and this week I was 2 for 4. 

I made one final big move late in the day and finally got the bite I was looking for, but at the most inopportune time.  I was heading right into shore when it hit, the wind kicked up for the first time all day, and my remote on my fish finder was not turning on, so I was about to run aground!  

The fish also ran straight towards my other line, and I thought for sure it was going to get tangled and I would lose the fish!  It wasn’t the prettiest fight, but after a lot of chaos, I was finally able to land this 19-pound beauty!

Click on link for video:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/Nq0goA2IQ4ezWGXkJe6e8Q?sf=1&ref_=APH_SNT77

The addiction is full on now and starting to get out of control.  I have already checked the weather and next weekend looks amazing! I might find out just how understanding my wife really is!

Best and Worst Day at Flaming Gorge

Fishing Time: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm

Weather: Unseasonably warm, temps reaching 50 degrees with sunny skies and no wind

Moon Phase: 90% Moon

Location: Flaming Gorge (Anvil Point)

Best Bait: River2Sea Glide Bait - Party Crasher Series 200

Who Went: Dunc

I made plans with my boys to fish The Gorge over the holiday break.  The day before we left, they both got very sick and bailed on me.  It didn’t leave me much time to find a partner, so I just rolled solo.  Arrived at the lovely Browning’s Motel in Manila at 7 pm.  I watched some football, rigged some rods, and went to bed.

Woke up early to clear skies and no wind.  The temperature was the warmest I can recall for this time of year, and I didn’t even need gloves.  Got to the boat ramp just as the sun started to come up and launched the boat. 

The day seemed perfect until I went to fire up my electronics, and they wouldn’t turn on.  Lake trout fishing with no electronics is basically not worth doing, so I started to panic.  I messed around with the battery with no success.  I’m still learning the lithium battery world. If it wasn’t such a nice morning, I would have loaded the boat and went home for sure, but I couldn’t get myself to leave. I was so angry but finally just made a mental decision to get over it and think about how to make it work. 

I’ve wanted to try a new technique dragging large glide baits and it’s the perfect time of year to try, so I committed to it and went to work. I deployed two large glide baits behind the boat going 1.5 to 1.7 mph.  It was frustrating at times because I didn’t know my depth.  I tied on a heavy weight onto a spinning rod and continuously dropped it to the bottom to get an idea where I was at. My goal was to stay in 20-35 ft of water.  By the end of the day, I had the depth check system dialed in!

I spent the morning dragging glide baits around Antelope Flats with no success before moving north to Anvil Point.  I decided I had to see what was going on beneath me, so I disconnected my trolling batteries and hooked up my fish finder.  Now I had a fish finder but no trolling motor (sigh). I used the big motor to check all my waypoints out deep and to my surprise I couldn’t find a fish anywhere.  This gave me more confidence to just go back to the shallows and continue trolling.  I disconnected the fish finder and reconnected my trolling batteries… what a pain!

I pulled out my paper contour map (yup going back in time) and picked a good-looking point that had a nice 20-40 foot flat all the way around it.  On my first pass I had a hook up!  My rod doubled over, and I saw a fish surface on my lure.  It was so cool!  Unfortunately, the moment I grabbed my rod it went slack and was gone.  Now I was really angry.  After all I was dealing with I miss the fish too!  This day took a lot of patience, but again the weather made it easier to deal with.

I continued trolling and consistently checking depth with my manual depth finder.  Soon after missing the first fish my rod doubled over again and I saw another fish roll on the bait, but this time it stuck!  Based on seeing it surfacing I guessed it was maybe a 10-15 pound fish but was just excited to catch one!  About 30 seconds into the fight, I realized it might be a pretty good fish.  Then after 5 minutes of fighting and still losing ground I realized it was definitely a good fish!  I finally got a net on it and was able to weigh it in at 32 pounds!  Trip made!  I still can’t believe I caught a 32-pound fish in 30 feet of water.  I’m now in the 30 in 30 club!

See the video links below:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/gPOplN7mSNu_y_2iTtywqQ?sf=1&ref_=APH_SNPA7 

https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/SXv6gEunRECYtpLVoDrDrA?sf=1&ref_=APH_SNPA7

I continued dragging glides for another couple hours but never got another bite.  It was hard to leave, but I had a date with the family in SLC to see the finale of Stranger Things on the big screen, so I called it a day and drove home with a big smile on my face.   

Hiding from the Cold in Sunny Arizona

Fishing Time: Thursday through Saturday

Weather: Warm, but a bit cooler than average.  Sunny and calm winds with exception of Friday afternoon in got windy.

Moon Phase: Full Moon

Location: Saguaro Lake, Alamo Lake, and Lake Pleasant

Water Temps: Averaged 60-64 degrees

Best Baits: Weightless Senko, roboworm on a drop-shot rig

Who Went: Casey Davies, Dunc

The cold weather finally hit home, but I’m not quite ready for it.  I decided to take a few days off and head south with my buddy Casey.  We hooked up the boat and drove 10 hours through snow until it finally quit 100 miles outside of Phoenix, AZ.  

Casey’s sister lives in Phoenix and offered us a base camp for a few days.  Turned into more than a base camp as they were excellent hosts feeding us smoked ribs and all you can eat halibut they brought home from Alaska where they live most the year.  It was sooo good!  I also fell in love with their little weiner dog Maggie!

The first day we fished at one of the coolest lakes I’ve ever launched my boat.  It’s called Saguaro Lake, but its nickname is “Land of the Giants”.  It’s not known for producing a lot of fish but has produced many giants in the double digits.  My kind of lake!

The lake is one of many reservoirs along the Salt River which is set in the red rock desert with Saguaro Cactus lining it’s shorelines.  It was gorgeous.  We made our way upriver dodging many underwater hazards along the way until we reached the dam.  Started fishing and worked our way back down river. We were also lucky to see some bighorn sheep on top of the canyon rim.

Fishing a new lake is tough and we struggled.  I landed one small largemouth bass, and Casey found a pile of bluegill to get the skunk off him.  Unfortunately, those were the only two fish caught.  I got the feeling this was a lake that takes some time to learn, especially fishing it in the winter months.  Either way it was worth the trip.

On day 2 we drove two hours northwest of Phoenix to Alamo Lake.  The locals at the tackle store said this was a good producing lake but wasn’t known for producing big bass.  It certainly was not the prettiest of lakes and was in the middle of nowhere.  

We fished the morning with only a catfish pulled off the 40-foot bottom with a Ned Rig to show for it.

In the late morning, we moved across the lake to some points with submerged brush. The bite turned on for a minute, and I caught 6 small bass using a weightless Senko and Casey put one in the boat as well.  

Soon after the bite died and the wind came up something fierce, so we said goodbye to our donkey friends that kept us company for the day and headed back to home base.

On our last day we decided to fish the closest lake to home base at Lake Pleasant.  Mixed reports on Lake Pleasant said it can be tough, but it has big fish and can get hot at times. It’s a huge reservoir and reminded me of Lake Powell.  We launched in Scorpion Bay and crossed the lake to fish some islands that a guide told us usually produce.

We tried almost every type of bait and technique I know how to fish and couldn’t buy a bite.  I wasn’t seeing anything on the fish finder either.  It was a ghost town. We moved down lake to some rocky points to try our luck there.  I fished on a 20-foot shelf off a rocky point and saw a good mark right on the bottom.  I sent my roboworm on a drop-shot down toward it and immediately hooked up.  It felt like a small fish, but once it got close to the boat it surfaced.  It was not a small fish at all and probably went 4-5 pounds!  Sadly, we will never know because it surfaced one more time and spit the hook!  I was bummed!  It was the only good fish of the trip.  I ended up catching one smaller bass off the same shelf, but that was it for the day.

We met some locals on the boat ramp when we left and they were there all day and caught two fish.  Said 3 weeks ago they were catching 40 fish a day.  Figures!  Shows that winter fishing, especially in water you are unfamiliar with, can be really tough!  Either way it was fun to get out of the cold and visit some new lakes!  Luckily, we didn’t get snowed on going home!