First Ice of the Year

 It is finally here!....What's that you say?... That's right, Utah ice fishing season has begun! This past weekend, fisherman Jason and I ventured out to Scofield Reservoir for our first ice trip of the season. 

This year Jason and I upgraded our tents from the Eskimo quickfish 3 to the Eskimo Fatfish 6120. This tent comes equipped with six walls, ten windows, and a whopping 80 sq feet of fishing space! This has three times the amount of space of the quickfish 3. Lets just say, we are both excited to put our tents to some good use this year!

When we got to Scofield, we discovered the lake had mostly frozen over. We fished in two different spots. The first spot had about 4-5 inches of ice. The second spot had close to three inches of ice. The spot we really wanted to fish had very unsafe ice so we will have to wait a few weeks.

Fishing started off great, we started pulling fish after fish out of the lake. We used small tube jigs, ice flies, and pink colored paddle bugs.

We caught a total of about 40-50 chubs between the two of us. 

The sad thing was, we only caught a total of ten cutthroat trout. That's right, no rainbows or tiger trout this trip. All of the cutthroat trout were very small.

This trip was the first time I have ever ice fished with a fish finder! I spent a lot of time reading the instruction book to learn how to use it. All in all, it was a great first trip of the 2014-2015 season!

JOE'S TIP OF THE DAY

Always ice fish with a buddy at the beginning of ice fishing season. Also bring emergency equipment in case some one falls in. The ice can be very unpredictable and dangerous. However, if you can find safe ice, the fishing can be excellent!

Feeding Frenzy

This fall I was able to make it up to Strawberry Reservoir a few times. Although the fishing varied each time I went, I was still able to catch fish! One week I caught 11 fish in two hours of fishing! The fish were healthy rainbows between 15-19 inches. The second trip I only caught 3 but one was a large cutthroat around 20 inches. Both of  those trips I used a Lucky Craft Pointer(Rainbow and also ghost colors).

I saw some bright red kokanee salmon swimming near the shore line but they were not interested in any of my lures.

 This last week when I went to Strawberry, my friend Shane and I were not having much luck other than a few bites. I moved further into a cove and could see several schools of fish swimming near the surface. Some fish were even flying about four feet out of the water at times! They were either hunting for food or were being hunted by larger fish! Shane and I used Joe's Flies and Lures with a few sinkers. We caught fish after fish. In about forty minutes, we caught over fifty fish! The fish were small, between 5-12 inches, but it was still a lot of fun!

JOE'S TIP OF THE DAY

If fishing success is slow, don't be afraid to move around the shore line or to a different part of the lake. Right now the fish are moving all over the place as they try to build up a fat supply for the winter!

River Cats

I have not been able to get out fishing very much the past few months so I decided to fish close to home. My buddy Jason told me the white bass and catfish were biting at the Jordan River so I had to go give it a try. I ended up catching some white bass, including this monster!

 This white bass is the same fish in the first photo! I caught the bass with a Joe's Flies and Lure: Trout poacher.

I went back to the Jordan River a few days later with Jason and caught some real nice Channel Cats!

 This channel catfish was 23" long. I'm not sure how much it weighed!

This is a 21" channel catfish! 

Jason and I caught all our catfish by putting bait on a hook and attaching a bobber to the the line. It can't get simpler then that!

JOE'S TIP OF THE DAY

In Utah Lake and the Jordan River, it is legal to use white bass for bait. To catch the catfish, we caught a white bass and cut it up for bait. Within a few minutes of having white bass on our hook, we had our first fish! Remember to always check the regulations for the body of water you are fishing at.

The Hunt for Kokanee

Well it has been one full year since I started this blog! I've learned a lot about fishing and have had fun on all my fishing adventures. As much as I would have liked to have caught more varieties of fish, I've learned, it just takes time!  

This last week, I had the opportunity to go fishing with Captain Kerry and his crew on his fishing vessel, Blue Lightning. I haven't had many opportunities to fish from a boat so I jumped with excitement at this opportunity.

 Captain Kerry wanted to target Kokanee Salmon at Strawberry Reservoir. So we combined his knowledge and experience catching Kokanee, and my knowledge of Strawberry Reservoir to make a great Kokanee team. Captain Kerry opted to try a 5 pole set up.

 We rigged one pole with leaded line down the middle of the boat. Then we put two poles off the left side and two poles off the right side. Both the left and right sides had one pole with leaded line, and a pole with a down rigger to keep the lines from tangling.

Each pole was rigged with a dodger with some sort of pink, red, blue, or purple on it. After the dodger, we added about 12-18 inches of line before putting the lure on.

It didn't take too long before we started reeling in fish.

We caught fish with pink colored squids, red wedding ring with a worm, pink/purple squid, purple apex, light pink squid, and a red apex.

We had fun catching cutthroats and rainbows but couldn't seem to find the kokanees.

We moved to a different part of the lake where I have seen plenty of Kokanees in the past. It didn't take too long before I reeled in a 17.5" Kokanee! The Kokanee was caught on the pole with the pink squid. The pole was on the left down rigger which was set at 45 feet.

 The arrival of our first kokanee brought a new burst of excitement as we hoped to find more!

Two fish later, First Mate Preston reeled in another kokanee on this red apex. 

We weren't able to spend all day  fishing but we all enjoyed our time on the water! Fishing with Captain Kerry, First Mate Preston, and Deck Hand Eric ended  up being a great success. We caught a total of three rainbows, ten cutthroats, and two kokanee salmon. There was a tie for the biggest fish. Both kokanees measured in at 17.5 inches.

JOE'S TIP OF THE DAY

In the summer months, kokanee salmon are usually found suspended over deep water. The first kokanee we caught was 45 feet down in 90 feet deep water. The second kokanee was 60 feet down in about  110 feet deep water. 

Reel Lessons: Research Fish Species

 This past month I targeted brown trout, small mouth bass, large mouth bass, walleye, and stripers. The sad part is, I didn't catch a single fish listed above. After fishing at Deer Creek, the middle Provo River, Rockport Reservoir, Lake Powell, and East Canyon Reservoir, I only ended up with a handful of Rainbow trout. 

 Prior to going to Lake Powell, fishing reports seemed to be really good. My experience however, seemed to be quite the opposite.

I tried all sorts of different kind of tackle and baits to try and catch different fish species. Unfortunately, I never got a single bite. 

 I learned a lot from my uncle as far as different techniques to use for the fish at Lake Powell. But after speaking with several other fisherman, I soon learned, hardly anyone was having success that weekend. This trip left me with several questions and helped identify areas I need to research.

 

My different trips helped confirm to me, it is important to research the types of fish you want to catch. Having knowledge about the fish, the food they eat, their habitats, and behaviors can greatly increase your chances of catching that particular kind of fish.

 

 One of my trips was to East Canyon Reservoir. I had not fished this lake for several years so I decided to give it a try. The weather was not ideal, in fact, it rained the majority of the time.

 My buddy Jason and I caught rainbow trout by using worms, Lucky Craft Pointers, and Joe's Flies and Lures (spinner with a fly). It is always surprising to me how some fish are willing to go after bait almost half their size! 

JOE'S TIP OF THE DAY

Always prepare for the worst kind of weather. The weather can change in an instant in Utah. We got completely soaked by rain, followed by snow, and wind at East Canyon Reservoir. We did not adequately prepare for the rain or cold. Don't make the same mistake we made!

Community Fishing Ponds

Two weeks ago my wife, son, and I decided to go check out one of our community fishing ponds. We had a couple hours to relax so I figured, why not try fishing in the Highland Glenn fishing pond. The park is a nice secluded little area. It has playgrounds for the kids and a walking path around the lake. The lake even has a section where kids can swim in the water.

While my wife walked to the bathroom, I started casting a rainbow colored Kastmaster. Just as my wife made it to the other side of the lake, I got a hit on the lure. The hit was so hard, I thought I got a snag. I quickly realized it was not a snag, but rather a fish on the end of the line.

I knew the Division of Wildlife stocked planters in the lake but this fish did not feel like your regular six inch rainbow trout.

As the fish got closer to shore, I thought it was a carp or catfish due to the weight. I was shocked to discover, the fish was a giant rainbow trout. This rainbow trout is now my new record for Rainbows. I've caught big rainbows before, but not one as fat as this guy.

Just as I got this guy on land, my son started crying. Some local kids helped me take a photo since my wife was across the lake. After taking a few photos. I released my new rainbow trout record back into the community fishing pond so someone else could experience the joys of catching a lunker!

JOE'S TIP OF THE DAY

Make sure you bring measuring tape and a scale when you go fishing. You never know when you are going to catch a new personal best. Too bad I did not bring measuring tape or a scale this trip!

Having Fun on the Ice

Where did the month of February go? It's weird to think it is already March, which means not much ice fishing left in Utah. Many of the lakes have unsafe ice at this time. Lakes like Strawberry Reservoir will likely still have ice for a month or so, so there is still time to get out there! 

During the month of February I was able to get out and go fishing with a variety of people! Mike bought a new tent so a bunch of us went to Strawberry to test it out!

 A few of the guys were fairly new to ice fishing but seemed to still have fun! During the month of February, fishing success was up and down. One week it was hot fishing, the next it was super slow. Sometimes you have to try different baits or depths to find the fish! Most fish we caught were in about 10-25 feet of water. We had most the success with small tube jigs tipped with a piece of worm.

Many of the fish we caught were good sized fish. This fish in the photo above measured a little over 22 inches and had a nice girth to it. 

To my surprise, this winter we have caught several healthy rainbows! 

When the fishing is slow, it is up to you to keep it fun! We had fun playing cards on a small table, and even cooked pancakes. What I love about ice fishing is you can make it as fun or comfortable as you want it to be! It's just up to you!

One of the days I went fishing, some people were kite skiing across the lake!

JOE'S TIP OF THE DAY

Always take your camera when you go ice fishing! You can often times take incredible photos in the winter!