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Winter Fishing Comes Naturally at Bear Lake

By Bryce Nielson
DWR Bear Lake Project

When most fishermen think about Bear Lake they don’t visualize a warm summer day, sitting in a boat lazily trolling or on the shore with sparkle, garlic flavored Powerbait at the end of the line. They rarely think about trolling a popgear with a Triple Teazer or a worm or fly fishing from a float tube as the water dimples with fish around you. Fishing Bear Lake typically congers up visions of blizzards, ice, wind, whitecaps, and bone chilling cold. It is true that Bear Lake is a beautiful place to fish from early summer through its placid, colorful falls and that fish can be caught using all the techniques that are popular in other waters, but this article will focus on the winter fishery as it exists at the turn of the century.

Bear Lake is a unique body of water in the world. It is a natural lake, at least 100,000 years old. Man has altered it somewhat over the last 90 years, storing 20 feet of irrigation water from the Bear River in the spring for summer use in Idaho and Utah. Utah Lake is the only other large freshwater lake in Utah and it has more surface area but not close to the volume of six million acre feet which is held in Bear Lake. The majority of the rest of the flat waters in Utah are reservoirs but even compared to those, Bear Lake is large. Though not as big as Lake Powell, Bear Lake is half again as large as Flaming Gorge, which has approximately 42,000 surface acres as compared to Bear Lake’s 72,000 surface acres. Its unique azure blue color is a result of calcium carbonate slowly settling out in the water as it is eroded from the limestone cliffs in the watershed. At an elevation of 6000 feet it typically freezes four out of five years but has not completely frozen during the last half of this decade. It is an intimidating water to fish, no real coves or points, no protection from the wind, few rocky areas where fish might congregate and long runs from most marinas and boat ramps. So why fish Bear Lake in the winter?

Cisco

Winter fishing historically has been associated with the Bonneville cisco dip netting frenzy that used to occur when the rest of the state was on a fishing season and fishermen didn’t have anything to do during the winter. They would flock to Cisco Beach by the thousands with long handled dip nets and waders to catch an eight-inch fish that is found nowhere else in the world. Television stations would report the progress of the "cisco run" and people anxiously awaited the beginning of the "run," which typically occurs around January 15th. At that time, in the 1960s and ’70s, the limit was 50 fish and hundreds of thousands of cisco were carried home to unsuspecting wives who really did not want to clean 200 fish at one time. As time passed, the uniqueness wore off and fishermen found other things to do during January. During the past 10 years the Bonneville cisco fishery has changed. Because of open water conditions and low lake levels the fish have not been as abundant off of Cisco Beach and most people don’t store long handled smelt nets or have the insulated waders needed to chase cisco. But there are a core group of anglers who still need them as bait or enjoy them deep fat fried or smoked. They have discovered a new way to catch cisco

With the advent of fish finders, fishermen located a pile of rocks in 50 to 60 feet of water off of Ideal Beach Resort (also known as Sweetwater). While jigging for trout there in the winter they found that they were inadvertently snagging cisco during January. The location, which has come to be known as the "Rockpile," is actually a formation of bedrock that sticks up above the silt bottom of the lake. It has gravel and rocks that appear to resemble brain coral. In reality, they are round rocks on which algae has grown that has then collected calcium carbonate to form all kinds of unusual obtrusions and holes that are perfect for hiding fish eggs and snagging lures. It used to be thought that the cisco only spawned in shallow water off the east side of the lake, but our studies have shown they spawn lake wide and the "Rockpile" is one of their favorite spots. Cisco fishermen now focus on this area to jig for cisco from boats or through the ice. As an added bonus, they catch other fish species in the process. The majority of cisco caught as they come in to spawn. They are snagged just off the bottom over the rocks by fishermen using spoons, jigs, Kastmasters, etc. Snagging fish has been illegal but new regulations for 2000 allow fishermen to keep snagged cisco captured on normal lures in Bear Lake–but before you go out and get lead shanked treble hooks and start into the cutthroat and whitefish, remember that activity it is still illegal.

The limit presently on Bonneville cisco is 30 fish but a curious phenomena has occurred during the 1990s. The average size of the adult cisco has increased from just less than eight inches to just under 10 inches and a 10-inch cisco has considerably more body depth. The cisco being captured today are the largest ever reported in Bear Lake. A number of theories have been presented from changes in the population due to predation by other fish, low water levels or unexpected increase of a large zooplanktor, Daphnia, in the cisco diet. We are not sure why but Daphnia now shows up in the stomachs of all fish in Bear Lake. One thing is for sure: When the fish in Bear Lake that were used to eating very small organisms suddenly found themselves surrounded by Daphnia, it was like trading in rice cakes for T-bone steaks.

Nothing is ever static in Bear Lake and it appears that the Daphnia numbers are declining but they have left big fish of all species for the fishermen today. The Bonneville cisco fishery in 2000 will be dependent on the weather and ice cover. If the lake freezes by mid January the dip net and jigging fishery should be good. If it is open water and windy, jigging off the "Rockpile" will be most productive. Fish should start showing up around January 15 and persist until the end of the month.

Whitefish

The Bonneville whitefish is another endemic species in Bear Lake and provides an excellent winter fishing opportunity. Fishermen many times confuse the Bonneville whitefish with its cousin, the mountain whitefish that inhabit the rivers of Utah. Because of where they live they are two completely different fish. The mountain whitefish are slender because they live in current and pools and they have a very small mouth to feed on aquatic insects. The Bonneville whitefish, by contrast is a lake dwelling robust form that may approach five pounds by feeding on sculpin, other fish and eggs. They have a large mouth and are readily captured on standard lures. As far as eating, their white fillets are excellent and they have no more bones than other fish. They begin to move in close to shore off rocky beaches, points and marinas around Thanksgiving to spawn. At that time they can be caught casting Mepps, spoons or jigs. The lure needs to be right next to the rocks where the fish are congregated and when hooked they are a hard fighting fish that provides a lot of excitement.

By Christmas, most of their spawning activity is over and they are patiently awaiting the manna from the heavens, cisco eggs. When the cisco start to spawn the whitefish diet turns exclusively to eggs. As the eggs sink to the bottom and drift with the currents whitefish consume them by the thousands. Although focusing on eggs they cannot resist a flashy lure or jigs and can easily be caught off the "Rockpile" or other areas where cisco spawn. Typically the best fishing is in late January or early February and fishing becomes better after a lot of the eggs have already been eaten. Bonneville whitefish can also be taken around weed beds this time of year.

Cisco eggs roll along the bottom with the lake currents and get caught in vegetation. Whitefish key in on these areas, usually in 15 to 30 feet of water and if you can locate these vegetation patches, which are scattered around the lake, fishing can be excellent. The limit on Bonneville whitefish is 10 and they typically average 15 inches and a pound but with the impact of Daphnia, survival and growth have been excellent and the overall population of whitefish is bigger and larger than it has been for years.

Lake Trout

The lake trout fishery in Bear Lake is in transition. The majority of large mackinaw are caught during spawning when they move into areas with large, rock rubble, like marinas, to spawn in late October. They are then susceptible to anglers casting or trolling lures. Fishermen frequently express concern that fishing the spawning population will have a negative effect on the lake trout but all of our studies have indicated that lake trout do not reproduce successfully in Bear Lake. They go through the motions but rocky spawning areas are very limited, the whitefish and the sculpin eat many of the eggs, silt covers the remainder all winter, and what few fish hatch have nothing to eat, so recruitment to the lake is negligible.

Lake trout populations are maintained by stocking. Lake trout fishing was excellent in the 1990s as a result of successful stocking of large numbers of fish between 1986 and 1988. Because of studies on the effect of lake trout on forage fish, they were not stocked again until 1995, and then in lesser numbers under an agreement with Idaho Fish and Game where 50,000 seven-inch fish are stocked once every three years. Presently the overall number of lake trout is down from the past five years but the average size is much larger. This will be a continuing trend until the five-year old "pup" lake trout that are just starting to enter the creel establish themselves.

Typically, fishing for lake trout slows after spawning until January when some will be caught in deeper water in association with other fishing activities. All stocked lake trout have been fin clipped and are considered part of the two fish trout limit.

Cutthroat

The Bear Lake cutthroat have been the focus of most of the studies on Bear Lake over the last 30 years. Once thought to be hybridized with rainbow, it is now known that the existing fish are essentially a pure population of lake form Bear River Bonneville cutthroat trout. The cutthroat are the mainstay of the Bear Lake fishery, providing trophy cutthroat with beautiful blue, azure coloration. They are caught throughout the year using many methods but winter is the time to consistently catch large cutthroat. Being a top line predator in the lake, they pursue and consume the cisco and whitefish during their spawning activities. Unlike trout in most areas, they actually put on weight during the winter months. They can be caught in conjunction with fishing for all the other species and are distributed lake-wide. As the lake cools and becomes one temperature their range is unlimited and they can be found anywhere.

Typically fishermen catch cutthroat trolling or jigging during the winter off the "Rockpile" or the east shore. Lure selection is as varied as the fishermen’s tackle box.. Over the years it has become apparent to me that when cutthroat begin to feed they will hit anything. There will be days when fishermen seem to do better in one area or on one type of lure but that’s the nature of fishing.

The general rule of thumb at Bear Lake is fish near the bottom, try different lures and if you don’t catch anything in an hour, move. Time of day varies and sometimes fishing is better at 11 a.m. than 7 a.m.

To be successful, be adventurous and try new areas, techniques, and lures. The cutthroat population is also higher than it has been in a decade and the fish are ranging from 16 inches on up to true trophy cutthroat size. There has been a lot of work done on the spawning streams around Bear Lake to improve natural reproduction, so any fish that is not fin clipped, which may be natural reproduction, has to be released. The limit is two trout, any size, with lake trout included.

Why fish Bear Lake in the winter? Because it is truly a unique fishery that provides fishermen an opportunity to catch fish found nowhere else in the world and trophy-sized Bear Lake cutthroat trout. It is a challenge without set rules. Anglers have the flexibility to try new lures, different areas, unconventional techniques and never know what to expect.And don’t forget, when it is the middle of winter and the inversion and haze has you down, think of us getting a tan in the bright winter sun and the white snow of the Bear Lake valley.

(Published in Utah Outdoors magazine, Dec. 1999)

 

 



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