03-04-2004, 04:06 AM
Anyone hear of a little lake up in Idaho called Clear Lake? It's a little north of Jerome on I-84, right off the Snake River. There's a golf course and a fish farm there, and it's a constant 55 degrees all year. I've been up there a handful of times and had a blast. The first time I went there two years ago I caught about 70 trout in about 5 hours, all ranging in size from 12-21".
Now, I know what you're going to say - "Yay, hatchery fishing, what fun!" But I can tell you that this little 15 acre lake is not the fishin pond at the sports show. Fly fishing only (maybe lures, I forget), only two fish may be harvested, and $10 to fish all day. It has an outlet that heads down to the Snake and fishing it gives a great experience to try out your river techniques with your flies. I fished from my pontoon with the electric motor, but there are no motor boats allowed.
I've taken some die-hard fly fisherman there who were skeptical about going, but ended up having a great time. One of them just called me last month wondering if I was planning on going again soon. The great thing about it is that we Utah fisherman who want to get off the ice during winter can go dip a line in liquid ice to break the monotony. I'd like to make a run there in April if time permits.
You won't break any size records there, but the lakes got enough holes, inlets, and brush to give you somewhat of a challenge. The trout I caught fought hard - all rainbows. Some days are better than others of course, but I've never been skunked. So, if you're tired of the solid water here and would like to start getting ready for ice-off fly fishing, consider giving it a shot. You never know, you might have fun!
If anyone has any experiences fishing there I'd like to hear them and compare notes.
BTW, here's a link to a story about it.
[url "http://utahoutdoors.com/pages/clearlake.htm"]http://utahoutdoors.com/pages/clearlake.htm[/url]
-Archie
[signature]
Now, I know what you're going to say - "Yay, hatchery fishing, what fun!" But I can tell you that this little 15 acre lake is not the fishin pond at the sports show. Fly fishing only (maybe lures, I forget), only two fish may be harvested, and $10 to fish all day. It has an outlet that heads down to the Snake and fishing it gives a great experience to try out your river techniques with your flies. I fished from my pontoon with the electric motor, but there are no motor boats allowed.
I've taken some die-hard fly fisherman there who were skeptical about going, but ended up having a great time. One of them just called me last month wondering if I was planning on going again soon. The great thing about it is that we Utah fisherman who want to get off the ice during winter can go dip a line in liquid ice to break the monotony. I'd like to make a run there in April if time permits.
You won't break any size records there, but the lakes got enough holes, inlets, and brush to give you somewhat of a challenge. The trout I caught fought hard - all rainbows. Some days are better than others of course, but I've never been skunked. So, if you're tired of the solid water here and would like to start getting ready for ice-off fly fishing, consider giving it a shot. You never know, you might have fun!
If anyone has any experiences fishing there I'd like to hear them and compare notes.
BTW, here's a link to a story about it.
[url "http://utahoutdoors.com/pages/clearlake.htm"]http://utahoutdoors.com/pages/clearlake.htm[/url]
-Archie
[signature]