Almost time for whitefish at Bear Lake

[TubeDude]

There was a nifty article on the DWR website about Bear Lake fishing and the upcoming whitefish action. 
DWR ARTICLE LINK

Also, I will post my writeup I put up about this time each year.
  BONNEVILLE WHITEFISH.pdf (Size: 2.56 MB / Downloads: 23)     

Good luck to those who get out there.  The timing of the run and the spots the fish show up can change from year to year depending on water levels and weather.

[BearLakeFishGuy]

Should be a good year with the high water, but since the water covers more shoreline, the fish won't be as concentrated. My #1 advice: Don't use "spot lock" electric motors in the shallow water (15-20' and shallower). The motors scare the fish and you will rarely catch them under your boat like you do when using a good, old-fashioned anchor with rope!

[JazzyM]

There was a nifty article on the DWR website about Bear Lake fishing and the upcoming whitefish action. 
DWR ARTICLE LINK

Also, I will post my writeup I put up about this time each year.    

Good luck to those who get out there.  The timing of the run and the spots the fish show up can change from year to year depending on water levels and weather.

There you go again. Now I’m gonna have to go out and buy more huge three D ring binders trying to collate all of your information.  

[TubeDude]

There was a nifty article on the DWR website about Bear Lake fishing and the upcoming whitefish action. 
DWR ARTICLE LINK

Also, I will post my writeup I put up about this time each year.    

Good luck to those who get out there.  The timing of the run and the spots the fish show up can change from year to year depending on water levels and weather.

There you go again. Now I’m gonna have to go out and buy more huge three D ring binders trying to collate all of your information.  

Deal with it.  You'd complain if you were shot with a new rope...or however that goes.

[JazzyM]

There was a nifty article on the DWR website about Bear Lake fishing and the upcoming whitefish action. 
DWR ARTICLE LINK

Also, I will post my writeup I put up about this time each year.    

Good luck to those who get out there.  The timing of the run and the spots the fish show up can change from year to year depending on water levels and weather.

There you go again. Now I’m gonna have to go out and buy more huge three D ring binders trying to collate all of your information.  

Deal with it.  You'd complain if you were shot with a new rope...or however that goes.

  (I resemble that remark)

[BoatBallast]

How is the cutthroat fishing during the whitefish spawn? Could I hit the whities early and then troll/downriggers for cutts effectively?

If you were going for whitefish in the next few weeks, when would you go?

[TubeDude]

How is the cutthroat fishing during the whitefish spawn?  Could I hit the whities early and then troll/downriggers for cutts effectively?

If you were going for whitefish in the next few weeks, when would you go?

The first two weeks in December have traditionally been about the best.  But some years they start moving in right after Thanksgiving.  

There are lots of cutts caught along with the whities...on the same worm tipped jigs or Gulp Minnows...fished slow just off the bottom or vertical jigging.  However, a few guys specifically target cutts by throwing spinners, spoons or swimbaits either from a boat or offshore...in the shallower waters.  No need for fishing deep with riggers at this time.  And slower presentations will probably work better than faster.  There are also quite a few stray macks caught in the same areas on the same stuff...small and shallow.

[BoatBallast]

How is the cutthroat fishing during the whitefish spawn?  Could I hit the whities early and then troll/downriggers for cutts effectively?

If you were going for whitefish in the next few weeks, when would you go?

The first two weeks in December have traditionally been about the best.  But some years they start moving in right after Thanksgiving.  

Thank you.  I might give Dec. 7 a shot up there.  It would be fun to try, at least.  And, it would be nice to finish out our cutthroat slams if we could get a few cutts to play along.

[SkunkedAgain]

Looking forward to trying to get a good weather day to try it again this year... but probably be in December before I start trying... Thanks for the post Pat... Later J

[MACMAN]

We are giving it a go tomorrow. I’ll be jigging spoons on the Rockpile, but that has produced whitefish the past 2 Thanksgiving’s. I wish it wasn’t turkey day, the lake is laid down flat right now…we are cooking.

[wiperhunter2]

We are giving it a go tomorrow. I’ll be jigging spoons on the Rockpile, but that has produced whitefish the past 2 Thanksgiving’s. I wish it wasn’t turkey day, the lake is laid down flat right now…we are cooking.

Good luck up there, hope to read a good report from you.

[MACMAN]

Well here is a report, not great but not bad. The whitefish had moved into the 32-40 fow, but they were small. Not sure if they were juvenile Bonneville or Bear Lake whitefish. The livescope showed small fish and jigging spoons confirmed it. We targeted Macs and were unsuccessful. That lake has gone severely downhill the past ten years for Mac’s. We struggle to scratch one a trip, this trip was a zero. The bright spot was we got some really nice cutthroats. We were in a state wide trout tournament on Friday and ended taking the top three spots. The lake was really tore up Friday and it was frigid. I used up all the fishing energy my kids had on Friday and we didn’t go out again on the flat water on Saturday. I’m sure we would have done better.

[BoatBallast]

Well here is a report, not great but not bad. The whitefish had moved into the 32-40 fow, but they were small. Not sure if they were juvenile Bonneville or Bear Lake whitefish. The livescope showed small fish and jigging spoons confirmed it. We targeted Macs and were unsuccessful. That lake has gone severely downhill the past ten years for Mac’s. We struggle to scratch one a trip, this trip was a zero. The bright spot was we got some really nice cutthroats. We were in a state wide trout tournament on Friday and ended taking the top three spots. The lake was really tore up Friday and it was frigid. I used up all the fishing energy my kids had on Friday and we didn’t go out again on the flat water on Saturday. I’m sure we would have done better.

Thanks for the report.  Were you fishing the west side of the lake or the east side of the lake?  All jigging?

Beautiful cutthroats.

[MACMAN]

Thanks. Yeah, all jigging. We fished the Rockpile

[SkunkedAgain]

Any Whitefish on the rockpile? Thanks for the update and congrats on the contest win... Later J

[wiperhunter2]

Good looking cutties and concrats on the win, were any over 5 lbs?

[Kent]

Well here is a report, not great but not bad. The whitefish had moved into the 32-40 fow, but they were small. Not sure if they were juvenile Bonneville or Bear Lake whitefish. The livescope showed small fish and jigging spoons confirmed it. We targeted Macs and were unsuccessful. That lake has gone severely downhill the past ten years for Mac’s. We struggle to scratch one a trip, this trip was a zero. The bright spot was we got some really nice cutthroats. We were in a state wide trout tournament on Friday and ended taking the top three spots. The lake was really tore up Friday and it was frigid. I used up all the fishing energy my kids had on Friday and we didn’t go out again on the flat water on Saturday. I’m sure we would have done better.

I miss the days that we would catch more macks than we would catch cutts.

[MACMAN]

No kidding Kent. It’s really kinda . I used to get 10 double digit Mac’s to one Cutt. I have a feeling it’s over up there for Mac’s unless we get an advocate in a position that can make a difference. I’m not holding my breath. Yeah Jeff, we only were on the Rockpile and the surrounding area. The whites we found were 7-9”- so impossible to tell Bonnie’s from BL. I didn’t take the time to weigh the fish due to the extreme cold and we had to measure them for the contest. Our goal was to return them healthy. The one my daughter caught was north of 5lbs for sure. I’d guess mine was about that.

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks for the info.... I really had fun with those whitefish on the rockpile the last time there was ice on the lake.... I guess I should have been fishing for the trout, but the whitefish bite was so fast I kept going back to jigging a tiny ice fly and catching them... It was really a fun trip...Later J