Strawberry And Currant Creek

Saturday morning saw me up at 5 in the AM for the second weekend in three weeks. My destination was Strawberry Reservoir again, and I took along my fishing buddy Colby, and tried to indoctrinate a newcomer to angling with this sport.

It was about nine degrees when we pulled up to the reservoir just as the sun was peeking over the mountains. Strawberry valley is such a gorgeous place, especially covered in snow.

I busted out the hand auger and got to drilling holes, and then we plopped some worms down and got to fishing. Strawberry has been really hit and miss lately, and Saturday was a big miss. The only fish we caught in our 6 hours there as a 19 inch Bear Lake cutthroat. 

This guy was released, per the slot limits. He also managed to break my spare ice fishing rod as he was hauled up out of the hole! According to my spring scale, this fish came in right at 2.5 pounds. Decent sized fish.

After 6 hours on Strawberry and only one fish, we decided to pack up and try for another lake. Currant Creek was the closest, so we headed up there hoping to get into some actual action.

This valley never disappoints either, when it comes to beauty. 

We didn't get much action here, either. Only one 15 inch, 2 pound rainbow rewarded us for our efforts in the frigid air.

It was a slow, long day of fishing, but it was relaxing and enjoyable all the same. The people I took with me caught fish, which is really all that matters at the end of the day.

My next target is going to be Fish Lake. I'm hoping to get down there in the next few weeks, and I may end up going for bass down in Sand Hollow reservoir as well. 

The Ice Berry

Saturday brought with it an opportunity for me to go fish a lake that I have rarely spent time on - Strawberry Reservoir.

Yes, big fish roam this large and beautiful lake's depths, but a boat is necessary to reach those hogs most of the time. And seeing as I spend much more time hiking into lakes in the backcountry of Utah, a boat has seemed a superfluous purchase to me.

When Strawberry ices up, though, it opens up the legendary depths of this world-class fishery to everyone. I set out once again to chase some big fish with my partner in crime, Colby. We we armed with a hand auger (yes, my arms are sore as I type this) and a bag full of worms, salmon eggs, and shrimp. We were hoping to maybe get lucky and hook into some Kokanee salmon, but that scenario didn't play out.

We got to the lake right after noon, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

Despite the lack of other people in these photos, Colby and I weren't alone. The Berry was packed with other ice fisherman, and while we rigged our gear and drilled holes by hand (a great way to keep warm, by the way) we could hear the hoops and hollers that signaled other anglers on the lake hauling in fish. 

Once my hole was drilled, I dumped a tube jig tipped with a salmon egg into my hole. 

And I waited.

And I waited some more. 

I jigged the tube up and down, sideways, diagonally - basically, the thing was moving plenty. I fished it at every depth. I even tied on a Gitzit jig, then a worm hook, then back to a tube jig. No action, at all. 

Colby was stuck in the same situation I was, and it was made worse by the fact that we could see and hear people all around us pulling fish up through the ice, seemingly at will. The fishing was really hot, and was even better in the early morning hours before Colby and I arrived, according to the other fisherman I talked with on the ice. If you want to get into some good fish at the Berry, get there early. 

The hours dragged on, and still nothing. Finally, at about 4, Colby and I agreed to give the fish another half hour, and if we still hadn't had any action, we'd pack up and head home. 

About five minutes after that agreement, my pole started dipping down ever so slightly. The tip would bounce, then settle, then bounce again. Finally, I grabbed my rod and set the hook, and my drag started screaming. I had a sizable fish on the other end! 

I pulled the fish up through the ice, and say a very solid cutthroat. Sadly, he didn't want to stay around for a picture. The fish threw the hook and dived back down into the water. 

A few minutes later, Colby pulled out his own cutt. This one and the one I caught were both about the same size - 17 inches and right around 2 pounds. A solid, stocky fish. Per the slot limits at Strawberry, this beautiful fish was released. 

After that, the action died completely. No more fish were brought to hand, but despite only 2 fish in over 4 hours on the ice, Colby and I felt as if the trip was a success. 

That's a funny thing about fishing - it's not always about catching the fish. It's about the experience, about getting away and losing yourself in God's country for a while. This trip was one of the most relaxing fishing trips I've been on in a while, and even though the fish were sparse, it was a blast. 

I plan on making a return trip to the Berry later this season, hopefully after I make it down to Fish Lake.