Flaming Gorge

Jon holds 2 nice Kokanee Salmon caught off downriggers at Flaming Gorge.

Here I am holding a 20" rainbow caught at the Gorge with Dave Hoehne, who took Jon and I up for a weekend of fishing.

Good Ol' Big Un !!!

Jon, Paul and I went up to Strawberry on November 15, and battled the waves for 5+ hours. Fish catching was slow for us, although others reported good numbers. We were in the boat, and the wind was whipping and white-capping the whole time. But we tried to hang in there. Water temp is now 40 degrees. Come on ice!

However, Jon did catch his biggest cutthroat ever; a 26", 6 1/2 pounder!!! What a beast!

He's quite the fisherman!

Back in the water!

I had to undergo gall bladder surgery earlier in May, and I'm kind of out of action for a while.

But Jon made it out for a brief trip to Pineview on Saturday, and came out with a big, beautiful black crappie. The fish were staging, getting ready to spawn, and he saw a lot of tiger muskies out searching for food as well. Get ready crappie, here we come!

Hook Up! Done the right way.

Most effective jigs under the ice hang horizontally. In this way, the hook protrudes upward. When taken by a trout, the hook most often embeds in the thick, meaty upper jaw and lips. We fight them patiently and let them run when they must. Elsewise, few fish would make it up the hole. A fish-finder is a must too, and I had a blast with Jon's Aqua-Vu camera today as well.
These hook ups make for the easiest release, and a practically 100% injury-free release of the fish. And with the tiny lures required for winter success, you need good hook-ups and reliable light line. We generally go with Berkley Trilene XL in the 6lb weights.For example, Jon smiles for a quick photo op before releasing his trout unharmed. Now that's how you do it when you "catch & release!" What a great day we had. I treasure such times, and will be glad when son-in-law Kris graduates and can come along!

Spring Ice at the Berry 4/12/08

This nice cutthroat went 21", and weighed a bit over 3 pounds. Check out those beautiful, big spots! By the way, blue sky and sunshine contrasted with the white hard-deck to really make the colors stand out. A nice arrangement of colors here! And you can see why they're called cutthroats. This one had belly-freckles too.
My biggest of the day; a nice, hard-fighting 20-incher. Shaped like a torpedo and with a powerful swimming tail, these fish in THIS pond make for one incredible combination.
The purple hues on this big guy demanded a photo! Now that's a blue-steel cutthroat.
Our best friend on the ice is this Suzuki quad-runner. Sure makes for light work!

Half-Time Report

To say we had a slow start to our ice season is an understatement. Causey & Pineview were both disappointing. But we've had some luck with East Canyon and Strawberry for trout. These "twister tail" grubs have been a slightly unusual success for me so far. Generally I use them during the open water period quite a bit. But this winter, the trout have been inquisitive. And I've had good luck with the attraction and lure of these little gems in the 1" to 2" range. Pink, orange, and as always white, have been good. Jon has done well with chartreuse. Most times and places, we're using the tail-less versions of jigs, like the Genz Worm or Rat Finkee.
1/32 to 1/64 ounce leadhead jigs have been excellent a foot or so under a Kastmaster flasher.
With the light bite we've seen, these wire "strike indicators" are priceless.
Kris with a camera in hand is always exciting. Here are two offerings; one in B&W and one color.