Colder days mean great fishing till waters freeze

A benefit of colder days is that fishing heats up. And it will continue to be hot until it freezes.

Usually, some of the best fishing comes in the days just before ice-on and right after ice-off. Typically, by December, some of Utah's more popular fishing waters will start to freeze.

Until the freeze, anglers can take advantage of the unusually good access to cast a line.

Pushed by the natural urge to feed and get fat before winter, fish have moved into the shallows, where food is more abundant. This is especially true of the larger fish. And, in their hurry to gorge themselves, the fish — especially the larger ones — tend to be less wary and more aggressive.

At Bear Lake, for example, the surface water temperature is 51 degrees. As a result, the lake trout fishing continues to be red hot. The best success has come to those anglers who are trolling with downriggers, lead core line and even running flat lines using mainly flatfish and Rapalas along the rocky shoreline off of Cisco Beach, North Eden, South Eden and the Utah State Park marina.

They are also trolling in the Rockpile area. The lake trout move into shallower water at this time of year to spawn and are aggressive. Most fish are being taken mainly in water five to 30 feet deep. However, some fish are being taken as deep as 80 feet off the Rockpile.

Those fishing from shore along Cisco Beach and off the Utah State Park marina have been casting with Nos. 4 or 5 spinners, spoons and other lures, including large flies, and catching some nice fish.

Time of day does not seem to play a big part in success. Some anglers are also catching fish while jigging off Rockpile using 1/2- to 3/4-ounce tube jigs tipped with cisco or sucker meat.

The cutthroat fishing should also start to improve.

Though weather has been stormy, fishing has been good at Strawberry. Boat, tube and shoreline anglers have all been reporting good success using many different types of flies, baits and lures. The best techniques include trolling a dark black and green sparkly Wooly Bugger, casting pearl-colored tube jigs near weed beds or trolling minnow-imitating lures tipped with a worm or part of a dead shiner. Some anglers report catching and releasing 40-50 fish per day.

Even though there's snow on the ground, the high elevation lakes and ponds in the Uintas have not frozen and are producing good to excellent fishing.