Fishing in the doldrums

STRAWBERRY RESERVOIR — The next few weeks will not be particularly kind to those who choose to throw a lure or chunk of worm into the waters here.

There's too much food and too little need to feed.

The ice has melted, the water is warming and as a result the fish are perfectly happy to ignore likely looking foods.

That's not to say fish can't be caught. They can. It's more like that in order to catch a fish or two it will take more than simply presenting a one-item menu.

It will take time, perseverance and a certain amount of knowhow.

Reports are that after ice-off, when fishing was good, the fish moved. Some have schooled and moved to deeper water and are suspended somewhere between the surface and lakebed, somewhere in the lake.

This is where a fish-finder proves to be invaluable for those with access to a boat. In many cases, the fish are holding between 30 and 40 feet below the surface. Once a school is found, the idea is to toss out a marker and then figure out just how to get a lure or chunk of worm down to the fish.

Some have also found success trolling the shoreline or throwing jigs that resemble minnows and crayfish.

Those fishing from shore have had to rely on the big cutthroat that frequent the shallows looking for a minnow or crayfish meal.

Shore anglers have the added challenge of trying to figure out how to keep their lures or baits off the bottom and out of the brush and up where the fish are holding.

Yes, it's possible to catch fish. It's just that catches are fewer and more difficult than they will be in a month. Consensus is that along with the temperatures in July, look for the fishing to get hot, too.

Earlier this week, new director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Jim Karpowitz, joined lake biologist Roger Wilson and Jim Carter, president of Friends of Strawberry, to sample the waters. Fishing was tough, but several nice cutthroat were caught in the quick morning outing.

For those looking for a place to take the family over the holiday, two possibilities are Scofield and Pelican Lake.

Even though the water is lower at Scofield than at many reservoirs, the rainbow are back into their natural pattern, which is cruising the shorelines looking for meals.