Strawberry angler hooks 18-pounder

PROVO — An Orem angler caught an 18-pound, 2-ounce rainbow trout through the ice at Strawberry Reservoir last month, state Division of Wildlife Resources officials said.

The lunker landed by Sherm Holdaway, 66, is believed to be the largest taken out of Strawberry since the reservoir was emptied and restocked almost 15 years ago, said Scott Root of the DWR. Only a handful of fish over 12 pounds are taken out of the reservoir each year.

Holdaway's fish is now at the taxidermist.

"My line started moving and I set the hook on what felt like a snag, but then the snag started to pull back," he said. "We had a tug-of-war for quite a while — I would gain 10 feet and then the fish would take it right back."

The fish eventually tired, and after wrestling it through an 8-inch diameter hole in the ice, Holdaway took it to the Strawberry Marina store where it was officially weighed.

Holdaway said he was fishing with a frozen shiner minnow on the Soldier Creek portion of the reservoir when he caught the 33-inch trout. He landed a 9-pound trout from almost the exact location last month, he said.

There is still a lot of ice and snow at the reservoir, and ice is likely to cover the lake until at least early May, the DWR said.

"Strawberry Reservoir is still my favorite place to go fishing," said Holdaway. "I have fished the reservoir for over 60 years and still fish on about a weekly basis. I have really enjoyed catching the large trout in the reservoir, especially when you catch one of these lunker sterile rainbow trout.

"In my experience, the reservoir is as good now for fishing as it has ever been."

Strawberry Reservoir is the most-fished body of water in Utah, said Mark Hadley of the DWR.

It plans to stock more than 500,000 larger-than-usual rainbow trout in the reservoir this year. These above-average-size trout should be large enough to avoid being eaten by the other large trout in the reservoir. The DWR will also stock sterile rainbow trout.