Bear Lake and other local waters report: Whitefish spawn is on

Scott Tolentino, Bear Lake Project Leader for the UDWR, sent in this report on Bear lake and some other local waters.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012 Bear Lake Fishing Report: Surface water temp is at 44 degrees. The Bonneville whitefish are in the middle of their spawning season and it should last another 7-10 days. They can be caught along rocky shorelines in 5-15' of water using small jigs (1/16-1/8 oz.), small spinners (#0 - #2), and small spoons. It helps if you tip your lure with a small piece of nightcrawler or meal worm. Fish the lures so they are bumping along the bottom. If you are fishing correctly, then you will get snagged on the rocks once in a while. Sometimes the bites are very light and you need to be able to feel them, so anglers using light tackle (4-8lb line) and a light action rod are doing better than using a heavy action rod. Fishing for both cutthroat trout and lake trout has been fair to good. Anglers jigging with tube jigs tipped with cisco or sucker meat are finding fish in 50-70' of water. Boat anglers are trolling off the Utah State Park marina rockpiles and the Ideal Beach rockpile areas in 50-100' of water using flatfish and rapalas close to the bottom. Garden City Community Fishery PondFishing remains very good for rainbows and the angler pressure has been light. Try small spinners (#1 - #2) and smaller spoons. The rainbows are still very aggressive at this time of year. Fly fishermen have also been catching fish using small streamers, wooly buggers and leach patterns. Of course worms, marshmallows and powerbait will work too. Try fishing the bait under a bobber about 2 feet down or fished right on the bottom. Laketown ReservoirWater level is full and there was a late stocking of catchable-sized (10") triploid rainbow trout was made in October. Fishing has been good for the newly stocked fish, but there are still some hold-over fish from previous years. These fish are 16-19" long and up to almost 3 pounds. Try wet flies such as wooly buggers and leeches. Bank fishermen are having the best luck on worms fished on the bottom.