Earlier this week, Assistant Strawberry Project Leader Justin Robinson submitted the following update: Drove around the lake yesterday to see where we are on ice-off, and it has started! There were only three areas that were fishable yesterday, but that number should increase daily. So get the Marabous, streamers and buggers ready. Now for the particulars. The west side road is open to the marina and about .5 miles past the marina turnoff. There was a large snowdrift just before dropping into Bryant's, so the south and west parts of the lake are not accessible by truck. Mud Creek is still closed (gated) and snow-covered, but all the rest of the roads are passable. Snow is not an obstacle on the dam road or to get into Soldier Creek Marina, but at SC Marina, there is a gate closed to protect private property. I did notice an AL&L employee turning on water to one of the bathrooms, so I believe that gate will be opened soon.


Now on to the important stuff: open water. All the inflows are starting to open. Jakes Bay has 10 feet open at the shore. Strawberry River has a little open water and lots of water on the ice, which will melt it quickly. Trout Creek and Chicken Creek West are fishable and will only get better with time. Right now, on both of these, there is only enough open water for maybe two people to fish at the same time (and anglers are already using them). Water is flowing at the Ladders, and there is floatable water (a football-field size or more) for hand-launched pontoons and boats. Soldier Creek is starting to pull away from much of the shoreline, but there is little fishable area there. There might be some spots along the east (steep) shore. The ice on the SC side looked very rotten and will retreat quickly. Aspen Grove is still iced up, but watch that one closely. It is usually one of the earliest areas to open, and it offers some of the best ice-off fishing.


Overall, I think we are seeing the very start of the ice-off period. Now is the time to plan a trip. If possible, try to head up this weekend or sometime next week. Come on up and have fun!


There are special regulations in effect at Strawberry: the limit is four trout or kokanee salmon in the aggregate. No more than two may be cutthroat trout under 15 inches, and no more than one may be a cutthroat trout over 22 inches. All cutthroat trout from 15 to 22 inches must be immediately released. Trout and salmon may not be filleted, and the heads or tails may not be removed in the field or in transit. Check the Utah Fishing Guidebook for more regulations. For help differentiating Bear Lake cutthroat trout and rainbow trout, download the identification brochure.