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Happy New Year

Jamie Cyphers, a Cedar City anglers, is getting his own TV show.

Ice Fishing Tip
Expect soft bites. During summer, many bites are ferocious as fish react to a fast-moving stimulus. Under the ice, fish usually have time to inspect the bait, to play with it. Fish can be very finicky during winter and the bite is often very soft.

How do you catch fish under those conditions? You need some kind of scheme to detect subtle strikes.

Some ice anglers use a sensitive graphite rod, which they hold so they can feel the slightest tick. If you pay attention and you have the rod ready at all times, you can react quickly and often hook finicky fish.

If you use a bobber system, you need to stay close and be ready at all times. If the bobber takes the slightest dip, set the hook.

You’ve probably seen people who drop down a line and then move around, sometimes going yards from their gear. You see their bobber go down, then come back up, then they finally react and grab the rod. By that time the fish is gone. You’ve got to stay close and be ready.

Flasher sonar units provide a real-time view of the water column, and can let you know when you need to pay particular attention. Fish finders are good but they are not real time – there can be a delay between when a fish appears and when you see it on the screen. With a flasher you know right now. Some fish finders have a flasher function.

Scofield Ice Fishing Tournament will be Jan 8.

Flaming Gorge Buckboard Burbot Bash Ice Fishing Derby will be Jan 22.

Bear Lake Cisco Disco will be Jan 22.

- Dave

FishBytes is sponsored by WebbStuf.com, specializing in Utah web development.

Many reservoirs will be frozen by weekend. Here are some we know for sure.
- Strawberry
- Echo
- Pnaguatch Lake
- Mantua
- Mill Meadow
- Forsyth
- Scofield
- Currant Creek
- Flaming Gorge (Wyoming side)
- Otter Creek
- Huntington
- Cleveland
- Puffer Lake
- Woodruff
- Birch Creek
- Uinta Mountain lakes

Strawberry is totally capped and ice is safe in most areas. However, them may be thin spots so use caution. People report good fishing but tough conditions with deep snow. Roads have been a mess but should be plowed to Strawberry Bay and other key access spots by weekend. Parking areas will be plowed. People parking along the highway may be ticketed.

Ice is firming up quickly now on many of our reservoirs. We are now heading into the heart of the ice fishing season.

Echo is capped and some people have been fishing through ice near the dam. Ice has been thin on the rest of the reservoir but will become solid quickly with these cold temperatures.

Rockport has been mostly open water but it may have fishable ice near the dam this weekend.

Bear Lake cisco usually start spawning in mid-January. The annual Cisco Disco events will be Jan 22. Cutthroat fishing is often good prior to the cisco spawn. The lake has open water right now. About half the time it freezes before the cisco spawn.

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