Bear Lake is the only place in the world where anglers can hook into a Bonneville whitefish.
And, there's no better time to hook one of the rare fish than now. The Bonneville whitefish, not to be confused with the Bear Lake whitefish, are in the midst of their spawn.
The main difference in the two whitefish is size, said Tom Pettengill, sports fisheries coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
"The Bonneville can get up to 2 and 3 pounds," he explained, "where the Bear Lake reaches only about half that size. Also, the Bear Lake whitefish tend to stay out in deeper water where the Bonneville comes into shore to spawn."
Some of the best fishing has been along the shallows of Cisco Beach, on the eastern shore of the lake. Two fishermen, casting from shore last weekend, had limits (10 fish) within an hour and a half.
According to the DWR report, the Bonneville whitefish spawn is expected to peak this weekend along the Cisco Beach area. With the low water conditions, fishing from shore should be as good or possibly even better than fishing from boats since there is only a few feet of rocks that are in the water before the bottom drops off into very deep water.
Whitefish are likely to be close to shore spawning along the rocks in water 3 to 15 feet deep. Pound-for-pound, the Bonneville whitefish fight better than trout and, some say, taste even better. Some call the Bonneville whitefish the "poor man's lobster."
The Bonneville whitefish also lack the strong intramuscular bones that are present in the mountain whitefish typically found in rivers, which make them easier to fillet and eat.
Good lures to use for whitefish are small jigs — one-sixteenth to one-eighth ounce — fished close to the bottom. Small vertical jigging with spoons, such as Kastmasters and Swedish Pimple, are also effective.
Small spoons or No. 1 or No. 0 spinners work well. Make sure to fish the lures as close to the bottom as possible. Some anglers like to tip their spinners, spoons and jigs with a small piece of night crawler.
Fishing for cutthroat and lake trout has been fair. Most anglers are jigging in 30 to 60 feet of water using tube jigs tipped with cisco meat.
Good spots to try at this time of year include the Rockpile, Cisco Beach and 1st and 2nd Points.
The recommendation is that anglers keep moving until they find some active fish. A good sonar unit can make a big difference in helping to locate fish.
The annual cisco run will begin in early to mid-January.
The Bear Lake State Park has installed deicers in the marina to keep this ramp accessible for as long as possible. The depth of the marina is approximately 3 to 5 feet. Anglers can now launch small boats from the concrete boat ramp at Cisco Beach.
The ramp was extended last week and is now in the water. You may also launch small boats from the sandy beach around many parts of the Bear Lake shoreline, but anglers should do so at their own risk since there are many areas with deep, soft sand on the lake shore.
OGDEN RIVER — The South Fork of the Ogden River is still fair fishing for spawning brown trout. The stream flow is perfect for late fall fishing. Brown trout are concentrated in riffles and runs and will aggressively pursue bright fly patterns, such as eggs; large nymphs, such as green leaches; and streamers, such as Woolly Buggers, Double Bunnies and Muddlers. Bright colored, flashy spinners, spoons and small floating Rapalas also work well.
ROCKPORT— Success for rainbow trout has been good. Boat anglers are trolling popgear with worms or casting spinners. Anglers from shore have been using bait — worms, Power Bait and cheese.
STRAWBERRY — There is just a skiff of ice along the shoreline in some of the bays, which usually melts or gets blown off daily. Anglers report trolling pearl-colored tube jigs or curly tail jigs tipped with a worm. One angler reports finding fish in a school and jigging over them at 40 feet of water and doing well. Fish are starting to bite a little more softly.
PROVO RIVER — Great time of year to catch aggressive brown trout. Most anglers report good success. Standard Provo River nymphs, in sizes 18 or smaller, such as Pheasant Tails, Gold-Ribbed Hares Ear and other small nymphs will work best. Special regulations apply to much of this river
DEER CREEK — Good success from boats for trout using mainly pop gear or Rapalas. Shoreline anglers report fair success for fat rainbows by using traditional baits. Most are using Power Bait
YUBA — Some fat trout are being caught from shoreline and boat. Baits and even lures have produced some fat 19-inch trout. Fishing pressure is light, and fishing success has actually been reported as fair to good for larger rainbow trout. Anglers must release perch.
FLAMING GORGE — All ramps except Anvil Draw are accessible. Lake trout fishing is good in Linwood Bay. To protect spawning lake trout, Linwood Bay is closed to fishing 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. through Dec. 15. Other good locations include Sheep Creek, Antelope, Anvil Draw and Stateline. Look for fish 60 to 110 feet deep over points and along the river channel. Techniques include trolling bottom structure using down riggers or steel line and flatfish, crank baits or a flasher trailing a squid or small lure, or vertical jigging using tube or bucktail jigs with or without minnow or sucker meat. There are many small- and medium-size lake trout in Flaming Gorge, so please take advantage of the new six-fish limit on lake trout, but only one can be over 28 inches. Kokanee and smallmouth bass fishing will slow as water temperatures cool. Boat anglers are catching rainbow near the surface trolling small lures or a night crawler behind pop gear. Shore anglers should do well at Mustang, Sheep Creek, Antelope, Anvil Draw, Squaw Hollow and South Buckboard fishing a night crawler/marshmallow combo just off the bottom, or casting spinners or jigs.
SCOFIELD — The reservoir has been covered by ice for only a few days. Ice thickness and strength is variable, depending on the location. Cold temperatures are expected to strengthen the ice pack.
FISH LAKE — Little pressure. Fair fishing for rainbow and splake. Best fishing is by boat. You can catch rainbows still-fishing with bait or trolling spinners or pop gear with a worm. Troll deeper for lake trout. For splake, try anchoring and jig with a spoon or plastic jig tipped with sucker or perch meat. Shore fishing for rainbows is best at Twin Creek using worms or spinners, but remember, the stream itself is closed to fishing. If fishing is slow, try for perch near the weeds. Use a small spoon or jig tipped with a piece of worm or just a piece of worm below a float. Most of the perch are small but you can get a mess of tasty fillets in a short time.