2015 Wasach Back Quad Fishalon

I am not going to lie, I get pretty excited for ice fishing season every year and even more so about the Back Quad Fishalon. As the tournament approached I was very concerned for the thickness of ice on the reservoirs but I figured that if the ice was not safe they would postpone the event until open water and continue as an open water tournament.

Day one of the tournament came at East Canyon Reservoir. Getting onto the lake was a little sketchy but the ice seamed fine once we were away from the edge. Most of the action happened in the morning and the first Rainbow Trout was the largest of the day measuring just over 17". I felt excited about this fish as it would have put me in the top 3 the previous year. The day was beautiful and warm and very pleasant excluding the fact that fish were somewhat hard to come by.

Just before noon they called the event because of unsafe ice conditions. As I turned in my fish I realized that several others caught fish just as big as mine. I considered myself fortunate because most of the contestants had not caught a fish, which would put me in a favorable starting point for the the rest of the event. All in all it was a very good day on the ice.

A short time later I saw an email survey asking if contestants wanted to participate in an open water tournament and a follow up email canceling the event altogether. The news caused a sinking feeling in my stomach. To make matters worse I wasn't able to find safe ice anywhere else in order to pursue my own ice fishing endeavors. Ice fishing season was over!

Fish Lake Perch Tournament

The morning started early as we headed south towards Fish Lake. It was dark and expectations were uncertain. We arrived, geared up and registered before heading out on the already crowded ice. I knew that our success depended on locating the weed line where perch like to hide out. Though I had never been on a frozen version of Fish Lake before, I was armed with an internet education on perch and a few tricks gleaned through discussions with numerous friends.



Noticing the line of tents and fishermen that ran parallel to the shore line, we concluded that we needed to find a place in the same single file line in order to be on the weed line. I punched a series of holes between 12 and 17 feet deep and after a little sonar and camera work we found a nice weed bed with stacks of perch. Not long after putting lures in the water we had a nice pile of perch.

The fishing started fast and only got faster. After a half hour the action accelerated to an exciting rate. I believe it took that long to create a decent sized school of perch below. The technique was simply to let the small meal worm tipped jig hit the bottom, reel up one full turn, count to three and set the hook.

The amazing part was that very few others in the area were catching anything. Feeling I had to do something to motivate the other fisherman who weren't experiencing the same success I instructed the boys that when they hooked a fish to yell at the top of their lungs, "Fish On!"

In all, Adam and I did very little fishing for ourselves during the morning. It was more like a daddy line-rigging marathon. The repetition went:

Unhook fish

 attach meal worm

take rod with hooked fish from boy

hand newly baited rod to boy

FISH ON!

(Then Repeat)

Not too far into the morning the boy caught a 9.5 inch fish which meant a prize if he could get it to the check in station before anyone else. So I sent him running. 10 minutes later he showed up wearing his new fishing hat. Adams boy went running after catching his 50th fish, and brought back a new camp chair. Once the boys won their prizes we finally got a chance to fish for ourselves.

Perch wasn't the only species we were catching. Throughout the morning the boys landed several rainbow trout. Later in the day we caught a few Splake. The Splake were beautiful fish and a welcome change of pace.

After wearing out their little arms reeling in perch the boys turned their attention to exploring the ice and hunting for food. They found the jackpot at the weigh in station where they were giving away free hot dogs, fried fish and hot chocolate.

The DNR and Cabelas representatives came around handing out jigs and other free stuff. Brian from Cabelas taught us how to use a perch eye as bait. The perch eye worked just as well as the meal worms but it stayed on the hook better and we didn't have to keep replacing it in between fish.

The weather was perfect, the morning was mild and the day was sunny and reached 45 degrees. In fact, I never did wear my coat. Just a long sleeve shirt, a hoody and sun screen. On these warm days my favorite sound in the world is that of popping ice. One series of pops in particular started down the shore line popping louder as it got closer and then moving a couple miles up the shore line continued popping stirring fisherman to react with squeals and cheers. It reminded me of the spectators at a football game doing the wave, just on a much larger scale.

Talking to some of the DNR officials we had heard that there are more than 1,600 registered for the tournament. After calculating our odds of winning a prize in the raffle to be held at the end of the tournament we decided it would be a good idea to get a head start on the drive home.

I weighed in at 23 lbs of perch which I assumed was not enough to win the overall weight category since I spent most of the morning as a support function to the boys and not able to fish for myself. All together we caught about 180 fish. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

The ride home was exciting as we called our wives and had our kids report back on their fishing experience. It was one of our best ice fishing days ever. When we got home we cooked up some of the fish and tucked in for a much needed nap.

Winter Fishing Season 2015

Strawberry Reservoir Cutthroat

Ice Fishing
Winter is here and that means it's time for Ice Fishing. Many anglers overlook the ice fishing season but hard water fishing offers some unique opportunities. If you have ever had a difficult time holding your boat steady while jigging over a stack of fish or had to retreat early from afternoon winds then you need to try ice fishing. There are three major advantages to fishing through the ice. First is location. You don't need a boat to get to your favorite spot. Second is lure placement. You don't have to fight wind or chop, you can jig perfectly vertical and use the most sensitive of tackle. The third advantage is being stealthy. You don't have to worry about the putter of a trolling motor, you can hold absolutely still making no noise at all. Some of my largest catches have been through the ice and some of my best numbers have been through the ice as well. Don't sit at home this winter.

Upcoming Events
I love this time of year. It seams as though there are tournaments and fishing events every weekend. It doesn't matter what flavor you prefer there is something that will interest you. I entered my first Ice Fishing Derby last year just to try it out and I immediately fell in love. If you have never entered one, just sign up. You'll be happy you did. Take your pick from the following list. Click the links for more information.

• Wasatch Back Quad-Fishalon - This trout only Ice Fishing Derby takes place over the course of 4 separate Saturdays from January 31st through February 21st. Reservoirs consist of East Canyon, Deer Creek, Rockport and Jordanelle. Each event offers gift cards for the first 3 places and the largest 3 entries (only one from each reservoir) are combined to determine the first 3 places in the overall tournament including an ice fishing package from Cabelas said to be worth $2,500. The entry fee is $55 and includes a raffle ticket for each event giving you a chance to win a number of cool prizes. (Also See Back Quad Post)
• Basin Ice Fishing Bowl - This tournament is similar to the Quad-Fishalon except it takes place over two consecutive weekends and starts at Steinaker State Park and concludes at Starvation State Park. Each is a separate event offering gift cards for the top 3 places which are determined by the combined length of three possible species. The combined lengths from both events are added to determine the top 3 places in the overall event. If you feel that you are a well rounded angler able to target Largemouth, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Walleye and Trout through the ice, then this might be the challenge for you. Adult entry fees are $35 and kids are $15.
• Deer Creek Ice Fishing Derby - This is a new tournament hosted by an up-n-coming fishing guide. The tournament takes place on Deer Creek Reservoir on January 24th. The entry fee is $50 and the grand prize is a whopping $1,000. Other prizes will be raffled off on the day of the tournament.
• Burbot Bash - This is a 3 day team-style burbot tournament taking place on the 23rd, 24th and 25th at Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The tournament was established with one objective in mind, removing burbot from the reservoir. The tournament has gained steam over the years and attracts quite a turn out. The entry fee is $40 per adult and $10 per kid. Cash prizes are awarded to the top 3 in each category. Most fish and largest fish for the adults and most fish and smallest fish for the kids. Tagged fish can be worth $10,000. Support the Flaming Gorge fishery and do your part to reduce burbot numbers while having a fantastic time.
• Bear Lake Cisco Disco - This event is a seasonal fishing event for the Bear Lake Cisco which is only found in Bear Lake. Dip netting is the preferred method and is fun for the whole family. The days events continue with the Monster Polar Plunge and a chili cook-off.
• Fish Lake Perch Tournament - This tournament is at Fish Lake on January 24th. There are prizes given for men, women and kids in several categories. This is the first year I have heard about this tournament I am excited to see how it turns out.

Top 5
There are several fisheries that could offer a spectacular fishing experience this winter but in an effort to narrow down the options I have created a shortlist based on several hard to quantify factors. My choices for the top 5 fishing prospects are as follows:

1. Currant Creek Reservoir - This reservoir is relatively small and often overlooked by those who frequent Strawberry Reservoir. A healthy population of Cutthroat and Tiger Trout crews this reservoir which can offer fast fishing in a beautiful high mountain setting. Crowds are rarely a problem at this unique change-of-pace type destination.
2. Strawberry Reservoir - This well known fishery lives up to its reputation. You will likely catch several slot sized Cutthroat Trout, many of them pushing 20 inches. It is not uncommon to hook a Rainbow of the same size range. Being close to civilization you will likely have plenty of company but no worries, there is plenty for everyone. 
3. Scofield Reservoir - This reservoir gets a lot of unfair reviews by those who don't understand what is has to offer. The reservoir has a substantial population of Utah Chub which can overrun your presentations depending on how and where you fish. These chub, though troublesome, have become food for 5-10 lb cuthroat and even larger tigers including a 19lb state record caught last winter through the ice. With a 4-5 inch dead chub minnow and a fair amount of determination and you will not be disappointed.
4. Birch Creek Reservoir - This reservoir is a bit out of the way but it offers both heavy cutthroat and tiger trout with fairly light angling pressure. The combination is an obvious recipe for success. Fishing is not often fast but quality is often the reward here.
5. Causey Reservoir - This reservoir made the list because of its beautiful steep pined mountain environment as well as the variety of fishing opportunities that it has to offer. There is no better place in the state to catch Kokanee Salmon through ice. In shallow depths you will catch cutthroat, tiger trout and rainbows. Move into deeper water and bring in a splake or two.

Take the Family
Ice fishing is a perfect opportunity to introduce young kids or beginners to fishing. The secret to having a great family outing is preparation. Don't try something new and expect to have a great family fishing experience. Choose a location that you are familiar with and make sure you are prepared for the worst. A tent, heater and lots of snacks can make all the difference. If you don't have a tent, no problem, just make sure the days temperature is going to be fair and that the sun will be out. Don't forget sunglasses and sunscreen. The most important part is how you treat your family during their trip. Do not get agitated or frustrated. They are the guests of honor. Give your children the attention they have been longing for and for crying out loud, hand the pole off when you hook a fish. You will have plenty of opportunities to catch fish with the guys.

Safety
Have fun and stay safe during the winter fishing season. Remember that no trophy or prize is worth your life. All ice should be considered unsafe and caution should always be used. Dress in layers of wool and polyester which retains at least some portion of its insulating properties when wet. Most importantly always use the buddy system, minor accidents often become life threatening when you are alone.

Featured Fishery
This seasons featured fishery is Strawberry Reservoir. Click on the link to read all about fishing at this blue ribbon fishery.

Featured Species
This seasons featured species is Tiger Trout. Click on the link to read more about where to catch these veracious feeders and how to fool them into striking.

Featured Article
Follow the link to learn more about ice fishing including best practices and techniques, and the equipment that you will  need to get started.

The 2014 Scofield Ice Fishing Derby

As a reward for a fantastic report card I signed me and my boy up for the Scofield Ice Fishing Derby. He was excited to compete in his first tournament and I was excited to get out on the ice before January. We had fished Scofield many times before but had always caught our share of Cutthroat Trout. Since the Tournament was a Rainbow Trout only tournament I began my parental duty of trying to figure out how to catch a rainbow trout. I decided it would be best to take the kid up the day before for a practice run. We caught loads of Cutts and Chub but no Bows. Our pre-fish trip taught us two important lessons on how to catch rainbows: Where not to fish and how not to fish. The only thing that gave us hope at this point was the fact that no one else on the lake seemed to know how to catch one either.

The morning of the tournament started early and led us out onto the dark frozen lake. The morning was bone chilling, and the ice was a crusty slush sandwich that somehow found its way into our "waterproof" boots. Holes drilled, we began the work of sorting through piles of cutts and chubs looking for one solitary rainbow trout to turn in at the measuring table. After several hours of no bows and in an attempt to keep the experience positive for my young trooper, I offered a warm ride down the canyon to the burger joint of his choice. I could not believe my ears when he replied "No dad, I have a tournament to win. Besides we are catching tons of fish." He even asked me if we were aloud to come back out after the tournament was over. Was I ever proud of my boy!

With an hour to go the kid ran after another sprung Jaw Jacker. This time, as the fish lay on the ice we both paused for a moment. He asked "Is it? I replied "Ya". Then we danced around like stupid people and gave each other high fives and hugs like we had won the lotto.

 I had never been that excited about a 12 inch fish. I didn't care that we had little to no chance of winning with such a small entry. I was just relieved that he was going to be able to turn something in. At the measuring table they gave him a generous length of 12 & 1/8 inches. We looked at each other in astonishment when they put his name on the leader board in 5th place. A short time later he was replaced by someone else who had him by an 8th of an inch, and then a 4th, and then a 1/2.

Even though he did not place, there were no looks of disappointment in his expressions. Out of 400+ of the roughest looking camo-covered die-hards he was number 8. His desire to keep fishing was replaced with one to hurry home to tell his Mom and siblings about the greatest day ever. As we drove home I was overcome with the feeling that this was the greatest day ever. Not because we had won anything. Or even caught a decent sized fish. It was because of the determination and attitude presented by my son.

2014 The Back Quad-fishalon

I had never participated in an ice fishing derby and was feeling the call of the frozen water. I had missed the Scofield tournament in December but ran across a web page advertising the Wasatch Back Quad-fishalon. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to stretch my ice fishing skills and see how I stack up against other winter anglers. At first I planned to pick only a couple of events but found myself registered for all four ice fishing events instead. I was excited yet intimidated by the fact that I had never ice fished any of the waters on the tournament list. For that matter, I had never fished Rockport or East Canyon at any time of the year. I am a firm believer in researching an area before fishing it. I had some time to review my trusted East Canyon Fish n Map and choose a few promising locations for the tournament day. I tried to find feeding flats adjacent to break lines or drop offs. I was beginning to feel ready for my first ice derby.

East Canyon Reservoir
My brother Keith agreed to accompany me on the first event. We arrived at East Canyon State Park at 6:30 am, and before registering I experienced a bad omen. In the darkness I reached into my sled to free my pull rope, which was snagged on something, and felt a funny sensation. Then it hit me, I had just cut myself on my auger blade. I used the best first aid I could come up with at the time and warped an extra sock around my hand and started out into the darkness with our sleds at our backs and the ice under foot. We found a good spot and started punching holes with my trusty hand auger. Before I knew what was happening a fellow fisherman began drilling holes all around me with his power auger. He asked how many I wanted and continued on. We fished within 20 yards of our new friend for the rest of the day. This was the first time I met Jim. The day continued and the bite was slow. I fished small jigs tipped with a piece of crawler or meal worm. I had a rod in the hand and a bonus rod rigged on a Jaw Jacker. The total catch for the day consisted of 5 rainbow trout, the largest measuring in at 379 Millimeters. Keith fared about the same, his biggest measuring just shy of mine. Even though I only finished 11the place for the day, I had a very enjoyable day chatting with Jim when the bite slowed down. At the conclusion of the event I exchanged numbers with Jim and wished him luck before heading home.

Deer Creek Reservoir
I kept in touch with Jim and traded ideas on how to approach Deer Creek. He had pre-fished the reservoir earlier in the week and shared some of his successful strategies as he found a spot fairly close to the boat ramp. In contrast I chose to fish a location 1 mile across the ice from the weigh in station. The plan was to find a spot far from others where we could stealthily fish the shallow flats. This time I was accompanied by a friend, Adam, and might I add a good friend at that. He voluntarily followed me out over a mile across the dark ice in the rain and shin deep snow. We started catching fish as soon as we set up. Only 45 minutes into the competition I landed a 20 inch hook-jawed beauty of a rainbow in full spawning colors.

Despite doing my best to scare the fish away by letting out some celebratory cries and inventing some form of a dance, we continued catching fish for the next 3 hours. 22 fish later we decided to make the trek back across the lake to weigh in what I was sure to be a money fish.

After hitting the weigh station and recording a 499 millimeterfish we headed over to check on Jim. On the way over we ran across many fisherman that were in the process of giving in and going home. It seemed that no one we had talked to had caught anything. To our delight Jim and his fishing buddy had landed more than 40 fish, one of which topped 19 inches. I thought for sure we were both in the money.

As we huddled close to hear the announcement of who placed in what position I learned that I had missed third place by a mere 16th of an inch. The person who edged me out also caught the largest fish at East Canyon.  This would mean that he had at more than 2.5 inches on me for the tournament. I will admit that I felt just a little disappointed as we drove home.

A few days later I learned that I had moved up the ranks to 2nd place overall and Jim had secured 3rd place. I had not realized how well we had done and felt a sense of exhilaration for being in such a good position heading into the second half of the tournament.

Jordanelle Reservoir
I kept in contact with Jim leading up to the Jordanelle portion of the competition. As before, we shared ideas about how and where to fish in order to optimize our chances of landing a lunker. Jordanelle presented a new problem. I know I had to take a somewhat conservative approach but I also knew that the largest fish would be browns. This time I brought Keith and my boy. We made the 1/2 mile hike accross the lake in the dark and set up the rods. Not long after groups of anglers started closing fast, it was a constant hum of atvs and gas augers for about an hour and a half. Through the morning I could not buy a bite and Keith missed 2 jaw jackers. The fisherman adjacent from me caught a sizable fish or at least that's what I deduced from his joyful cries. After that afternoon aproached I visited the others in the area and the story was all the same, no fish. I called Jim and he let me know he had a good sized trout in the bag. I moved spots a few time before 12:30 pm. I couldn't believe this was hapening. I was just a short time away from getting skunked. As I made my way back over to our original spot Keith was wrestling a good sized brown. It measured 20 inches and somehow gave me renewed hope.

I strung a crawler on the jaw jacker and went with a 3 inch tube jig tipped with chub meat on my primary line. We were fishing in 14 feet of water and had to be super quiet. It was not long before we started getting bites. Then I hooked and landed a 21.5 inch brown almost without a fight. The relief was overwhelming. It was not a money fish but it would keep me in the top three in the overall standings.

I went for a walk with my son hole hopping old holes deserted by others in the area. I dropped my line down one hole and thought I had snagged on the bottom. The snag started moving and I reached over and gave the rod to my boy thinking it was a perch or small rainbow. Turns out it was a heavy Smallmouth. I could not believe it.

We ran our catches over to weight station. The DWR officers were pretty impressed with both fish  but mostly with the smallie. They explaned that they don't see many that size in the reservoir let alone caught through the ice.

We ran back over to see if Keith had caught another brown. He had not. After we got all lines back in the water something wonderful and amazing happened. I felt a hit and immediately gave it a hookset. It felt heavy and I knew right away it was another brown. Just then the Jaw Jacker went off and keith went running and sliding across the ice. About the time Keith started retrieving his fish mine came off. Feeling a bit discouraged I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my bonus rod I had sitting over a bucket started to do the macarena. Without thinking, I picked up the rod into a hookset with one fluid motion. It did not feel very big until I caught a glimpse of it through the hole. It was a monster brown. Then it shot off like a rocket, stripping line under the ice. Finally when I got another glimpse of it again I reached through the hole and pulled the fish out of the water. What an amazing fish.

 This 24" Brown Trout placed 2nd in the day event earning a $150 gift card and pushed me into the #1 spot overall with one event to go. The three of us only caught 5 fish for the day but they were 5 fantastic fish.

Rockport Reservoir

The Rockport event was postponed until open water due to unsafe ice. I had a small boat and planned to prefish the reservoir the day before the event. I was feeling pretty confident being 2 inches ahead of Jim and about 7 inches ahead of most of the pack. As long as I caught a reasonable sized fish I knew I would have a strong chance of placing. The day before the tournament Keith and I caught more than 30 fish long lining rapalas behind planer boards. The largest two measured in at 18 inches and made a delicious meal before camping the night.

In the morning we hit the reservoir with confidence. In the first 15 minutes I landed a 16 inch rainbow that basically secured me one of the top tree positions for the overall. The only thing that could knock me out of first place now was if Jim got lucky and hooked into a big brown. At 11am I landed a 17 inch  rainbow adding to my excitment. Jim would have to catch better than a 19 inch trout to keep me from winning the tournament.

With only an hour left to fish we started trolling over toward the flats where the river enters the reservoir. I thought if we were going to find a brown that is where we should go. In the distance we saw Jim's boat out near the inlet. Apparently I was not the only one with that idea. We kept trolling keeping the competition in sight. Half hour to go and life was getting good. Then with 15 minutes left as we were considering heading back to the ramp I saw Jim and his fishing buddy move faster than I knew they were capable of. Bringing their lines in and creating a wake that would have knocked me out of the lake if I were any closer, I took one look at Keith and we both know that it meant trouble. I held the throttle open on my little 9.9 heading back to the weigh station to check out the damage. We pulled into the dock and I ran over to the leader board and saw the most discouraging sight of the tournament. At the top of the board it read Jim. Unlike the disappointment I felt at Deer Creek and despite the emotional roller coaster of the previous 7 hours I felt a huge sense of relief that I had finished as well as I had. I ended the tournament better than I had deserved. This was my first  ice fishing derby and I had placed second overall and placed second in the Jordanelle event with a spectacular brown trout.

Final tally
-Over 60 trout caught including a 24 inch brown a 17 inch small mouth a 20inch rainbow
-Quality time spent with my son
-$450 in total winnings
-Lots of fun prizes including a camp table, a cabin stay at East Canyon and a buck knife for the boy
-Experience of a lifetime

Winning Fish
East Canyon   379mm
Deer Creek     499mm
Jordanelle       599mm
Rockport        416mm
Total             1893mm

Disclaimer - Being a fisherman I am obliged to rounding up on all fish sizes mentioned in this post.