Bear Lake ice report

[BearLakeFishGuy]

I showed up to Bear Lake last year with my Medium-Heavy trout ice fishing rod and seemed like most folks had much bigger rods. Can I get away with my normal ice fishing set up or do I need something bigger?

i think it depends, I've caught 27" cutties on my little ice rods, but now I'm using a short ugly stick that is rated for heavy fish, if I could ever get one to stay hooked up on it I'd let you know if it's better or not... Later J

Just curious why you might be having a retention issue on your hook-ups.
1)  Are you using a superline?  If not, I highly suggest doing so. The hook sets are much easier with superline in the deeper water, especially with short ice fishing rods.
2)  Are you using stinger hooks on your jigs?  I know the vast majority of people do not, but I sure do and I can say I catch at least 50% of the fish on my stingers.  I used a short piece of downrigger cable with crimp sleeves to a #4 red treble hook about 2-3" behind the main hook on a jig head.  
Anyway, just my thoughts.