02-04-2006, 02:14 AM
[font "Times New Roman"][black][size 3]I usually try to avoid “hot spotting” places because I don’t think most places can take the pressure. American Falls Reservoir is large enough that it can handle the pressure. It is already fished by a lot of anglers anyway so I thought this report wouldn't hurt. In the past I have felt bad about being so tight lipped and will try to post reports about my trips a little more often. [
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Today may have been the best big fish day that I have ever had ice fishing.[cool] I was fishing out from the boat ramp that is just NW of the Dam aka Medicare Beach. The ice was 3”-5” in my holes.[shocked] I heard that there is about a foot of ice at Sportsman’s Park. It would have been nice to have a longer board but my 10’ board worked if I placed it in the right spot. I thought the ice was going to break where it supported my board when I was getting off.[blush] The edges are soft and the reservoir is rising so bring a board if you go. If the weatherman’s forecast is correct then I think the ice conditions will improve this next week.
I fished in 5-25 feet of water and found the 10-20 foot range to be best. I caught fish suspended as well as close to the bottom. I only caught rainbows and it was normally 15-30 minutes between bites. I was there from 11:30am - 4:30pm and only iced 5 fish. I had 5-6 more fall off at the hole and missed over a dozen bites. The smallest fish that I caught was about 16”(didn’t put a tape on him). I also caught the largest rainbow that I have put on the ice in 7 or 8 years as well as a couple others around 21”-22”. He is probably the biggest rainbow that I have caught on 2lb line. Considering how hard these fish pulled I'm going to avoid using 2lb line at American Falls the rest of the winter. I probably would have landed at least a couple more fish if I wasn't using 2lb and 4lb line.[crazy] I also lost one that I think had more than a couple pounds on my biggest of the day as well as a couple other really nice fish.[
] I didn’t see anyone else fishing but several guys stopped to check how I was doing. One group said they fished by Sportsman’s Park for 3-4 hours and were skunked.
American Falls was better fishing in 2005 than it has been since the beginning of the drought about 5 years ago and I think it is only going to improve. At American Falls I don’t expect to average 5-10 trout an hour like you can at some of the other reservoirs in Eastern Idaho but the average size makes it worth it. Don't forget about the fish advisory that the Department of Health and Welfare put out a couple weeks ago. If you are going to keep a lot of fish for dinner the younger ones have less Mercury.
Here’s a picture of my best fish of the day. He measured 23 3/4" long and had a 13 1/4" girth. He swallowed the hook and I wanted to see what he was eating so I decided to keep him even though he would have probably been ok if I released him. He had what looked like a partially digested 4” chub in his stomach as well as a couple other minnow skeletons and nymphs.
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[font "Times New Roman"][black][size 3]I'm going to try to fish American Falls several times over the next couple weeks. If anyone else would like to fish there with me let me know.
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] Today may have been the best big fish day that I have ever had ice fishing.[cool] I was fishing out from the boat ramp that is just NW of the Dam aka Medicare Beach. The ice was 3”-5” in my holes.[shocked] I heard that there is about a foot of ice at Sportsman’s Park. It would have been nice to have a longer board but my 10’ board worked if I placed it in the right spot. I thought the ice was going to break where it supported my board when I was getting off.[blush] The edges are soft and the reservoir is rising so bring a board if you go. If the weatherman’s forecast is correct then I think the ice conditions will improve this next week.
I fished in 5-25 feet of water and found the 10-20 foot range to be best. I caught fish suspended as well as close to the bottom. I only caught rainbows and it was normally 15-30 minutes between bites. I was there from 11:30am - 4:30pm and only iced 5 fish. I had 5-6 more fall off at the hole and missed over a dozen bites. The smallest fish that I caught was about 16”(didn’t put a tape on him). I also caught the largest rainbow that I have put on the ice in 7 or 8 years as well as a couple others around 21”-22”. He is probably the biggest rainbow that I have caught on 2lb line. Considering how hard these fish pulled I'm going to avoid using 2lb line at American Falls the rest of the winter. I probably would have landed at least a couple more fish if I wasn't using 2lb and 4lb line.[crazy] I also lost one that I think had more than a couple pounds on my biggest of the day as well as a couple other really nice fish.[
] I didn’t see anyone else fishing but several guys stopped to check how I was doing. One group said they fished by Sportsman’s Park for 3-4 hours and were skunked. American Falls was better fishing in 2005 than it has been since the beginning of the drought about 5 years ago and I think it is only going to improve. At American Falls I don’t expect to average 5-10 trout an hour like you can at some of the other reservoirs in Eastern Idaho but the average size makes it worth it. Don't forget about the fish advisory that the Department of Health and Welfare put out a couple weeks ago. If you are going to keep a lot of fish for dinner the younger ones have less Mercury.
Here’s a picture of my best fish of the day. He measured 23 3/4" long and had a 13 1/4" girth. He swallowed the hook and I wanted to see what he was eating so I decided to keep him even though he would have probably been ok if I released him. He had what looked like a partially digested 4” chub in his stomach as well as a couple other minnow skeletons and nymphs.
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[font "Times New Roman"][black][size 3]I'm going to try to fish American Falls several times over the next couple weeks. If anyone else would like to fish there with me let me know.
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