Bear Lake trout

[Elkoholic]

When does the trout fishing pick up at the bear? I need to get working on catching a mack. When do they get good and active again? I have my Cisco and this year I'm more prepared. Gotta get that skunk off me.

Thanks.
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[Kent]

Right now was good last year. Biggest problem is getting where the fish are.
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[wiperhunter2]

Kent is right, if you can get on the water now, it is the right time. Last year, we caught the most and the biggest fish during two times of the year. We caught more macks most right now and we caught the biggest macks during the spawn in November. If mother nature makes up her mind about freezing the lake or not it better happen soon because the weather will start warming up before you know it. WH2
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[gofish]

I have had my best luck about a month ago...right before the cisco run. They camp out at the Rock Pile or over on the East side out from Cisco Beach to the boat ramp. You can get some now but the action is usually better the end of December until the cisco start to run. Then the whitefish are spawning and that brings smaller fish in to scarf up the eggs. Then the macks and big cutts come in to eat them. It can be deadly then. Right now the macks are gorging on cisco. Its hard to compete with a live active cisco. Around two more weeks, the action should pick up again as the cisco run ends and the macks start to get hungry again. You can catch them now but the action is not as fast. Elk is right, another good time is October and November are good times to try. Try it in shallower water by the west side marina during the evening hours. It can be hot too.

J.

"Hook'em Pretty"
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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I'll give the nod to gofish's assessment. I've found that the cisco spawn can put a kink in the fishing for a few weeks. Don't get me wrong, you can catch fish anytime and the chance for a decent mack is always there but competing with the cisco run is tough duty.[/size][/black][/font]
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[wiperhunter2]

We haven't been able to fish that time of the year because we are hunting late season cow elk during that time. Maybe this year we will be able to give it a try. Do you think it is good at that time of the year because the macks are still feeding heavily after their spawn or just having a hard time finding food? It sound like they are waiting for the cisco spawn to start. Last year at this time we were fishing on the ice at the Bear and after jigging up a few cisco on the pile we went to deeper water. We had one of the best days of the year catching 15 macks apiece, we caught bigger macks in the fall during the spawn but never that many in one day. Maybe it was just a lucky day but it is one I won't soon forget. WH2
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[Pugstones]

[black][size 3]I also believe that this time of year is a little more difficult to catch alot of Macks but the nice thing is that most of them are so full of Cisco that catching a big 20+ pounder is well in reach. I had some friends go out yesterday and they caught 30 whitefish, 10 trout, and still snagged a few Cisco's. They were fishing off of the Rock Pile in about 31' of water, they would have probably done a little better on the trout if they would have gone out deeper like WiperHunter2 expalined. [/size][/black]
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[size 3]I think that the best times to fish the lake, if your after Macks, is during the spawn, Oct. 15 - Nov. 15, and then Jan 1 - Jan 15th. The biggest Mack I ever caught was during the run, but the heaviest was this time of year. [/size]
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[size 3]Darin[/size]
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[Elkoholic]

If the weather stays good i'm probably going to make a trip up there on presedents day weekend. I may even be brave enough to bring my boat. I keep hearing horor stories about how cold it is sitting out there in the water this time of year. I don't even care if I only get one mack. For some reason I just cannot seem to get them to bite my jig. I've set up my wife and friends (with my gear of course) and they seem to get into them but not me. All I ever get is the cutts. I keep telling them I'm waiting for a 15+ pounder. Anyway, maybe I'll see ya up there in a couple of weeks.

Elko
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[wiperhunter2]

It's no worse fishing in a boat this time of the year than it is standing on the ice, just wear the same clothes you would if you were ice fishing and you won't have a problem. If the ice isn't piled up on the shore line, maybe we will see you up there on the holiday weekend. WH2
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