Bear Lake Cisco fishing with small non motorized boat?

[devortiz06]

I heard about the upcoming Cisco Disco and thought this sounded like something fun to try. Neither me or anyone I was thinking of going with has done it before. There is no ice this year and none of us own waders so we were thinking of using a small rowboat (holds 2-3 people and can fit in the back of my truck, though it sticks out a bit). The boat only needs about 3 inches of water to float when loaded so it should be possible to maneuver near shore without much difficulty. We are thinking of just taking the boat in my truck to Cisco beach and putting it in there as 2-3 of us can easily carry it. Would this approach work or would using a small craft be inadvisable? I've only ever heard of people using waders or ice fishing for cisco. The only difficulty I predict is that high wind could be hard to handle. Also would there be any additional fees or registration issues for this boat? I've never been to bear lake before and this will be the first outing (other than a quick test) with this boat.


The boat is an approximately 12 foot long wooden rowboat recently built by a family member. I know we will need life vests and bail bucket, and should probably get a small anchor as well as a good dip net. From what I've seen only motorized craft and sailboats need to be registered so there shouldn't be any issues but the fish and game officers will probably be out in force for the event so I want to be sure that everything is in order.
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[buckhunterhart]

Having done the cisco fishing for the last couple of years I have never seen anyone netting from a boat, but I have seen people fishing near cisco beach from a similar sized boat with their newly netted cisco. (It is illegal to use them if they are still alive I believe).

I don't see any reason why it would not work, as long as the weather is cooperative and the wind is not blowing. You will need to pay the normal state park launch fee and have a quagga muscle certification for your watercraft. The park rangers/DNR are on site during the cisco disco event and will check you. I believe you can do the certification online now. The main issue I believe you may encounter would be the ability to maintain stationary and balanced while shifting weight in a small craft.

Personally I think the investment of a cisco net and a pair of chest waders is justifiable for years of enjoyment doing this event. I am not one to discourage someone trying things a different way, just please stay safe. Oh, and have fun, it is a great reason to get out this time of year.
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[gmwahl]

Without a motor you should be fine.
The ciscos are totally easy to catch from a boat right off shore. There are a couple of ways to do this.

First way is to just get over about 2-3 feet of water and anchor up so that you don't move and then just sit there with your dipnets in the water , on the bottom, and wait for the ciscos to swim over your net. All you need to do at that point is scoop them up.
Second way of doing it from a rowboat is to, again, anchor up, but this time do it over about 10-20 feet of water and drop spoons, castmasters, or jigs straight to the bottom and jig it hard. The fun of this is that it is legal to keep any foul hooked ciscos (and there will be plenty) and you also run the excellent chance of a cutthroat gulping your lure because they are right off shore feeding on the ciscos. Plus, the ciscos are so plentiful when they are along the shoreline that your fun can end with one scoop a lot of the time, jigging for them makes the fun last a little longer with the benefit of hooking other fish.
You only need to go straight out from where the ciscos are schooling up along the shoreline to do it that way and it wont be a long way to row the boat.

When you get done there, come over to the state park marina in Garden City and either participate in or watch the annual Bear Lake Monster Polar Plunge and chili cook off. There will be free hot chocolate, free chili to taste and if you register over at cisco beach, you can bring your ciscos over to have the largest one measured for the biggest cisco contest. There will be an adult and childrens division and the contest is open to the first 49 in each division that register. The prizes will be pretty substantial too! Also, anyone who wants to register and participate in the chili cook off can do so and there will be some big prizes for the 1-3 place winners as well.
you can find out more by going to [url "http://www.bearlake.org/events"]www.bearlake.org/events[/url]
I'll post a separate thread regarding the Cisco Disco shortly with links and info.

we hope to see you there and good luck with the boat!
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[gmwahl]

I forgot to mention. If the wind isn't blowing very hard you can stand right on the edge of the shore and net them without wading, but wading makes it a little easier. Good luck!
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[BearLakeFishGuy]

Over the last 23 years at Bear Lake I've seen a lot of people try to use a dip net from the small boat, just as you have described. It is difficult and dangerous to do. WHY?
#1 If you anchor in the water, the cisco will typically avoid going under or even close to your boat in most cases
#2 You will likely need to anchor both the front and back of the boat. When trying to sweep a cisco net through the water the boat moves a whole lot easier than the net.
#3 Doing #2 throws people off balance and they end up going in the lake head first. If you are lucky, you'll be able to wade to shore, but with the very steep bottom you can easily be in well over your head just a few feet from shore.

It is a WHOLE LOT easier and safer to simply use a cisco net and kneel down right at the water's edge (in order to keep a low profile). Put the net in the water and remain motionless until cisco swim over your net. Better yet...while you are kneeling down have a friend with a long rod use a body of a jig/soft plastic (remove hook with wire cutters) to "lure" the cisco in over your submerged net and simply lift.

Wader are ideal, but I've caught many cisco over the years without getting my toe in the water. Be safe. Bring your boat to anchor just off shore in about 20-50' of water and jig for cutthroat and lake trout after you scoop up your cisco.
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[joevanoni]

How about a belly boat ??I have both waders and couple of dip nets. Also couple of belly boats. Might try it just to see if it works.
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