12-30-2019, 04:10 AM
Decided I needed to get out and try the fresh ice up at Strawberry. While carrying my tackle box and sonar to the car my transducer fell out and hit the cement leaving a big chip missing out of transducer. After a few choice words I put it in the car hoping for the best and was on the road by 6. Got to the lake about 7:45 to a brisk-1` and was drilling the first hole by 8. Ice was clear ond about 6" thick. I optimistically dropped my transducer in the hole and powered on the sonar, it was working woo hoo. 25 FOW instantly saw a blimp on the screen and decided to drill more hole and drop lines. After 15 minutes of nothing I moved shallower 17 FOW. 15 more minutes of nothing when my buddy yelled and said my pole I left behind was getting hit. Made it back in time to hook him and iced a Strawberry standard 19-21" cutt. Then nothing for the next hour and a half. At 10:00 I decided to leave the warmth of the tent in search of better action. Headed out deeper and ended up in 34FOW. Dropped a line and on the way down got a hit about 10' down set the hook but lost him at the hole. Figuring this spot would be better I convinced my buddy to pack up and move. While we were resetting up I was able to ice another standard cutt. 20 minutes go by of constant close calls and missed bites when I'm finally able to set a hook on one and it feels solid. I start reeling him up and can tell this was not an average fish. I tell my buddy I think this is big one and about then he got the first look at it under the ice and confirms that it is big. After a short fight I finally get him to the hole and see his size, I'm now freaking out and carefully get him to turn his head up the hole and on to the ice. I can't believe the size of the fish in front of me. It's a 24" cutthroat my biggest trout ever, and my first slot buster in over a decade of fishing at Strawberry. Ended the day with a small rainbow and was off the ice around 12:30. All fish were caught on ratfinkees tipped with chub or mealworms.
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