Mantua?

[bigpapafish]

I'm hoping to get out to Mantua Sunday and was wondering how the ice is forming up now. I'm getting a little nervous now that the temps have risen here in Salt Lake. I've got my new Lazer auger that I just have to break in and my 5 year old is driving me nuts to go ice fishing again...he's been after me about ice fishing since June... He's got the bug bad[]....
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[djole]

I drove up and checked Mantua this morning and the ice is just shy of 4". I talked to a gentleman there fishing (didn't have the time to drop a line in) who said he talked to DWR officer who said the ice was 3.5" on tuesday. So, by sunday it should be just over 4".

Hope that helps!

DJ OLE
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]Sounds like it's totally fishable then if there's a good 4 inches. Heck, 3 inches is safe enough for my blood. However, if anybody is going to fish the SouthEast corner by the inlet area, I'd recommend being careful over there. I wouldn't get to close to the inlet area itself without drilling holes about every 20 yards or so as you get closer to it...
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[Cowboy_43]

Thanks for the report. I'll be up there at the cabin this weekend. Will have to drop in and fish. I'll report monday.
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[Widastick]

I drove past it yesterday. I talked to a fisherman and he said it was 4". for me that is safe. I agree with the previous post to be carefull by the inlet and also there are quite a few thermal areas that create weak spots in the ice. Be sure to watch out for that as well. I fell through there by the bank in 5ft of water 3 years ago. i was stupied but thats ok. I think the ice will be more that fine. Good luck!
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[WalleyeDude]

My father and I fished there yesterday on the SE end. the ice ranges from 4-6 inches but you need to be very careful because there are some big cracks where the ice is much thinner and not safe. Ice is very slick. Bring ice cleats if you got them.

The fishing was fair. We caught a few trout, few OK sized perch and bluegill but most were dinks. Had to move around a lot and couldn't find any concentrations of fish.
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[lavaman]

O.F.T., wanna hit Mantua in about a week? C'mon, you can get away can't ya? I'll even stop ranting on your Cougars!
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[bigpapafish]

Hey everyone thanks for the updates. Sounds like its a go, but as usual use good common sense out on the ice. I've gone through edge ice before because of changing water levels and I really don't want to do that again. Especially with my boy with me.

Thanks again for the updates
Tight lines,
Bigpapafish
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[FishingWaters]

I was out on Mantua today Friday. For the most part the ice is 4 to 6 inches thick except for the areas with springs, there was still open water about 4 to 6 inches across. The fishing was good however the catching was slow. It was a nice sunny day with no wind. We had to move a round a lot to find the fish and caught only a few.

Make sure you do not park anywhere on the dike park down below in the parking lot. Mantua police was handing out tickets to the trucks parked on the dike.
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[Fin-S-Fish]

what!? Everyone traditionally parks on the south side by that open access area. Are they enforcing that now too? That is messed up. Who wants to walk all the way from the west side? For crying out loud!
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[Troll]

Welcome to Mantua, come back, or just mail in your fine.
It's not like there is any crime to go after. If I was ever going to be a LEO that has got to "be the place". 30 and out with full pension at a job Barney Fife could do.
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[RILEYFISH]

No, Its 20 and Out. then come back and get your retierment and wages back. Its great to double dip!
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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]If you drive to the end of the road, there is a parking area where you will not be ticketed. It's not very big though and doubles as the turn around. The people who get ticketed are parked on the dikes. If you've fished much on Mantua and parked on the dike, you've probably got a "friendly reminder" from the Brigham City Water Works saying it is illegal to park anywhere on the dikes. Guess they are through being friendly plus Mantua is known to generate extra city funds by pumping out the tickets...[/size][/black][/font]
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[Fin-S-Fish]

yeah, you're right about the turnaround area......but with the crowds that show up on Mantua's east side, there's no way it's gonna fit all those cars. Plus it's a looooooong walk to the ice but hey, it's better than a ticket. That's for sure! Usually the cars just line up.......to about 20-30 or more on that dike next to the gap in the trees which is the main access point. Fished there all winter like upwards of three days a week, but was never bothered nor received any friendly reminders. Everyone seemed to park on that area. I guess it's not that friendly anymore. And parked on that area for years now too. Sure wish they could make a wintertime exception, but I guess it's not going to happen.

Oh well, fished Mantua today (Sat) and it was just pathetic. Went to the east side in the traditional "hot" zone for gills and bass. The fish were basically nonexistent. Maybe some snow cover on the ice would help. Those fish are either in the thicker weeds or some other location. But very dissappointing. Managed two 9 inch perch, one bluegill, and a small, 13 inch rainbow. Peered down into the holes and saw the bottom clearly in most locations. Weeds and bare patches on the bottom. No fish swimming around at all! Completely empty. Some holes were crystal clear. Others were somewhat more murky......due to swarms of daphnia.
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[djole]

Fished Mantua yesterday and caught a couple.... Between the 7 of us we pulled in about 30 perch and 1 nice bow. Had a great time on the ice though[]!

Bigpapafish, it was nice to meet you!
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]Hmmmm....that's strange. Did you have a fishfinder with you? And, if so, were you marking fish that way? For whatever reason, the fish must have been in another location-maybe out by the knoll, or more towards the middle of the lake? Also, did you use a strike indicator? I look forward to hitting Mantua in January. Don't have any time before then, unfortunately.
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[MrLipripper]

Geoff - I am planning on doing some night fishing on the 21st at Mantua. We'll start right about 5pm. I'll pay for everything and take you out to dinner at Maddox after. Don't bring a radio or portable TV - that really upsets me when people do.

Lemme know![cool][cool][cool][cool][cool][cool]
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[lavaman]

Hey if you guys go, I'll meet you there...I owe O.F.T. some Wax Worms anyways. As long as he doesn't wear a BYU jacket or anything, we won't cut his line.

Haven't hit Mantua yet this year, but a friend of mine says he's been going out toward the middle (staying away from the S.E. area), and only caught a couple blue gills, but he did ice some decent large mouth bass and a few nice trout as well.

I know that last winter when I met OutForTrout, we were really hooking into the blue gills over on that S.E. side.
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]Night fishing? Damn, that sounds cold! I know that the perch shut off at night, but maybe the gils still bite? How about the largies? I've been at Mantua past dark a couple of times when the bit was still good as the sun was on its way down. If I remember right the fishing really slowed down as soon as it got dark...

I'd love to fish with ya sometime, dude but I've got a punch of personal crap going on right now and won't be able to go fishin' til the 26th and I plan on going that day to "where the BIG 'gils bite, and the nice largies do too," if you catch my drift. I'm going to have take you up on your offer though say around New Years day or so?

OH!!!!!!!!!!! I GET IT NOW. The day of the 'vegas bowl, eh? HA HA VEWWY FUNNY DOCTA JONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, no can do. I'll be kickin it on the sofa with a bunch of hotwings and a big cold pepsi watching my boys destroy the Oregon Ducks!
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[Fin-S-Fish]

Didn't use a fishfinder.......even better method.....sight fishing through the ice. No aquaview needed. The ice is sooo clear as well as crystal clear water. Just put my head against the hole and looked down......it was clear as looking into the bottom of my bathtub. Saw weeds, bare patches, and plankton. No fish swimming around at all. Saw my tiny jig crystal clear too......no one came to look except finally the two perch that inhaled it and one little rainbow. Just like using aquaview but no need for one. Tilting my head sideways I could see horizontally for several ft away on all sides. Was at that SE hot zone. Or should I say DEAD zone. I'll try the middle next time.