This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Scott Tolentino, Bear Lake Project Leader for the UDWR, sent in this report for Bear Lake and some other area waters.
Bear Lake Fishing Report: After a tough week with ice forming all over the lake and making fishing/access difficult, the warm weather and wind has opened up the entire lake. Launching is excellent for boats and is available at the Utah State Park marina, Rainbow Cove, 1st Point and Spinnaker Point Marina. There is no snow on the ground. Fishing continues to be good for cutthroat trout and fair for whitefish. The Bear Lake whitefish spawn is winding down, but some whitefish are biting on the Rockpile in about 45-50' of water using small jigs or jigging spoons tipped with a meal worm or salmon egg. Cutthroat trout are being caught by jigging and trolling on the Rockpile area in 50-70' of water and off the Cisco Beach area. A few cutthroat are also being taken from shore off the Bear Lake State Park Marina casting spoons or crankbaits in the mornings. If you are trolling, try Rapalas and flatfish or even dodgers with lures. Anglers who are jigging are using either maribou or tube jigs tipped with cisco fished right on the bottom. Laketown Reservoir:Still ice covered with about 6-8 inches of ice. You can drive up to the reservoir, but need 4-wheel-drive due to mud. Fishing has been very good for rainbows jigging spoons or ice flies. Tipping them with a worm or maggot is working the best. Woodruff Creek Reservoir:Still ice covered with about 8-10 inches of ice and the edges are solid. The reservoir is about ¾ full of water at this time. You can drive right up to the dam, but need 4-wheel-drive since the road is muddy and snow covered in spots. Try small jigs tipped with worms or maggots for cutthroat trout. Use small tear drops tipped with maggots for mountain whitefish. Target points that stick out into the main body of water. Birch Creek Reservoir:Still ice covered with over a foot of ice and the edges but edges are just stating to weakin. The reservoir is about ¾ full of water at this time. You can drive right up to the base of the dam without much trouble, however the road muddy. Anglers reports fair success for tiger trout using jigging rapalas. Use can also use small tear drops tipped with maggots for rainbows. It helps to use a depth sounder since the rainbow are typically suspended between the ice and the bottom.