Had some friends and my Uncle up, all hoping to hook their first burbot. Mission accomplished. We found 6 inches of polished ice, in Sage Creek, between Firehole and Lost Dog. Bring your creepers/cleats, with all the recent wind the Gorge is an ice rink. We fished the talus slopes on the west side of the reservoir, in 20-30 ft of water.
The bite was really light, and rod tip strike indicators helped detect the soft hits. We caught 16 burbot and one mack pup, lost another 6 or so, all between 6:00pm-9:30pm. Same ol’ stuff worked, glow jigs (Swim shads, tubes, and curly tail grubs) tipped with sucker meat and/or dipped in Smelly Jelly. Got one fish on a tip-up rigged with jig, several on dead-sticked baits only inches from the bottom, and a few with aggressive jigging occasionally bumping the bottom. We had enough action that someone was always busy with trying to hook-up on a soft hitter.
I had a tough time that night and only iced 2, one of which was a laker. Ash on the other hand has unleashed war on them, and he and his crew put quite a few on the ice. I was using spring bobbers on Saturday night, and watching how soft the hits were, I bet I’ve been missing a lot of hits. Ryno
ryno do we need to get you the ice blue 48’’ hear is the web site thay have every thing in the ice fishin world lol www.877ICEFISH.com or call 877) 423 -3474 these rod s may seem to light but thay are great you can tell when thay swim by lol hey great report it is still tuffer to get them ice fishin than in the boat lol hope to hook it up soon ash
Hello Ryno, I’m not to familiar with that end of the lake. Is there a road to drive to the area your talking about between Firehole and Lost dog? Any information would be helpful. We’re planning a trip there next week. Thanks
I’m not sure what kinda shape the roads are in, depending on how much snow and drifting there is uplake as a result of this last storm. Wyoming Road 33 runs from Minnies Gap, just north of Dutch John, along the eastside of the Gorge, past Firehole Canyon, and up to Hwy 191 just south of Rock Springs. It’s dirt, except about 7 miles near Firehole, and pretty well marked. The other night it was 95% clear, with some patchy ice. I was heading north from Dutch John and the Sage Creek area turn-off is pretty noticeable. It’s after the Currant Creek Ranch, in Sage Creek Basin, before you get to Firehole. Unfortunately, most of those smaller roads aren’t marked. You may want to pick-up a map of the Gorge or Google Earth it to orient yourself. If you get the key landmarks, I think you would figure it out once you drive in. It’s pretty well traveled too.
Another option, depending on the direction you’re coming is to drive into Lost Dog/Confluence on the westside of the reservoir. You’ll find plenty of burbot there and it has ice. It’s marked on highway 530 between Buckboard and Green River. It’s also a pretty good road, even during the winter.