Wife and I spent a great day and 1/2 at Pelican. Temps were not too bad and bright sunshine. We got on the lake about 1:30 P.M. on Friday after checking in to our room in Vernal. Two to four inches of snow with a foot of ice. We caught 1/2 dozen bass and 20 to 30 gills, released them and headed into town for dinner. Back in the A.M. with only a -5 degree temp. it was -23 at Strawberry when we went by Friday morning. We caught 15 to 20 bass and a bunch of gills, alot of small gills, deffinately not like the good old days when 3/4 to 1 lb. gills were the norm with a few hitting the 1 1/2 lb. mark. We kept our limit of gills and a few bass and headed back in around 2:30 to fillet fish, enjoy a nice steak dinner and then watch the Cowboys put a hurt’n on the Eagles, similar to what my Pack had happen to them today. There were several groups of fisherman on the lake Sat. but only a couple guys on Fri. afternoon. Noticed quite a few people fishing Starvation on our way home today.
So when did you fish starvation? Or maybe your heading should have said a drive by.LOL Sounds like you and the wife had a great time at Pelican anyway. [fishin]
great report but i dont see starvation anywhere in the report.. i must be missing something..
That was posted on FOD’s post earlier today. We didn’t fish Starvation on our way home. Just noted that it seemed to be getting some pressure as we passed by.
regardless of what it says, that is a nice looking bunch of fish big gale.
was there much pressure at pelican??
Only a couple people Fri. and maybe 3 or 4 groups scattered around the lake Sat. Plenty of elbow room, that lake has plenty of area to fish and alot of it never gets touched by ice fisherman.
Good on ya . I would sure like to get in on some of that someday
Did you happen to measure any of those gills? I’ve heard stories of huge bluegill being pulled out of Pelican in the past. I would like to go there but that is a pretty long drive for me. I would definitely go if the chances were good for a 10 inch (or better) bluegill! Those are what we used to call knee-bream. They are so big you have to hold them between your knees to get the hook out of their mouth!
Pelican is famous as one of the best trophy bluegill fisheries in the west. I’ve caught 10 and 11 inch bluegills that look like a giant pancake and they fight hard and are very tasty as well… I’ll be hitting that little gem next month after getting settled down in a new place first…
I second that comment. I have personally never made the trek out to Pelican without catching at least a few bluegills over 10 inches. It is a fun lake both on ice and soft water. Definatley worth the drive for fast action and some big gills.
You and Rog are always welcome to join us. I think he’s got New Zealand on his mind at the moment.[:p]
It’s not like it use to be back in the late 70’s when I first started ice fishing it. We didn’t have any gills that would go 10 inches last weekend. The wife and I have made it an annual trip except for a few years during the 80’s when they had a big die off of the gills and the limit was reduced to 5 for a time. When they raised it back to 10 we started going again. We would like to try it this spring from our boat, something we have not done before.[fishin]
Pelican is the next trip I am planning. Every time I have been out there (all 3) I have taken bluegills 10" or better home with me.
I wonder why they are not as big as you say they used to be? Still, always a satisfying trip.
Any tips on catching the bass through the ice? I only had one take the little lures I was using for gills last ice trip.
Post the pics when you return.
no one cares
hello i had a few questions about pelican. Being a single dad it is hard to take my oldest fishing but she is with me this weekend while her baby sister is with her mom. i would like to take her there hoping that she could have some good time catching some bluegills which i myself have never caught. She has kicked my butt ling fishing last spring but i really would like to see her enjoy ice fishing as much as she does plain fishing and hunting.
- does anyone have any insight on what to use and how deep to fish no specifics just something to guide us along.
- does it matter on the time of day that you fish there?
- do you use bait?
- do i have to have a secound pole permit or is she able to fish with a pole while i do also.
Thanks to anyone who answers any of my questions and have a good evening.
Chris
not sure about all your other questions but if she is under 12 years old then she can fish without a license and keep a full bag limit.