Still a lot of ice on Strawberry. Don’t know how long it will last but as of yesterday there was plenty. Not many fisherman now. I quit ice fishing decades ago and just this year put some money into gear and have been having a blast. Makes a nice option for the cold months.
‘kentofnsl’ pid=‘1114091’ dateline=‘1615928400’ wrote:
‘dubob’ pid=‘1114089’ dateline=‘1615924353’ wrote:
… so tomorrow I’ll stow the ice fishing gear and work on putting the boat back together.
Bob, I thought you enjoyed fishing Strawberry this time of year?
I do enjoy ice fishing Strawberry right through the end of March and have done it for the past 5 years. However, I now have a family health issue that prevents me from traveling that far for outdoor activities. I am restricted to travel times of an hour or less each way and Strawberry is about 2 1/2 hours one way from Ogden. 
Ice fishing sounds great! After your posts, I’m sure he’ll definitely want to try it someday. Unfortunately, at the moment I do not have such food. Apart from the fact that the ice has already melted, I do not think that the ice in my area is strong enough for me to climb on it confidently and not worry that I will end up under it myself 
I can only assume that for a lot of you, the recent warmer weather has got you thinking about boat fishing when a lot of our local reservoirs are still hard deck covered. Ice fishing is still available, but most of you have given up on it thinking it is no longer safe or advisable to venture out on the hard deck. I can appreciate your caution. However, with respect, I don’t share your concerns.
A week ago Thursday, I was on Pineview. There wasn’t a single other person fishing it from 7:15 AM until 2:45 PM. The edges at the Port Ramp were as solid as concrete and the ice was 18” thick. I iced 15 perch that day. Yesterday, I was on Mantua. Again, not a single other person fishing it other than me and a friend fishing with me. And, again, the edges were solid as concrete, and the ice was 14” think. We iced trout, perch, and gills (16 total fish).
I will be ice fishing again next week Tuesday & Thursday (weather permitting). My only concern this time of year is how the edges are holding up on the local waters. Some of lower elevation waters (Willard, Utah Lake, Deer Creek) are already ice free. Some of the higher elevation waters are already being filled and the edges are open water too wide to safely cross without planks or waders making machine access (SnowDog) a no-go. A few lakes that don’t vary much in depth from draw done and re-filling (like Matua) will likely be good to ice fish until the end of March. Uinta lakes will be good to fish well into May if you have a snow machine to get you up to them.
I’ll put away the ice gear in a couple more weeks and then get the boat ready for the soft deck season. I’m planning some early trips to Jordanelle for kokanee this year. And Willard should be starting to turn on in late April/early May.
I do think that folks quit too early on ice fishing here in Utah, but that’s just me. Y’all have a great year fishing in 2021 and tight lines to ya wherever you walk on water or float your boat. 