Strawberry 1/1/08 -- Whew

Utah Fishing Reports & Discussion Utah Fishing General
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Billy and I decided to start the new year right by fishing Strawberry. Arrived at The Ladders at 6:20 AM. Unpacked and locked the Suburban. Needed to get back in to get a flashlight for Billy & my ice cleats – all doors frozen. Decide to go fishing without a flashlight for Billy, or without my ice cleats (sure could have used them). Fired up the GPS and selected “Go to” to be able to go directly to the honey hole. After a few feet the GPS decided it was too cold on rechargeable batteries and shut off.

Hiked over where we thought the honey hole was and set up in about 25’ of water. Drilled a few holes and got ready to fish. The Vexilar wouldn’t turn on. I noticed that a wire is broken. Fish blind while I try to fix the wire. Ever try to strip tiny wires in below zero temperatures? Decide to turn on the propane heater and warm my hands only to find that the propane bottles are frozen. I manage to catch 9 fish while I am working on the Vexilar, but miss many others. Having trouble working the reels because the gears do not like the severe cold. Get the wires stripped and twisted together, only to realize that one of the wires is the wrong wire – argh. Fingers are half-way between numb and stinging about now. Strip the correct wire and twist the wires together and the Vexilar reluctantly fires up. It squeals for a few seconds in the bitter cold, but works fine. Now I have a fishfinder of course all of the fish have moved on.

Replaced the batteries in the GPS and realize that we are 100 yards away from the honey hole. Move over to the honey hole and give it a try. See zero fish on the fishfinders, so after about 20 minutes we move on.

Next stop is the island – it is one mile from the parking lot. Hike is a little difficult in about 2 inches or snow, but I have hiked out there in far worse conditions. Pass a guy 1/2 way across from where we started and he said that his vehicle registered 25 degrees below zero as he pulled into the parking lot at 8:00 AM that morning! Made it over to the island around 11:00 and the fishing was hot for about 1 1/2 hours and then it slowed way down. Continued catching fish once in awhile but never really fast fishing. Hot bait was meal worms on various glow jigs. We ended up with about 50 fish (largest was 21 1/2"), so we have had worse days at Strawberry. Headed in at 5:30 PM.

Ice was about 5 inches thick and probably gained close to an inch today (we had to constantly scoop the ice out of our holes). Followed solidly frozen pressure ridges on the way in for most of the way. Minimal snow around them and the walking and dragging of the sleds was much easier.

Hoped that at least one of the doors on the Suburban would unlock. Fortunately, the rear tailgate unlocked. After getting the other doors open realized that the dome light was not on. Checked the headlights and yep I had left them on all day (a first for me)! A couple guys were jumping another vehicle in the parking lot so I asked them if they would also give us a jump. They came over and of course the latch cable to the hood was frozen. Pulled on it to the point I was afraid that it would break and it openned. Got a quick jump and we were on our way.

After a few miles I noticed that I no longer had no dash lights – apparently we had blown a fuse! What next? Listening to KSL and they report a capsized semi at Kimble Junction. Hope that we can get around the wreck, but when we saw vehicles backed up and stopped on Highway 40 we decided that we needed to take the scenic route through Weber Canyon.

Isn’t ice fishing fun!

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At least you were fishing.

3

ive had those days at the berry.

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Sad to hear about all the temporary set backs. glad you made the best of it and caught some fish. -25 though, whew. thats cold.

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Sounds like you had quiet a trip, what a way to start outh the new year!!:face_with_tongue:

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I was up there at the marina at 630 am and it was so cold. I fired up the heater and lantern at the car to make sure they were going to work in the cold…fishing was very slow for me, only 2 fish in the slot and nothing else. Left at 10:30 to go to a family party. I don’t know how people do it without a shack and heater??

craig

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What an adventure Kent! I hope you got it all out of your system in one fell swoop!

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:sunglasses:Sounds like a real endurance marathon. Sorry I missed that. Welllllll…not really.

I have a question. Something I read about fishing in Minnesota one time said that you should not release fish caught in below zero temperatures if they have been allowed to touch the ice. Trout are supposed to be especially prone to “instant freezing” of the skin and flesh when exposed to extreme cold temperatures. And, that frozen flesh supposedly dies and deteriorates later…just like frostbite in humans.

It always bothers me when I see pictures of fish laying on the ice at strawberry, for the obligatory pictures, knowing that they will be stuffed back down the hole to comply with slot regs. I wonder what the real effects are and how that impacts the mortality figures.

Sorry, Kent. Not trying to hijack your thread, but wondered if you had any thoughts on this. Wonder if it should be a topic for further discussion.

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Pat, related to you concern, I have been told that when ice fishing in very cold weather, exposure to the outside air temperatures will cause the eyes of fish to freeze, resulting in blindness or sight problems.

I think that this information at the time, related to trout, but I’m sure that the same would apply to all fish.

Looks like a good subject to explore, if I get any concrete information on the subject, I’ll post my findings.

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:sunglasses:You are right about the eyes. I forgot to mention that. And, it does apply to all species.

I know there have been a few days when fish I planned to keep turned solid within a few minutes of being deposited on the ice. And, I have witnessed firsthand guys releasing semi frozen fish that did not even kick when dropped in the hole…after a very short time out of water.

Just one more excuse for me not to join Kent on one of his frozen funfests. I lost my membership card to Masochists Anonymous.

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Kent we were also in them cold temps yesterday temp was -24 when we got there. We fished the marina with about another 75 to 100 people in the marina area. We ended up with only about 25 fish the biggest being 24". It was cold but warmed up when we left to a balmy -1 below zero.

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I too have had days like that! Good to get days like that BEHIND you! Sounds like you ended up salvaging the trip however!
Randy

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[reply]
I have a question. Something I read about fishing in Minnesota one time said that you should not release fish caught in below zero temperatures if they have been allowed to touch the ice. Trout are supposed to be especially prone to “instant freezing” of the skin and flesh when exposed to extreme cold temperatures. And, that frozen flesh supposedly dies and deteriorates later…just like frostbite in humans.

It always bothers me when I see pictures of fish laying on the ice at strawberry, for the obligatory pictures, knowing that they will be stuffed back down the hole to comply with slot regs. I wonder what the real effects are and how that impacts the mortality figures.

Sorry, Kent. Not trying to hijack your thread, but wondered if you had any thoughts on this. Wonder if it should be a topic for further discussion. [/reply]
Pat, I have to admit that I haven’t even thought about this. If the fish suffer freeze burns, blindness or worse I truly regret it. Another reason for me not to participate in the future in the fishing contest that we hold annually on this forum.

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If we are going to start stressing about skin freezing, eyes freezing, etc., then we all might as well stop ice fishing all together. In temps like they were yesterday and the day before, it doesn’t matter… as soon as that skin is exposed, it’s gonna start freeezing.

I think all we can do is the best we can for the fish. Get the hook out and back down the hole ASAP.

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In reply to Kent’s post, I had a day like that at Panguitch Lake this weekend. Wind was blowing, reels didn’t want to work and the fish were biting. On our way out we were pushing through some pretty hefty snow drifts and before I got to the top of the hill to drop down to the highway I was pushing to much snow and decided to back up a little and go farther onto the shoulder where the drifts weren’t so big. Well that was not the best idea because when I put it in reverse I slid into the bar pit and got stuck in four feet of crusty snow. Well after about three hours we finally got out with the help of a backhoe. So i can feel for you Kent.
Now to the question posed about the fish. I have never thought about this question in particular but with the new regulation at Panguitch i don’t even like to take the fish out of the water, if i can get the hook out of the mouth and keep the fish in the water the better. A little cold and numbness of the fingers but worth it in my opinion. The problem though is that the fish at Panguitch right now are so fat that sometime you cant fit your hand and the fish in the hole. One of the local DWR guys was saying that they expect about sixty percent of the fish caught in the slot and released at Panguitch to die. So it bothers me when I see fish being laid on the ice and pictures being taken knowing that those fish are most likely not going to be around long.

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That’s quite the report! That’s good that you were still able to get into some fish!

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I have always been taught that C&R survival was improved in the wintertime compared to the summer. This is due to decreased oxygen demand related to the colder water and fish body temperature.

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/fish/pubs/2catch.htm

In digging for some documentation on the type of problem you described with the skin and eyes, I found a reference that suggested that it may not be a significant problem, at least in walleyes. (bottom pg 8) However, it sounds like some controversy may still exist on the subject. Very extreme temps like this weekend probably also alter survival rates.

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/…w_and_guidelines.pdf

It seems to me that common sense and good C&R technique should prevail when releasing fish when ice fishing, but we don’t need to feel we are harming the resource when practicing C&R on the hard deck.

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:sunglasses:Since this subject came up earlier, I have also tried to find more definitive information online. Not successful. Most of what I think I know has been gleaned over many years, in discussions with both knowledgeable anglers and with fisheries biologists in several states.

As has been suggested, a quick release without having to take the fish from the water is the best solution. The use of barbless hooks, or at least hooks with small barbs, can help. But, if a fish is hooked deeply and requires handling, just do the best you can to avoid further injury.

I do not fish Strawberry. In fact I seldom ice fish any water where trout are the only quarry. Most of my ice fishing is directed toward non-trout species…and some of the trout I catch go home for dinner. Trout are wimps. They cannot tolerate rough treatment. And, if they suffer from being handled with dry hands, during the warmer months, how much more damage do they sustain when their skin and flesh is hard frozen below the skin level?

**Most biologists are realists. They know that mortality is a fact of “life” in any kind of fishing. Any efforts to release your catch unharmed is always better than careless handling or leaving a fish flopping on the ice for awhile before “release”. **

My original question was not an attempt to moralize the issue. I believe in allowing licensed anglers to fish however they want and to set their own standards for how they handle fish and how many they take home. Not my business. Don’t want them telling me how to fish or what to do with my catch either.

If nothing else, I thought it would be a good idea to increase the consciousness about what happens to fish in extreme cold, and what can be done to minimize the harm if you plan to release the fish.

Since Strawberry is not on my list of favorite fishing venues, I care not if there is a high mortality rate. But, the sportsman and conservationist in me hates to see any beautiful creature killed senselessly…or wasted unnecessarily.

Sorry if I sound alarmist or distracted from Kent’s great epic tale of endurance. I hate it when that happens.