I love to use red shiner minnows fresh (dead of course), but if they are frozen chubs work better (shiners seem to get more mushy than frozen chubs do).
Shoot me a PM and I will give you directions to my place. I have a pretty good stash of minnows in my freezer and would be happy to donate a few to the scouts. They are small chubs, ideal size for ice fishing. And, I freeze them in a little water which keeps them very firm. They are almost like fresh dead when you thaw them.
There are quite a few places you can get your own minnows…chubs and red shiners. As soon as the ice comes off Scofield and Electric Lakes, they are both good places to load up. Strawberry used to be great, but the cutts have been doing their job and have really put a dent in the minnow population.
Then, there are places like Settlement Canyon, above Tooele, that are overrun with chubs. Good place to take kids fishin’ if you want to keep them busy and gather a bunch of chubs for bait too.
The minnow supply is dwindling right now, after a long ice fishing season. The company that supplies Sportsmans and others has probably just about run out. As others have said, frozen redside shiners are almost always soft and mushy. No way to change that. They still work, but they don’t hold on the hook very well. If you miss a bite you have to rebait. Chubs are definitely firmer and almost all Utah fish like them.
A friend has invited me to go ice fishing at Strawberry Res. Next week . I am from Idaho and we can use five rods when ice fishing . How many will I be able to use in Utah . Thanks Curt G.
One if you just buy a fishing license(price’s below), two if you buy the second pole permit. You have to buy a license to get a second pole permit.
(second pole permit $15)
good luck fishing
**
Nonresidents**
1-day (14 years of age or older) [right]$12[/right]
7-day (14 years of age or older) [right]$32[/right]
365-day (14 years of age or older) [right]$70[/right] **
NEW! **365-day youth (12–13) [right]$5[/right]
365-day combination (includes fishing and small game hunting)
As you have already been advised, you can use a maximum of two rods per person…and only if you have purchased the two rod permit.
**If you hit a good day at Strawberry you will stay too busy to use more than one rod. Many times you will catch more fish by using only one rod and holding it to hook the quick hitters and light biters. **
Good luck.
each person can use 5 rods???
do you duct tape them each to a different finger? I wonder what the reasoning behind that is if you only have 2 hands. Of course I haven’t been to Idaho lately…you people growin’ extra arms up there?
I have missed fish while tinkering with my 2nd pole.[crazy] DOH! (they always bite when your in the middle of tying a knot.)
Thanks for the information .
The two pole permit has to be one of the best forms of entertainment out on the ice. I laugh so hard everytime my husband is checking one pole and the other one starts bouncing so he attempts to run over to the other one all the while trying not to fall on the ice. It will be interesting to see what kind of entertainment this spring and summer has waiting for us.
I am also planning on going out this saturday as well. Do you think the conditions will be as good as last saturday. I was on Fish Lake last saturday and it started out slow then we iced a bunch of 16 in rainbows and a few splakes. Just one over 20 inches. I am excited to try strawberry and just curious if i might expect as good as day as you on the ice. Any advice will help. This is my first year of ice fishing.
I doubt that you will catch the quantity of fish at Strawberry that you were able to catch at Fish Lake (assuming you had a typical day at Fish Lake). My advice would be to get away from the crowds and fish in water from about 25’ to 35’ deep. Usually one can start shallower and then move out deeper as the day progresses (but last Saturday it seemed to work just the reverse, especially by mid afternoon). If you have a fishfinder fish where you see the fish (but I always first just drop to the bottom), if you don’t put one rod on the bottom and another up about 5 to 10 feet off of the bottom. If only fishing with one rod and you don’t have a fishfinder drop to the bottom and then if you don’t get a bite there reel up one or two cranks and jig for a couple minutes and if you don’t get a bite keep repeating the process until you are just a few feet below the ice.
I like useing five rods . I start with one close to the bank , around 12’ deep and then start spreading them out into deeper water . Fishing different depths with different baits until I find what they are taking . If the action is hot and heavy I back off on the number I am useing . I have four electric jiggers and two that operate off of the wind so my baits are aways moving . I use very sharp hooks , this helps with missed bites . Sometime there are a mix of fish , like perch and trout in the waters I am fishing . So I will use small jigs on some of the rods for perch and spoons on the others for trout .
sounds like that could be worth $10,000 if you got it on video
I am doing this in Idaho not Utah where it is legal . If you read the earlier posts you would know this . I was coming down to fish Strawberry on a friends invitation and was just asking what the rules are in Utah . I won’t be coming now , diesel costs , license costs , for the chance to keep four fish . I don’t think so . WE can keep 6 fish any size , none of this 2 under 15 or two over 22 ’ or what ever that slot stuff is .
[reply]
I am doing this in Idaho not Utah where it is legal . If you read the earlier posts you would know this . I was coming down to fish Strawberry on a friends invitation and was just asking what the rules are in Utah . [/reply]
Easy…my last reply was to girlsfishtoo’s post about her husband runing between two poles and saying she could win $10,000 on Americas Funniest Home Videos.
I understood your post and know your were talking about Idaho[:)]
Sorry I thought , well you know what I thought . But you are right it gets pretty funny when the fish are biting . It looks like a chinise fire drill .