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Utah Ice Fishing | Ice Fishing Report

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Location | Rockport State Park

Reservoir Level | 51%

Ice Thickness | 14 inches, plus or minus in spots.

Ice Stability | Very slick but stable. Glare ice with a skiff of snow. Traction aids are advised.

Edges| The reservoir is rising and and the edges are buckling. Beware! the first linear 4-6 feet off the shore are melting and in our view inconsistent at best. Warm afternoons will make for open edges. Any vehicles or track sleds should be using a ramp or plank to access the ice.

Species | Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Yellow Perch

Fishing | Good, but not as easy as it was – Trout and Yellow Perch bite has been sporadic and has demanded some patience. The Perch have modified their behavior and are very transitory. They are moving around. We see large groups of fish swim through a zone and then they disappear. Trout fishing has been all about location and depth. Shallow water presentations have been effective as well as suspended jig patterns in the top 15 feet of the water column.

Time of Day | All Hours

Lures/Bait | Small tungsten jigs and assorted baits (Yellow Perch) | Soft plastics and jig heads with spikes and crawlers (Trout)

We are hopeful that the season can last through the end of the month. It will all depend on the weather conditions. If we continue in a warming direction, the reservoir will continue to rise at a rate that will make it very difficult to access the ice sheet. It’s a bummer because the ice sheet is as thick as we have ever seen it. Get out there and enjoy it while we have it. Be careful on the edges!

UTAH ICE FISHING | GEAR REVIEW

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HUMMINBIRD ICE HELIX 7 G4 | ICE FISHING GEAR THAT WE USE AND TRUST

We’ve been using this product throughout the present ice fishing season. Overall, it has been an excellent upgrade to our kit. The screen size and resolution are more than just luxury upgrades. The unit is extremely easy to read and the GPS functionality has been a game changer, especially when used in conjunction with the Lakemaster plus SD cards. The only downside has been the included Norsk brand battery. It has let us down several times. Ultimately, we replaced the battery with a Amped Outdoors 12v 12ah lithium. With the new battery the unit has lasted us full days (12 plus hours) and then some without a recharge. Check out the video and give this finder some serious consideration if you’re in the market for some new electronics.

Utah Ice Fishing | Ice fishing Report

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Location | Echo Reservoir

Reservoir Level | 24%

Ice Thickness | 4-6 inches, building with current night time temps

Ice Stability | Stable with 6-8 inches of mixed snow and slush on top

Edges| Frozen

Species | Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Yellow Perch, Walleye and Smallmouth Bass

Fishing | Good – Trout and Yellow Perch bite has been consistent. We have also seen some active Smallmouth Bass in certain spots of the lake

Time of Day | All Hours

Lures/Bait | Small tungsten jigs and assorted baits (Yellow Perch) | Soft plastics and jig heads with spikes and crawlers (Trout)

This is our initial report this season and we were happy to see the ice sheet finally stabilize for us after the Christmas holiday. The warm temps and less than ideal precipitation proceeding were difficult to navigate. It seems that ice is building and despite the construction at the state park entrance everything looks good moving forward. We have been told that the state park entrance will be closed again once the weather allows construction to resume. Hard to imagine where everyone will park and access once that happens. We will try to keep everyone updated as we know more concerning the situation. Echo State Park’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EchoStatePark/ seems to be a good source for info concerning the construction as well.