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Show Salt akf tribune 3 Recreation Section C Thursday Morning January Hi, Iagt HIM 10 Cisco Mania Is Gone, But Fishings Great at Bear Lake By Tom Wharton Tribune Outdoor Editor BEAR LAKE There was a time, not all that long ago, when the cisco run at Bear Lake produced mass hysteria among Utah and Idaho sportsmen Heports on whether the run had started w ere run daily by local new spapers. Dipnetters planned entire vacations around the run. Local sporting goods stores sold dozens of dipnets. Though there is still great interest in the cisco run, the hysteria has calmed. The reduction of the cisco limit to 30, the increase of other winter fishing opportunities and a couple of bad cisco runs all have contributed to the drop in interest "The old cisco mania days are gone," said Bryce Nielson, who has spent the last 11 years working at Bear Lake as a fisheries biologist "The press and television don't blow it up like they used to. It's still a yearly trek for many but the huge crowds up to 2.000 in a single weekend -are a thing of the past." Still, when the run peaks this weekend. Nielson expects as many as 500 to 1,000 fishermen on the thick ice at Bear Lake. Things have changed, however. Anglers have discovered that they can catch cisco by jigging through the ice. In the process, they can also pick up whitefish, cutthroat and even lake trout. It takes much longer to catch 30 cisco with a rod and reel and is a little more enjoyable than using a dipnet. The fact that Bear Lake has frozen someover for three straight years thing that Nielson says hasn't happened in many a cisco season -makes the rod and reel method easier than it would be if there were open water. Another big change is that fishermen are finding cisco all over the lake and not just at Cisco Beach on Bear Lake's east shoreline. where. Fishermen would usually have one or two trout, a whitefish and six or seven cisco. They generally seemed pleased with the fishing as well as with the beautiful, warm weather. "The fishing is just a good excuse to get away where it s nice, clear and sunny." said Joe Turner of North Salt Lake. "I come up six or seven days every January, or 10 days if I can get the time off. I've caught trout through the ice up to 3 2 pounds but the fishIt's the outing that is ing is a bonus. " important Lloyd Hargis of Layton says coming up to Bear Lake in January has become a habit. He likes the variety of fish he can catch "I like to jig here." he said "You never know what you are going to come up with You can catch cisco, whitefish or cutthroat trout. It s the variety I like I've been coming up here for six years and the biggest fish trout." I've caught is a And. of course, there are the purists who still come up every season for the cisco run. Many use the cisco they take as bait later in the year, but a few really like the taste of the fish, which are unique small, to Bear Lake and may be legally half-doze- - six-inc- h I come up here every year for the cisco run," said Kevin Done of Smith-field- . "I haven't found a much better eating fish. A lot of people think they're too small to mess with, but I like to cook them in a cracker and egg batter and then clean and skin them. It's like eating corn on the cob You pull the meat away from the - (& k V vCs: Vv.w: Cisco Beach at Bear Lake isn't attracting the huge crowds that used to appear each January for the cisco run, but s;;'a ,! Tribune Stott Photo bv Tom Wharton anglers are finding the fishing is fun and more varied out in the middle, where theyre catching cutthroat and whitefish. bones." Nielson says all the different types of Bear Lake fish can be caught through the ice in anywhere from 10 to 100 feet anywhere around the lake The best fishing should be around the first of February, when the cisco run is over and the whitefish arc spawning He says anglers make a mistake by staying around the same area all day long without moving or changing The cisco fishing is starting to pick up," said Garden City angler Lynn Hall, who caught a limit fishing Many Questions Ueniain Unique Bear Lake Is an Important Fish Habitat - "These are Bear Lake is becoming an inBEAR LAKE creasingly important fishery, both from a sporting and biological standpoint It is becoming so important, in fact, that the Division of Wildlife Resources is using federal excise tax money paid by anglers every time they purchase a lure or fishing rod to hire a second biologist to study the five species of fish unique to Ihe area. The Bonneville cisco, the Bear Lake cutthroat, the Bear Lake whitefish. the Bear Lake sculpin and the Bonneville whitefish are all unique to this large natural lake, which straddles the Utah and Idaho border. According to fisheries biologist Bryce Nielson, there is some evidence that these fish migrated from the old Lake Bonneville up the Bear River into Bear Lake and are remnant fish from Utah's prehistoric past. lake-forme- d cutthroat trout as op- posed to cutthroats found in streams." he said Still, biologists have many questions about the fish in Bear Lake. Nielson readily admits that too little is known about this unique fishery. For example, he wonders if the million five- - to cutthroats he is planting every year in Bear Lake may be too many? Can forage fish like the cisco and sculpin handle the increased populations of predator trout11 How many lake trout should be planted1? Because the whitefish is the No. sport fish being limit too taken by Bear Lake anglers, is the many? Is 30 cisco a good limit, or can more of the fish be taken by dipnetters as was tiny, sardine-lik- e done in the old days? How old are the whitefish being taken by anglers? W'hat whitefish and cisco spawning areas need to be protected'1 1 six-inc- h 1 h These are intriguing questions, particularly since the Bear Lake cutthroat could play an increasingly important role in reducing trash fish populations in reservoirs throughout the United States. There is an increasing demand for these fish, which are being used in places like Strawberry Reservoir in an effort to control the Utah chub "The Bear Lake cutthroat evolved with the Utah chub, generally considered to be Utah's No. problem fish," said Nielson. "Time will tell, but perhaps one day the Utah chub will be considered a good forage fish for these cutthroat." 1 officials are obviously intrigued by Bear Lake's unique fish and the fact that another biologist is being hired to help Nielson get a better handle on the fishery is an indication of the importance of this area to Utah's fishing future. Tom Wharton Wildlife about 500 yards from the Sweetwater condominiums. "I haven't been over on Cisco Beach. When you can get them here, you don't have to go over there and worry about falling into one of those giant holes people sometimes cut to dipnet them. Indeed, on Sunday, anglers could be with cisco in their creels seen at places like Cisco Beach, First and Second Point, Gus Rich Point (near Sweetwater) amd the State Park ma- lures. . "You should change holes and change lures until you find the fish Too many people won t move after they drill a hole. You can usually count on getting a fish the first you are in a spot. It s more work to keep moving, but it s much more productive." Nielson also says anglers may want to consider bringing a gaffe to help them gel their fish through small ice holes. Many fish are lost as anglers try to get them through the ice - rina. It was almost amazing to see everyone using exactly the same method. People would fish in between 25 to 50 feet of water using a large spoon like a Kastmaster or Swedish Pimple. A few used fairly large maribu jigs. They would drop these lures to the bottom and then jerk them up and down. Success was about the same everv- - holes. While it is true that the days of cisco mania appear to be over, winter fishing at Bear Lake has become a much more interesting experience that lasts much longer. Fishing should remain good through the entire winter. Exceptionally LOW Factory Prices SAVE UP TO 150 on genuine, handmade SNAKE and ELEPHANT BOOTS! YOUR CHOICE J1 1995 Oxotic, Tough, durable popular ELEPHANT SNAKE FTTrntifMfiTfBMTTTT? 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