When I was a kid my dad and I would make 4 or 5 trips a year to Strawberry Reservoir from Northern Utah. Believe it or not, it has always been a popular fishing place in Utah.
One summer Saturday when I was about 10, my dad, uncle, and grandpa were out on Soldier Creek trolling. It had been a great morning, but as it got later, the bite slowed. My grandpa, an old world war two vet was at the front of the boat just about asleep in the sun and holding his pole. My uncle looked at me and smiled. He put his finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. Then he reached out, grabbed my grandpa's line, and gave it a big yank. My grampa, all but asleep yelled "Fish!!" and yanked so hard he almost went out of the boat. My uncle began laughing so hard that he almost fell out of the boat. My grampa coming fully awake and realizing what had happened, he looked daggers at my uncle. After a moment, with uncle laughing and dad and I trying hard not to bust a gut, grandpa looked at my uncle and said, "You dirty son of a bitch."
I was shocked I had never heard my grandpa swear before.
Uncle stopped laughing enough to say. "Im telling mom you said that."
Grampa realizing what he had said, tried to get uncle to promise not to say anything.
Needless to say, a stop in Heber on the way home and an exchange of a case of Coke and my uncle finally promised not to tell on grandpa.
I can't express how much I miss my grandpa. I think about him every time I go fishing. It's been 26 years since he passed. My memories of grandpa are tied to fishing and the outdoors.
Strawberry was built in 1972, but the project of diverting water started in 1909. Strawberry's history is exciting and detailed. It holds 1.1 million foot acres of water and is 10.6 miles long. One surprising fact is Strawberry sees 1.5 million fishing hours a year! And my wife thinks I fish a lot……
The first time I went to the Berry, there were actually 2 body’s of water separated by a large dike. Soldier Creek and Strawberry, but now they are combined into one enormous body of water.
Growing up, it seemed the best fishing was always at least 100 miles or more from home. I fished Wyomings Snake River, 155 miles, Strawberry reservoir, 130 miles away, and Henry's lake Idaho 250 miles….. you get the picture; it was far away from home. Don't get me wrong, there was always good fishing nearby, like Hyrum reservoir, Black Smith Fork, Logan River, and so on, but as fishermen, we believe that the further you travel, the better the fishing has to be. It's not true, but we still believe it.
Strawberry has been a blue Ribbon fisher for years, and for a good reason. Utah DWR pores a lot of its fishing budget into Strawberry. Because it does spend most of its budget on the Berry, it has strict regulations that are monitored heavily.
As of the writing of this article, the regulations are as follows:
2023
• Limit 4 trout or kokanee salmon (a
combined total).
• No more than 2 may be cutthroat trout
under 15 inches, and no more than 1 may
be a cutthroat trout over 22 inches the "SLOT BUSTER".
• All cutthroat trout from 15 to 22 inches
must be immediately released.
• Trout and salmon may not be filleted, and the heads or tails may not be removed in the field or in transit.
• Anglers are encouraged to voluntarily release all cutthroat trout.
The DWR does a great job watching and maintaining these regulations at The Berry. The reason for the restrictions on the Cutthroat or, specifically, the Bear Lake Cutthroat is that it is the best way to keep the chub population down. In 1990 the state spent a ton of money to poison The Berry to get rid of all trash fish, including the Utah Chubs, but it didn't work; the chubs came right back. After a lot of research, they found the aggressive Bear Lake Cutthroat loves eating some chubs! And the regulations are there to protect the balance of the sport fish and chubs.
So the big question is, how do you fish The Berry? First, there are 3 sport fish species in The Berry, Rainbow trout, Bear Lake Cutthroat, and Kokanee Salmon.
As a kid, up until I was a teen, the very best fishing we did was trolling a silver or gold Rapala, either on top in the Meadow or on Soldier Creek or at deeper levels with lead line, when fishing the canyons. In the evening, you could also pitch in the shallow coves when larger fish chase small fish at dusk. This got us plenty of action on rainbow and Cuts.
Now the Berry has changed, and so have my tactics. I love fly fishing, and the Berry is my favorite fishing place. You can fly fish from shore, a boat, or a float tube. Right after the ice off and in the cooler part of fall before it caps, I use my heaven rode with #2 sinking line. Slowly stripping the line moving it erratically. I will throw an olive color leach pattern or a black leach pattern. A dark color wooly bugger works as well.
In summer, I use a lighter line and all kinds of dry patterns, but my favorite is to throw a cricket pattern with a jerky retrieve. . Summer and fall are great for throwing a crayfish pattern as well for the big cuts.
Fly fishing is great fun, but between noon and 4, the wind is a real problem at The Berry. At that time I'll usually go to the stand-by trolling. Black and white spoons are great, or the good old stand-by Rapala. Every year the fish seem to like a different color, so troll until you find it!
One of my favorite ways to catch big rainbows in late summer or early fall is to find a channel in the inlets. Something around 20 feet depth. I rig a pumpkin green tube jig on a 1/2 or 3/4 oz jig and bounce right along the channel. You can also bounce a crayfish jig as well. The Rainbows feed on frogs and Crayfish in late summer.
Another great midday tactic for the boat is to wind troll. At around noon, the wind will pick up. Usually west to east. I love to pull to the west side of the Meadow and throw on a flasher or dodger with 20 inches of line, then a hook with a worm or your choice of bait or a small spoon, let out about 25 yards of line, turn off the motor and let the wind push you. You can also wind troll with a black fly like a cricket pattern or big Ant pattern. This has been a very effective w
in the afternoon for both Cutthroat and Rainbows.
Kokanee fishing and ice fishing will be their own articles. Ice fishing and Kokanee fishing The Berry have a lot of information, but I will give a little information on Kokanee fishing The Berry. Kokanee salmon are picky fish, and you need to change tactics. First, a lighter feel pole is critical. Kokanee has the softest mouths of any fish I've seen. A stiff rod will lose you more Kokanee than anything. Your presentation for trolling will be almost the same all year, but your tactics will change in early spring right after ice off.
First, your presentation will be a flasher with 20 inches of leader, then your favorite Kokanee lure. I like a wedding ring tipped with a mealworm, a squid, or a small spoon like a Kokanee Killer. Bright pink is always tremendous, but other bright colors can work. Just change around until you find what they like.
In early ice-off, the Kokanee will be near the top of the water column, so if you can, use a planer board and get down to 25-20 feet. Later on, the Kokanee will be near 50 feet or deeper. It is advised to use a fish finder when fishing Kokanee. It's easier to find them with it. Kokanee love 50 deg temps, so as it warms up, they will get deeper. So you'll need a lead line, heavy sinkers, or down riggers. I like to troll around 2 mph, but sometimes they like it a bit slower, so test your speed until you find what they want that day. Strawberry bay and near the dike are the best for Kokanee. I have also seen them in the canyon.
One of the joys of fishing and camping at The Berry is the Crayfish or, as my wife (she's from Texas) says, Crawfish. I always bring a few traps with chicken liver and chicken skin to lay out. A flat bottom near the brush or on a rock bed is the best place to put your traps. You can also walk the rocky parts of the shore, turn over rocks, and catch them. Then you can have a delicious crayfish boil at the end of the day. Strawberry is a high mountain, cold water lake. This combination makes for the best-eating Crayfish you will ever find! Remember, you can't take live Crayfish from Strawberry, so if you're taking them home, they must be dead. I am picky about my Crayfish, so I always eat them at The Berry.
Fishing the Berry is fun and exciting; however, always be mindful of the weather. The weather can turn quickly at this height of 7,600 feet, and many fishermen have lost their lives on this water, so be careful.
Crayfish boil Recipe:
Ingredients:
3 lbs. 1.3 kg crawfish
8 -10 cups water
6 oz. 170 g Louisiana Crawfish Shrimp & Crab Boil
2 tablespoons McCormick Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon Lemon Pepper seasoning
1 head garlic unpeeled but separated
3 ears corn cut into 2-inch pieces
12 oz. 340 g small potatoes, halved
14 oz. 400 g smoked sausage, cut into chunky pieces
1 lemon sliced into rounds
Small cut up corn on the cob
Directions: I use a camp stove and a large pot.
1. Fill a large pot with water. Bring the water to a boil. Add the Louisiana Crawfish Shrimp and Crab Boil, Cajun seasoning and Lemon Pepper seasoning. Stir well to a rolling boil.
2. Add the garlic, corn, potatoes, sausage and lemon slices. Cover the pot with its lid and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Taste the crawfish boil water. If it's too salty, add more water. If it's too bland, add more seasonings to taste. Transfer the Crawfish into the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes, with the lid covered.
4. Turn off the heat and let the Crawfish soak for 10 minutes. The longer the Crawfish soaks, the spicier they will be. Remove all the ingredients using a strainer and serve immediately. Discard the crawfish boil water.
Comments