the air temp was about 34 F. It felt warm when the sun was out but cool when it went behind a cloud. A cold breeze blew off and on. I did not stay long because a storm was moving in and I wanted to get down Daniels Canyon before it got messy.

 

The big reservoir usually freezes by about Christmas Day but this year it was a couple weeks later and so the season is really just getting started. I have heard a few good reports from other areas on the lake. The road into Strawberry Bay Marina is plowed and allows good angler access. The marina provides equipment rentals and a shuttle service to take people to distant spots that may offer good fishing.

 

In general, I've found success to be better in the early morning hours and the later afternoon hours. Anglers at Strawberry do better if they target a particular species. For rainbows, I've done better fishing close to shore in water only 10-15 feet deep. Good baits usually include jigs tipped with a piece of nightcrawler, wax worm or hunk of shrimp. Cutthroat can be found anywhere but often haunt deeper water. Kokanee are mostly in deeper areas and you have to hunt them down in order to find an active school.

 

I'll be heading back in a few days, when I can block out enough hours to make the trip worthwhile. I like to start close to shore and work my way out, trying deeper and deepr spots, until I find hungry fish. The anglers I talked to recently were all focused on deeper water and that was not productive. On that day I would have choosen to move shallow and fish until the sun set.

 

Strawberry is fun becaue it offers a good chance to catch a big trout through the ice. Action is usually good and it is worth investing the time needed to figure it out.