Dave Webb
January 30, 2025
Strawberry Reservoir is one of the most popular fishing spots in Utah and it receives tremendous pressure. Fishing is often very good and it is one of the best spots in Utah to catch large trout. But Strawberry is famously finicky. Success can be spotty and is sometimes slow. I've been fishing Strawberry for many years. Here are tips I've learned that help me find success.
Ice fishing is usually very good when the lake first freezes, which is usually within a few days of Christmas Day. Some of the bays freeze earlier. Mud Creek Bay is often fishable a couple of weeks before the rest of the lake.
This year it was Jan 13 before the entire lake had ice cover - I've never before seen it freeze that late.
Action often slows a bit after a couple of weeks, and that has been the case this year. People are catching nice fish but most are having to work hard to get into them.
There are only a few easy access points to get onto the lake. The road into Strawberry Bay Marina is plowed and offers good access. Parking areas are also plowed at Chicken Creek East and The Ladders. The road into Mud Creek may or may not be driveable. Parking is not allowed along Hwy 40. People parking on the side of the highway get ticketed.
The easy access points get very heavy pressure and that causes success to slow in those areas. People find better action by hiking or riding snowmobiles or ATVs to more distant points on the lake. Strawberry Bay Marina rents snowmobiles and also provides a shuttle service, along with full guide services.
People unload snowmobiles and ATVs at the parking areas and often follow common routes as they move across the lake. Fishing is often slower under these travel paths.
Strawberry offers large cutthroat and rainbow trout plus kokanee salmon. These fish have differing habits and it is usually good to use techniques targeting the species you want to catch. That said, any of the species can be caught at any time, any place, using any bait or lure.
Rainbows are usually quite easy to catch through the ice and the best action comes close to shore, in water just 10-15 feet deep. Rainbows readily take ice files or small jigs tipped with a piece of nightcrawler, meal worm, wax worm, or Powerbait. The best fishing is almost always near the bottom.
Cutthroat are often found in deeper water and they readily take larger jigs tipped with part of a nightcrawler or piece of shrimp.
Kokanee tend to concentrate in small areas over deeper water. To target them you need to spend time hunting them down good sonar (fish finder). They are often caught using small jigs tipped with maggots, wax worms, corn kernels, and similar morsels.
Watch the fish finder to see the depth of fish and then work that area. It is usually worth trying a spot even if you do not immediately see fish on the sonar. They move around and may swim over after a few minutes. Start fishing just off the bottom, jigging occasionally, letting the lure come to a dead stop between jigs, and then reeling up a bit to try again.
If you don't have bits or see fish within a half hour or so then move to a new spot. I like to start near shore and move to deeper water as needed.
I usually rig up by tying a swivel on the end of my line and attaching a heavy, shiny, lure (like a Kastmaster). I then tie an 18-inch fluorocarbon leader to the hook of the heavy lure and tie a small ice fly or jig to the end of the leader.
Most of the fish I catch hit the ice fly or jig when it is just inches above the bottom. Staying close to the bottom greatly improves my success. I drop the heavy lure until it hits the bottom and stops taking out line. I then take up any slack and then reel in a couple more turns. I've measured and know that will put my small jig or ice fly just off the bottom.
Strawberry is located at a high elevation and it is always colder there than at Heber or other nearby cities. During winter, temps can feel quite mild when the sun is out but will be very cold when the sun goes down. Any slight breeze will make exposed skin feel cold. An ice tent or other shelter brings a great advantage and allows you to fish for a longer time.
Waterproof boots and warm clothing are essential. Dress in layers. If the sun is shining then shed layers.
Keep dry. If you get wet you can get in trouble in a hurry.
Some brave anglers set up a tent and fish all night. You can do that comfortably if you have a tent heater. But success at night is not usually any better than what you will find during the day.
