Points 11, 12 and 13: Ice-Off fishing for Large Cutthroat

April 21st, 2025

Since I began to really take fishing seriously, I've been reading about one special time of the year to target scores of trout just feet from the shoreline. An experience where anglers of all skill levels and through any method of fishing can haul in dozens of fish all day long until their arms tire out. I'm referring to a circumstance on high-altitude lakes that occurs once a year in late spring known as "ice-off", when warming temperatures cause the ice formed all winter long to melt away starting with the edges and quickly recede towards the middle of the lake. The gap of open water between the shoreline and the ice becomes a place where hungry trout holed up from the winter begin to feed and explore in this territory and white-hot fishing can ensue, or so I've been told. It's captivated my intrigue since hearing of it, and I knew I just had to try it for myself. The trouble can be timing it just right, as ice-off conditions generally last for a few days before ice melts away and the fish are no longer concentrated in this narrow water column. I spent the last couple of weeks tuned into a fishing page on Facebook for a nearby large reservoir, looking for posts indicating when ice-off may start. As soon as I saw some posts saying it's starting, I cashed in on some PTO from work and headed right up.

I arrived at the reservoir and realized I may have been just a little too eager in my approach as ice still covered about 99% of the shoreline at the lake and could have waited a couple of days. I did find one bay where conditions appeared perfect, with about 30 feet of open water spanning approximately 1/8 of a mile. About 10 other anglers were also present, repeatedly casting their streamers and lures inches from the ice before retrieving. I positioned myself in a similar fashion and attempted the same with a generic black size 12 wooly bugger. Besides one questionable strike over about a 45-minute period, there was no luck in hooking any fish. Glancing to my sides I could tell other anglers also didn't catch anything during this time. I decided to relocate to the side of the bay where the slope of the

land was steeper, holding deeper water. There also weren't any anglers in that area at the time which was another plus. Upon the first cast my decision was rewarded with an electric strike as soon as I began my retrieve. A good battle ensued with a good-sized fish, seeing occasional white flashes in the water hinting a big fish was on the line. Several long, methodical runs from the fish later I netted it to a sense of euphoric delight. I finally got what I came here for, even if it was just one fish. It's distinct spotting and signature blood-red marking just below the gills indicated it was a large Bear River cutthroat trout.

The fish took up the entirety of my 20" long net, spanning an additional inch or so outside it, indicating it was approximately 21" in total length. A couple quick pictures were taken to reminisce the experience later on and back it went into the depths. The catch gave me some renewed confidence, casting many times to the ice border followed by sporadic but slow strips for the fly. Within the following hour and a half, I had numerous strikes and caught two more cutthroat of similar, but slightly smaller sizes. The action had slowed down, and perhaps the fishing wasn't as consistently amazing as I read about but I still had an incredible time catching large trout from the shore, which is more than enough to be grateful for. On my way out a seasoned angler told me he had little luck today and added, "you should've been here this time of year last year! Last ice-off I caught 30 by lunch!" Even on a rather slow day for these conditions, it still

yielded incredible results for me, and you bet I'll be back next year for the same experience. With catching three cutthroat total, including a 20+" and two in the 18-19" I satisfied my points for a 20-inch cutthroat along with the 14- and 17-inch cutthroat points. This brings my total up to 13 points, with 87 to go before reaching Legendary Angler status.