# Minersville Help?



## Texscala (Sep 8, 2007)

My friend was supposed to bring a his scout troop up from Nevada and I was going to take them all out to Strawberry and teach them how to ice fish. 

The leaders decided at the last minute that Strawberry was too far of a trip and will only let them travel as far as the Beaver area. 

I am looking at Minersville but really have no experience with it or any other places to fish in that far south. 

Could anyone please give some recommendations. We still have a chance to save this trip but I will need some outside assistance. I do not need any secret spot where we will catch fish all day I would just like to see the majority of the kids catch at least one fish (I am sure this would not have been a problem out at Strawberry). 

Thanks for any help.


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

Don't post any pics of fish from there, unless you are handling them by the gills. :roll:


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## Texscala (Sep 8, 2007)

I saw that post.....I personally am getting pretty lazy and usually try to unhook the fish at the ice hole.


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## brandonlarson (Oct 18, 2007)

i think you will have a great trip if you go to minersville.
i like to use a black marabou jig, 1/8 ounce, but i think alot of people like 1/16 ounce and you can try other colors. 
i like to fish in the coves on the west side of the lake. there is a dirt road that leaves the highway just west of the dam that circles around the mountain and brings you down to the lake into some nice little coves (except that right now the water level is so low that i've been told there aren't really any coves left!)
you can try off the dam too. i would be there early in the morning because it seems to me like some days it slows down during the middle of the day but it's pretty good in the morning and in the late afternoon.
let us know how you do and good luck.


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## Texscala (Sep 8, 2007)

I have never fished through the ice using only lures. Do you keep the jig moving? Do you move it every once in a while, Dead stick? I imagine a little of everything but I thought I would ask.


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## Jigz (Sep 30, 2007)

Drop it down to the bottom and give it a few cranks. jig it there for a while, if nothing bites crank it up a bit more. Just keep it moving. Now im not as experienced as some others here, but thats how i do it, and it has always worked for me. If you just leave it hanging there, you might get some action, but if you jig it you will almost certainly get more fish. 
I like to bring some smelly jelly attractant as a back-up. If the bite is slow, it can be the ticket sometimes. Also, bring a variety of lures. It sounds like you have a large group, rig up a few different things and see which works best. I like small tube jigs tipped with mealworms.
Good Luck, and great job on getting those kids out there to catch some fish. I hope you do well.


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## holman927 (Sep 28, 2007)

Jigz said:


> Drop it down to the bottom and give it a few cranks. jig it there for a while, if nothing bites crank it up a bit more. Just keep it moving. Now im not as experienced as some others here, but thats how i do it, and it has always worked for me. If you just leave it hanging there, you might get some action, but if you jig it you will almost certainly get more fish.
> I like to bring some smelly jelly attractant as a back-up. If the bite is slow, it can be the ticket sometimes. Also, bring a variety of lures. It sounds like you have a large group, rig up a few different things and see which works best. *I like small tube jigs tipped with mealworms.*
> Good Luck, and great job on getting those kids out there to catch some fish. I hope you do well.


 I had the understanding that Minersville was a artificial only water?


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

Jigz said:


> Drop it down to the bottom and give it a few cranks. jig it there for a while, if nothing bites crank it up a bit more. Just keep it moving. Now im not as experienced as some others here, but thats how i do it, and it has always worked for me. If you just leave it hanging there, you might get some action, but if you jig it you will almost certainly get more fish.
> *I like to bring some smelly jelly attractant as a back-up*. If the bite is slow, it can be the ticket sometimes. Also, bring a variety of lures. It sounds like you have a large group, rig up a few different things and see which works best. *I like small tube jigs tipped with mealworms.*
> Good Luck, and great job on getting those kids out there to catch some fish. I hope you do well.


MINERSVILLE RESERVOIR (Beaver County)
ARTIFICIAL FLIES AND LURES ONLY.
Only 1 trout over 22 inches.
All trout 22 inches or smaller must be immediately released.
Cement outlet channel between dam and spillway pond, approximately 55 feet long is CLOSED.

Manufactured, human-made items that may not be digestible, that are chemically treated with food stuffs, chemical fish attractants, or feeding stimulants may not be used on waters where bait is prohibited.

Use or possession of any bait while fishing on waters designated artificial fly and lure only is unlawful.

Scents, or scent impregnated lures, and bait are illegal at Minersville. You might have a better experience with scouts at Otter Creek or Piute. There aren't as many restrictions. The kids can use bait, and keep a couple of fish.

Fishrmn


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## Christopher30 (Nov 9, 2007)

The answer to the question on jigging or deadsticking: My partner spent an entire day jigging his tube, while i would just prop mine up and not touch save for maybe once about every 30 seconds or so. He caught 7 and i caught 8, so i don't think it makes a ton of difference whether it's moving or not. If you have a short attention span like me, the deadsticking thing works fine. Make sure you don't put scent or tip the jig with anything, yes that is a 74 dollar ticket at minersville.


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## Texscala (Sep 8, 2007)

I know about the bait and scent restrictions. Thanks for the advice.


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## brandonlarson (Oct 18, 2007)

i strongly believe that the way you jig makes a big difference in how well you will do. i've jigged for over 10 years and i've really got it down to where it works amazingly well for me. for me it works good to use an 1/8 ounce jig and give average strength jerks (usually stronger than how most other people that i know jig) but make them sudden (let the line go slack before each jig). As far as how often to jig, after each jig let the slack line just kind of pile up on the water of the hole and then watch the line as the jig goes down until you see the line stops sinking and then immediately jig again. you'll have to make sure you clean all of the snow away around your ice hole or your line will get caught in the snow and you won't be able to tell whats going on and that can cause you to miss a fish. my personal opinion about why this works so well is i believe that people who don't jig as often miss alot of fish that are biting really cautiously and the fish ends up getting away because instead of being hooked right when he takes the jig he gets hooked right after the person feels the bite and tries to hook it, which is enough time to make a difference. i also think that alot of the fish you catch this way might be fish that were getting close to the jig to check it out and because the jig is moving so much and so suddenly , it ends up hooking alot of those fish as well. alot of the time you can actually tell by watching your line between each jig that you have a fish and so you want to make sure that you hurry and set the hook when you see your line not sinking as far as usual or moving a little bit differently than usual. 
the more you practice jigging the better you will get at noticing subtle clues and methods which is why i love fishing so much! again, good luck and let us know how it goes.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

Good advice! Thanks for the tip I am still a rookie at the whole ice fishing thing.


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## Jigz (Sep 30, 2007)

Oh, sorry I didnt realize this lake had those restrictions. My bad.


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

No biggie. You had some good advice for any water that doesn't have those restrictions. And now you know that Minersville reservoir is "artificials only". --\O --\O 

Fishrmn


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## Texscala (Sep 8, 2007)

Okay so I think I have the basics down. Fish in 15 to 20 feet of water, Use lures life back marabou jigs, or black/brown tube jigs or glow & Keep them moving. What about using 2 jigs on the same line. I do this a lot at Strawberry, do y'all think it would work at minersville?


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## mickeyfinn (Oct 3, 2007)

I thought the subject of this post was applicable though my question is a little off tangent to the discussion here. Anyway, I watched the weather lady last night on TV give a forecast for the southern half of the state over the next three months and she mentioned it didn't look too good for moisture. In that the water level at Minersville is already so low, has anyone heard or seen a projection on if it's going to survive this summer? I realize that it's on a cycle; I'm just hoping we can get a couple more years out of it.


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## brandonlarson (Oct 18, 2007)

i might be wrong but i think that beaver mountain which fills minersville is a quite a bit more reliable than sources like pinevalley mountain and others that are further south than minersville. it seems to me like it would still have an effect but not as much of one as some of the other lakes closer to st. george. 

however, i thought that this year we were doing pretty good down south as far as snow pack. maybe i'm wrong or maybe i'm just use to how terrible its been for the last couple of years that one or two good storms make it seem to me like we're doing ok.


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## BRN (Sep 18, 2007)

Also remember that Minersville has a conservation pool. It got down to just above that level last summer and the fish came through just fine (although the muddy water did screw up fall fishing). The only reason Minersville had troubles during the last drought was because it had been drained for repairs and never got a chance to refill until the end of the drought in 2005. The last I heard was that the snowpack was looking pretty good on Beaver Mtn.


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