# Strawberry Fun



## TheGreenHornet (Nov 4, 2009)

Here's the skinny: Strawberry Bay Marina at 2 p.m. 25 degrees on Monday the 27th. Heavy snow at few spots on snowpacked road to the marina. More snow now than I saw most of the year last year. Looked like the whole lake was froze over. Drove back to Mud Creek for the thicker one inch top ice with 8 inch slush and 4 inch bottom layer ice. Six other groups on the ice. Two poles with white tube jig and night crawler at 1' off bottom at 14'. Two fish, one 14" _rainbow_ (oops it's a cut, see replies) at 2:45 p.m. and a 10 inch rainbow at 4:15 p.m. We were the last group off the ice at 5 p.m. and 10 degrees. Kids had fun sledding.[attachment=5:2mbw1nn9]ice fishing road.jpg[/attachment:2mbw1nn9][attachment=4:2mbw1nn9]ice fishing hole.jpg[/attachment:2mbw1nn9][attachment=3:2mbw1nn9]ice fishing 14 inch rainbow.jpg[/attachment:2mbw1nn9][attachment=2:2mbw1nn9]ice fishing rainbow.jpg[/attachment:2mbw1nn9][attachment=1:2mbw1nn9]ice fishing cold beer.jpg[/attachment:2mbw1nn9][attachment=0:2mbw1nn9]ice fishing Lake.jpg[/attachment:2mbw1nn9]


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## JCR (Sep 17, 2007)

Looks like you had a fun trip. I can't wait to get out there on the ice at the 'Berry. Hey are those Cutts or Bows that you caught? You said bows but they kind of look like cutts...


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## kochanut (Jan 10, 2010)

awesome pics!!! thanks for making me home sick &^&$^%^$!! im kidding of course. the beer bubble one is one cool pic! looks like you had a great time thanks for sharing.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Welcome aboard. Looks like a shload of snow out there.

That poor beer looks like it's cold and needs a warm belly to seek shelter in.

(JCR- Looks like #1 is a cutt and #2 is a bow.)


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## TheGreenHornet (Nov 4, 2009)

My understanding is that if there is a hint of orange on the bottom of the fish under the gills/mouth, then it's a cut or hybrid cut. These fish had none of that, but I first thought the same thing because they had a more yellowish skin tone on the belly and bottom fins than most rainbows that I've caught but no orange/yellow streaks/markings. I released both anyway.

Even though the fishing was slow, it was still a fun time and yes I did the good deed of warming that beer in my belly.

Cheers.
[attachment=0:3hy570m1]ice fishing underneath.JPG[/attachment:3hy570m1]


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## dunstan82 (Aug 19, 2009)

Sweet post. I really like the pics and captions. I am heading up on Sunday can't wait.


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## BROWN BAGGER (Sep 13, 2007)

they were cuts, just to put in my 2 cents. bear lake variety of course. if you pulled out a bow the difference would be night and day to you.


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## sparky00045 (Apr 1, 2008)

Wow thats amazing i drove up there X mas day saturday and the whole lake was open water except for a couple bays, and by monday it was capped, you have to love winter in utah.

well after the artic blast this weekend, it should do alot for getting a thick ice we can fish through

can't wait to get up there.


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## torowy (Jun 19, 2008)

that fish in the picture of "hands" is a cut for sure. you can tell from the spots. its hard to tell on the other picture.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Yeah, that first one is definitely a cutt. Even though I can't see the second fish too well, it's got the tell-tale rounded tail fin of a planter rainbow.

I'm just glad you got out and caught something from Slushberry. I just put some new blades on my auger tonight and now I'm hoping I can give them something to bite this weekend. Hoping I can afford some gas, that is.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

TheGreenHornet said:


> My understanding is that if there is a hint of orange on the bottom of the fish under the gills/mouth, then it's a cut or hybrid cut. These fish had none of that, but I first thought the same thing because they had a more yellowish skin tone on the belly and bottom fins than most rainbows that I've caught but no orange/yellow streaks/markings. I released both anyway.
> 
> Even though the fishing was slow, it was still a fun time and yes I did the good deed of warming that beer in my belly.
> 
> ...


This subject has been hashed, and re-hashed, but it never hurts to keep working on identification. Just because it has a slash on its jaw doesn't qualify it as a cutt. Nor does absence of a slash disqualify it as a cutt. You have to look at the other markings. As LOAH has said time and time again "its all in the fins". The first fish pictured is DEFINITELY a cutt. Pink/yellow fins, more/bigger spots towards the tail end of the fish, and (this one's just a little something from personal experience) the fins are all intact, hinting at the fact that it wasn't raised in the hatchery, as most cutts in the Berry were "born" there.

Its tough to tell one way or the other on fish #2. Just too small of a pic, and it is covered in snow. The fish in the second post by the greenhornet is also a cutt. Look at the fins. Yellow/pink.

I'm just guessing here, but none of those fish seem to be over 15 inches, so in that case, they'd be legal to keep anyway.

Nice job on the report! I have been wondering how things were shaping up over that way, and was tempted to make a drive on Friday morning to check things out. THANK YOU for the report GH! Much appreciated!


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

Directly from the Utah 2011 Fishing Guidebook.



> A rainbow trout is dark green to bluish on the back with silvery sides. The pinkish to reddish horizontal band typifies the species. The belly may be white to silvery. *Irregular and profuse black spots are usually present on the head, back and sides. The pelvic and anal fins are translucent pink to gray-green and tipped in white.* The coloration of a river-dwelling rainbow trout is often more vibrant than that of a lake dweller. Rainbow trout also tend to have a fairly blunt snout.
> 
> *Bear Lake cutthroat trout often lack the bright crimson jaw slash, which may at times be yellow, gray or non-existent. Deep orange pelvic and anal fins and the presence of few, if any, spots on the head readily distinguish Bear Lake cutthroat from rainbow trout (see rainbow trout description). Bear Lake cutthroat can exhibit a variety of spotting patterns, but spots are generally sparsely scattered, large and rounded in outline. Spotting is typically more concentrated near the tail.* During the spawning season, Bear Lake cut- throat (particularly the males) take on a bronze color along the sides and lower body, and often develop rosy-colored gill plates.


36282, 35000, 29425, 25680,25543, 29850, 24570, 115000, 33000, 55800, 69850, 59700, 2226, 4240, 36080, 40020, 17600, 36040, 17490, 16960, 38054, 1715, 15243, 16948, 4200, 3920, 18032, 3920, 3920, 18144, 16333, 16524, 16200, 17644, 16983, 17272, 15744, 14168, 14080, 14154, 16640, 17440, 17160, 16928. These are the numbers of Bear Lake Cutthroats that the UDWR planted in Strawberry during 2010. The reason most of them have all of their fins is because the majority of them are planted at the fingerling size. Roughly 2 1/2" to 3" long. They don't spend much time in a concrete raceway, and if there are injuries, they either heal up or don't survive to be seen on the end of a line. It would be nice to have most of the Cutthroats naturally reproduced in the Strawberry valley, but it's probably less than 35 or 40 percent of the total fish in the reservoir.

Fishrmn


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## rippnlips (Dec 25, 2007)

Hopefully the whole lake is safe to fish by Friday


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## TheGreenHornet (Nov 4, 2009)

I'm glad you guys liked the post. I use these forums often and find the info on them pretty valuable at times. Just like now, you all probably saved me from getting into trouble with the law. *Thank you all* for setting me straight on the fish identification. I can't believe how wrong I was.

P.S. Be careful out there. Those fish can get down right mean at times. Here is a picture of my wife (100 years ago) gettting attacked by a fish up in the first meadow at Slough Creek in Yellowstone.[attachment=0:wuzx7ylb]Kristi Flipping Out.jpg[/attachment:wuzx7ylb]


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