Idaho Fish Report

The ice coverage on Flaming Gorge has been increasing, and with this week's forecast, it will likely just continue. Many of the bays on the west side of the reservoir are now frozen, but ice thickness is highly variable. In a bay south of Holmes Crossing, the ice ranged from five to 10 inches thick (in only a 200-yard walk). Some of the bays on the east side were frozen too, but the ice had broken and refrozen and was only about five inches thick. Over this past weekend, there was still open water throughout the main channel in Anvil Draw, above and below Brinegar Ranch, and in Big Bend. Variable freeze times will make ice thickness inconsistent, so please use caution.

Kokanee salmon: The reservoir has reopened to the take of kokanee, but there haven't been any recent fishing reports.

Rainbow trout: Spoons, jigs and crankbaits are working from the shore, ice and boats. Most anglers are ice fishing with good results. Those who are on shore and in boats report schools and good fishing off rocky points and in the backs of some of the bays. On Saturday morning, the DWR's Flaming Gorge project leader, Ryan Mosley, augered some holes in a small cove hoping to find a few hungry rainbow trout. Action was good, and he iced three rainbows. He was using an orange Berkley Atomic Tube in 15 feet of water. The fish were very plump, up to 18 inches long, and had fire-engine red fillets.

Lake trout: Anglers report fair to good fishing through the ice and in open water. Schools, small groups and singles can be anywhere. If you find a group, try holding your position and drop a vertical presentation, such as a jigging spoon (chartreuse) or three-inch tube jig (white). Tip your lure with a small chunk of sucker meat and vary jigging activity until you figure out the behavior pattern. Also try trolling through or just above the school, and along the shorelines where they are cruising for food. Try different crankbaits or brightly colored spoons. Keep your limit of small, tasty lake trout to reduce competition and help both the lake trout and kokanee fisheries.

Smallmouth bass: There haven't been any new reports because the bass have gone deep.

Burbot: Fishing has been fair to exceptional from boats and through the ice. Try fishing for a few hours, starting around sunset, and focus on the rocky points, cliffs and old channels. Burbot will hit during the day, generally in the deeper waters; however, they become more active during the twilight hours when they move into the shallows to forage. Whether you're on shore, ice or boat, fish the bottom -- or just slightly above it -- in depths from 10 to 50 feet. Use just about anything that glows (spoons, tube jigs, curly-tailed jigs, minnows, jigging spoons, etc.) and tip your lure with some type of bait. (Cut bait, like sucker meat, is recommended.) Place your lure within inches of the bottom and recharge the glow frequently. It is common to catch a fish immediately after reglowing and dropping a lure. You'll help the Flaming Gorge fishery by harvesting as many burbot as possible. There is no limit on burbot.