Fishing Ice Off!

When the ice comes off of your local impoundment, it is typical for most species to start feeding aggressively! This is very true on Blue Mesa where ice off is one of your best chances to catch a trophy fish. Fish of all sizes are able to cruise all
throughout the water column in search of food since water temperatures are relatively the same throughout the water column. Trophy sized rainbows, browns, and lake trout are very sensitive to water temperatures so as water temperatures rise and the lake stratifies, these fish will move deeper and become less accessible.

The most productive way to cover lots of water with several presentations in hopes of running into a trophy sized fish is trolling. It is very important not to limit yourself to any particular depth, speed, color, or action. If you aren’t seeing results, tweek your game plan until you start seeing some action. If you are fortunate enough to catch a trophy sized fish, consider getting some pictures and measurements and release your trophy for somebody else to catch another day. Trophy fish take many years to get to that size and as the world becomes more populated with anglers, the opportunity to catch a trophy will continue to shrink, unless the majority practices catch and release!