Conditions Right Now
Your Loadout
Tackle + Bait Slots
Deep jigging setup: 30 lb braid + tube jigs.
How To Fish It
Best rigs: Troll minnow lures 20-60 ft for cutts; jig heavy spoons for lakers; dip nets for cisco run
Bait and lures: Bear Lake cutts eat cisco - match with 3-4" white/silver profiles
Best time: Sunrise. Season: Jan (cisco run!), spring & fall trolling
Local tip: Four fish here exist nowhere else on Earth. The late-January cisco run at Cisco Beach - dip-netting through ice-rimmed waves at dawn - is pure Utah.
Species Playbook
Cutthroat Trout
Rig: Strawberry: white tube jig 15-30 ft; Bear Lake: troll minnow-profile lures
Bait: Tube jigs, dead minnows (where legal), dry flies in creeks
When: Morning bite is king; ice-off is legendary
The Bonneville cutthroat is Utah's state fish. Strawberry slot: release cutts 15-22 in.
Lake Trout (Mackinaw)
Rig: Vertical jigging: 3-4 in white tube jig on heavy jighead, 40-90 ft
Bait: Tube jigs tipped with sucker meat, big spoons, downrigger trolling
When: First light; winter & spring for giants
Gorge 'pups' (under 25 in) are tasty and plentiful - jig the humps.
Bonneville Cisco
Rig: Dip net through the ice or from shore at Cisco Beach
Bait: None - you net them during the spawn
When: Late January, sunrise, when they run the rocky shoreline
A true Utah tradition: 30-fish limit, netted by hand in freezing dawn. Bucket list!
Mountain Whitefish
Rig: Small beadhead nymph or tiny jig near bottom
Bait: Zebra midges, wax worms, small nymphs
When: Winter! They bite all day when trout won't
Native, underrated, and they'll rescue any winter river trip.
Getting There + Nearby
Nearby adventures: Bear Lake State Park (State Park, 4 mi) · Sunrise Campground (Bear Lake) (Camping, 8 mi) · Rendezvous Beach (Bear Lake SP) (Camping, 10 mi) · White Pine Lake (Logan) (Hike, 16 mi)
Quick Answers
- What fish are in Bear Lake?
- Cutthroat Trout, Lake Trout (Mackinaw), Bonneville Cisco, Mountain Whitefish.
- What is the best bait at Bear Lake?
- Bear Lake cutts eat cisco - match with 3-4" white/silver profiles
- When is the best time to fish Bear Lake?
- Sunrise. Season: Jan (cisco run!), spring & fall trolling.