Conditions Right Now
Your Loadout 🎣 Stock Up on Gear
Tackle + Bait Slots
Deep jigging setup: 30 lb braid + tube jigs.
Why Fish Here
Bear Lake is a natural lake about 20 miles long and 208 feet deep, and its calcium carbonate water is why it reads turquoise from the highway. The Bonneville cisco, Bonneville whitefish, Bear Lake whitefish and Bear Lake sculpin evolved here in isolation, which is why the January run draws people who do not otherwise fish. The state line runs through the lake, so Idaho rules apply on the north end and two poles are legal only on the Utah side. Dip net openings cannot exceed 18 inches in any dimension.
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.
- Why fish Bear Lake?
- For fish you cannot catch anywhere else. Bear Lake holds four endemic species, and for roughly ten days to two weeks at the end of January the Bonneville cisco crowd the rocky east shore to spawn, which is when anglers dip net them at Cisco Beach. The trout limit is two.