With the holidays over and mama and the kids back at work and school, I decided to make my first trip of the year to Hog Canyon. I was unsure of ice conditions but upon arrival found lots of tracks from other fishermen who'd led the way. I headed to my usual area just 150 yards or so off the launch and drilled my first hole. The ice measured at a solid 6". The water here was just over 5' deep.

I started by jigging a Swedish Pimple tipped with salmon eggs, a combo that's worked well for me in past years on this lake. In the next hour, from about 8:30 to 9:30, I got three of those "blitz" type hits where the fish crashed my offering but did not take, and two other bumps. Taking a cue from the fish, and my own advice offered to many, I grabbed my other jigging rod which was equipped with a small, chartreuse teardrop jig. Tipped with a single salmon egg, this combo drew immediate attention! In only 15 minutes I received three good, solid, deliberate takes which resulted in three fat, winter rainbows on the ice. With two of these fish in excess of 14", I was limited out in accordance with Hog's regs. Talk about a short trip! I'm not used to catching larger fish in Hog Canyon, resulting in a longer stay. Next trip I'll maybe release a fish or two so I can stay a while longer. Good thing I started with the Swedish Pimple and not the small jig, otherwise I may have limited out in a matter of minutes! As it was, I was driving out at 10:00.

All fish were incredibly fat and healthy. They fought very well and did not come to the hole easy by way of 4 lb. test. The recent rehab has done good things for this lake. They measured out at 12.5" - 15". That's impressive considering past years where I'd get five fish in the 8-11" range and very few in excess of 12".

Sorry, no photos. I'm not that high-speed!

bazzdude

1/4/2011 1:32:00 PM

Hey good report on Hog. It has been a few years since i have been there, seems like last time i went there in the summer time i think it was there was very little water. So the drive down the road to the lake is drivable? I have never cought a trout through the ice yet. So no worms. do the eggs have to be fresh or can they be the kind you can buy in a store in the jar? Ok, stay safe out there.

raffensg64

1/4/2011 2:15:00 PM

The road is ice-packed but drivable. Just take it slow going in, especially the last two hundred yards downhill into the lake....it's very steep and icy. There is a new sign posted at the entrance, evidently target shooting is now forbidden in that area of BLM land now. That should cut down on the in/out traffic. Pautzke Balls O Fire salmon eggs (aka "Fire Balls"), red or green lid, doesn't matter. I'm sure they'd hit maggots, mousies, worms, etc. I just prefer Fire Balls, they're quick and easy and one jar will last several trips.

TroutCowboy

1/4/2011 2:38:00 PM

great report, congrats on catching a few hogs at hog! thx for including the road report, been wanting to go there but didn't want to waste the drive all the way from Liberty Lake if it was not passable.

The Jigmiester

1/4/2011 3:34:00 PM

raffen-man. Were you jigging your offering at all, or twitching the jig and letting it sit to get your strikes? Awesome report my friend, thanks for sharing. Jiggy

raffensg64

1/4/2011 4:05:00 PM

Jigmeister, I'd raise it 12" or so, drop and allow it settle for 8-10 seconds, and repeat. Most strikes came right after the jig settled out vertically. I usually do this just to keep myself busy and maybe attract the occasional slacker fish. In my experience, actively feeding fish will take a suspended offering just as readily.

Jay K

1/4/2011 5:36:00 PM

@raffensg64- Just want to inquire on some clarification of the regs: Hog Canyon Lake states no min size, daily limit 5, up to 2 over 14" may be retained. State regs further state: In lakes, ponds, reservoirs: No min size, daily limit 5, when fishing with bait, all trout equal to or greater than min size are counted as part of the daily limit whether kept or released. My reading of this indicates that you're only allowed to hook 5 fish total on bait. At Hog Canyon, you're allowed to retain 2 over 14". It seems to me, you could have kept fishing until you'd hooked 5 fish total on that trip, but could only have taken 2 of those over 14" home. So if fish #'s 4 and 5 were over 14", you would have to release. But if fish #4 & #5 were less than 14" you could have kept 'em towards your daily limit. Further reading seems to indicate that if you ice fish without bait (hard), you could catch & release all day until you got the 5 you wanted to keep (with only 2 over 14" at Hog Canyon).

raffensg64

1/4/2011 6:52:00 PM

Jay K, good point and one I took into consideration while there on the ice. I decided to leave based on an article in the Spokesman Review from a few years ago. In that article written by Chris Donnelly, our local biologist, he mentioned that fishing Fourth of July Lake (same regs as Hog Canyon) could result in a short trip because the fish are large and often exceed 14". He stated that once an angler retains 2 fish in excess of 14", they have "limited" and are done for the day on that body of water. Granted, he's not a GW, but I'm sure he spends plenty of time working with them! An interesting question to pose to the GWs next time we see them. No worries though, today was my scouting trip and I'll be back there tomorrow, and many days thereafter! If nothing else, it's great to see that lake churning out some larger fish!

MarkFromSea

1/4/2011 8:08:00 PM

Congrats! Fish lake, chelan co, has a similar, 5, up to 2 over 15". I've never interpreted it that way, I should give it another look see. A GW would have to be pissed about something else to write you up if you hadn't retained 5 total yet... LOL like a trooper writting you an open container ticket for a non alcoholic beer, LOL... Just have fun! something in there about retain if legal to do so when fishing with bait?????????????????

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