Ice fishing at Daniel’s Reservoir

(Adam and Alex Garcia Intro) Thanks for tuning into KSL Outdoors, I’m Adam Eakle. and let me introduce you to the Garcia boys. Alex where are we at? (Alex Garcia, South Weber) We are at Daniel reservoir. (adam) place you guys come a lot? (Alex) yes, up in Idaho. (adam) first time i’ve ever been here, it’s beautiful. we are the only ones here? (Alex) I can’t believe it. (adam) there better be fish in this lake. (alex) there’s fish in here. (adam) well let’s load the boys up and go do it. (alex) let’s go.

(Adam) careful on that first step it’s a little slushy.

There are many great places to ice fish in Southern Idaho, but very few have heard of Daniels Reservoir. Located about an hour and a half from Salt Lake City, about 15 miles northwest of Malad City. This small 375 acre rainbow fishery has some specific regulations that allow it grow big rainbows.

(Alex Garcia, South Weber) you know last week a guy caught a 24 inch rainbow out of here. He threw it on Youtube, that’s how we seen it. But there are some monsters in here, I’ve seen some 26, 27 inch fish come out of here.

Special regulations include a two trout limit, none of which may be under 20 inches. Also, anglers must use artificial flies and lures only. No bait is allowed, only one line can be used when ice fishing and you must use barbless hooks or bend down your barbs.

(Alex) you know what it gives it a little bit more of a challenge, it’s fun, the fish are a little bit bigger because of that.

[Notes:Time lapse tent going up?]

We couldn’t get the tent up and holes drilled fast enough. The boys were already marking fish on their flashers.

(Jace) (hit) Fish! (adam) did you get him? (jace) No I missed him. well go back down to him. Oh no that was my fish! (jace) yeah it was.

(Adam) Dude you got him? (AJ) Yeah. (adam) Alright, nice job.

(AJ) oh that’s a nice fish. (fish out of hole) (adam) nice fish. (aj) oh yeah.

We first met twin brothers AJ and Jace Garcia last summer at a competition on the Weber River called the Big Fish Challenge. Both boys are avid fisherman who wanted a way to share their love of fishing with other youth. So they started a website called twinterritory.com. A site where they could relay information and influence other kids to give the outdoors a try.

(AJ) not a bad start to the day. (adam) no. What did he hit? (aj) he hit a little ice fly, that little thing. (adam) you going to put him back? (aj) yup (fish release)

(Jace Garcia, Twinterritory.com) we are just trying to take other kids with us and show them how much fun than just sit home and play video games or watch tv.

(AJ) Outdoors is better than sitting at home. I’d rather come out here and not catch fish than sit at home and do nothing.

(Adam) someday you are going to take my job right? (jace) hopefully. (laughs) that would be awesome. (aj) yeah.

(Alex) you know ever since they were little kids they’ve loved the outdoors. They’ve gone fishing, hunting, they just love it.

(Alex) it’s been a combination of the two of them to get it up and running and started. It’s been fun.

(AJ hit) Fish. (adam) Another?

These boys, including young Cameron are passionate about fishing and a little competitive as well.

(Adam) he’s kicking our butts! (jace) yeah i’m getting mad at him. I’m going to go steal his bait in a second.

(AJ) oh this is the smallest one I’ve ever caught. (fish out of hole) laughs.

(Adam) don’t loose him.

(Fish out of hole) that will work. (jace) yes! Finally.

(Adam) lot of little guys this year, still a nice fish, nothing wrong with him. (fish release) (adam) on the board. (jace) yes.

Up next

(Adam) oh he wants it. Oh it’s a good one.

the battle of the brothers continues as bigger fish start to show up.

(fish hooks up) yeah! (aj) there’s two.

and

(Brian) Not a bad perch.

we give you some detailed information on where to find safe ice and good fishing back home in Utah. But first time to check out this weeks Burt Brothers Quiz Question.

**************************************************

(on screen) another one. Oh two. They are going to fight over it. (misses fish on screen) Oh!.

(AJ) this is the video game kids need to play.

The boys were having quite the time watching the fish on our underwater camera. A five dollar bet has been made for the boy who lands the biggest fish.

(AJ) that’s a nice fish. (hit) yeah! (adam) don’t loose him!

(jace looses fish) he came off! (adam) no! (aj) yeah. Laughs

(Adam) he wants it. Oh it’s a good one. (hit and miss) no, no, no. (alex) feel the fish. (jace) I did feel him. (catches fish) yeah! (aj) that’s two.

(Alex) You know we caught some on some tube jigs, some curly tails, caught some on some cutter bugs. I really like this Dyanmic lure here. It comes in different sizes, weights, floating stuff. It’s been an awesome day though.

(Fish out of hole) (cameron) he’s out. (adam) Oh that’s a good fish.

(Jace) I think i’ve got the money today. (adam) Oh I don’t know, the day is still young.

(Adam) we better get a measurement on that one.

(Alex measuring fish) almost twenty.

Closer to home….

(Glen Harward, Avid Ice fisher) Oh nice one. (t) oh look at that nice big fish you caught! (glen) look at that big rainbow.

My family and I met up with the guys from Maniac Custom Lures as they got my four year old son Ethan into his first fish of the New Year. The reservoir has been drawn down to accommodate some much needed dam repairs, but that has concentrated the fish.

(James Bradshaw, Maniac Custom Lures) (brown nats out of hole) another brown, yeah look how light colored that brown is. Pretty, wow.

The guys are catching some really nice eight to eleven inch perch in about twenty five feet, the rainbows are cruising about ten feet under the ice.

(James Bradshaw) That’s a Maniac Gazilla. Crazy glow.

(James Bradshaw) and I just put a little perch meat on it.

(James Bradshaw) then on the bottom one, just have a little gizzy bug in orange glow and a chartreuse head and a little perch eye on it.

These guys say, anglers across the state are finding active fish right now as the ice is finally thick enough on many our favorite waters.

(James Bradshaw) Mantua they are getting bluegill and perch there and even trout and bass. Pelican lake they are catching bass and bluegill out there. Using chartreuse jigs and gizzy bugs.

(Glen Harward, Avid Ice Fisher) they are fishing Starvation right now, they are big ol’ steelies, Starvation steelies. They are catching their limit of them and there’s a whole bunch of perch up there at the bridge. Yup lot of families out there I imagine it’s thicker there than it is here. (adam) what were you using? I heard you were kicking butt. (glen) we were using gizzy bugs, we live by the gizzy bugs, maniac stuff, gizzy bugs and gizilla’s is all we did. So we stayed on orange, and an orange head was doing good out there.

(James) Strawberry, I heard they started fishing on Strawberry. Some of those arms are froze good enough for safe ice.

(alex about Jace fish) “that is the biggest right there AJ.

Back at Daniels, Jace has caught a fish as big as AJ’s.

(adam) that one is a little heavier. (jace) Oh yeah. (aj) mine was bigger. (adam) I think Jace may have gotten. I think there is some dispute. We might have to go to instant replay.

(Tag toss to fish tech) quite the little fisherman aren’t they. (alex) they are good. (adam) that was a lot of fun and those fish we saw, I mean we saw some really quality fish. (alex) You know what 21-22 that’s about average up here. (adam) and surprisingly we saw one other fisherman up here, beautifiul place, beautiful drive. Not that far maybe two hours from the Wasatch Front. Come up here and experience Daniels Res in southern Idaho. Hey coming up on KSL Outdoors, the Trifishalon kicked off at Scofield Reservoir we’ll have that here in just a moment, but first back to the guys at Fish Tech for tonights Fishing Report.

************************************************

(Adam) Welcome back to KSL Outdoors, I’m Adam Eakle, back here on Echo Reservoir and check out one of the tasty pan fish perch, pretty good perch showing up here at Echo Reservoir, old Glen here knows how to catch that’s for sure. You know ice fishing kicked off just in time for the trifishalon that the Utah State Parks is putting on and they kicked it off last weekend down at Scofield.

(John Hunt, Scofield State Park Manager) negative 17 when I got here, but it’s a great day, a lot of people come out for it, kind of an annual event that people look forward to.

It was so cold last Saturday at Scofield, even the gas powered augers had a hard time cranking up. But the cold, didn’t stop two hundred people from venturing out for Scofield’s annual ice fishing derby.

(Guy Registering) “last name is Gri…

The Scofield derby has been around for seven years. Utah State Parks is always coming up with creative ideas on how to encourage anglers to use our state parks during the winter and this year they came up with a plan to include three parks in a combined fishing tournament.

(John Hunt, Scofield State Park Manager) We have three separate events. Today is here at Scofield, then we have one at Rockport and one at Starvation. We’ve teamed up together so that your longest fish at each of those three events can join it’s own tournament called the trifishalon.

(John Hunt) the tournament is the aggregate of the size of your three fish. so if they missed our Scofield event, they can still fish individually at Rockport or at Starvation or maybe they’ll catch two enormous fish at Rockport and Starvation and with those two they’ll beat out everybody else.

(Calvin Francom, Plain City) They usually catch more fish than dad does. (daughter laughs)

Santa outfitted the Francom kids with fishing gear this Christmas, Calvin say’s it’s tough work to take his three kids out ice fishing, but he hopes they learn to love it as much he does.

(Calvin Francom, Plain City) it’s worth it, make good memories, they’ll never forget it. they’ll remember trips like this forever. That’s the main goal.

Each event is limited to the first 200 participants. So far about 50 people have signed up for all three events, so there’s still room for anglers at each of the next events. The incentive, well each park will award the anglers with the biggest rainbow at each event with Sportsman’s Warehouse gift certificates. The angler with the largest combined length of fish caught at all three tournaments wins an eight hundred dollar gift certificate. At Scofield Greg Young took home 300 bucks with a sixteen and three quarter inch rainbow. Not bad for a day’s work on the ice.

(Bill Brown, South Jordan) That will buy gas in the F-350 for a few trips. (laughs)

(Matt Green, Entered the tournament) Normally just come up for a good time. Normally don’t catch much, but maybe this year will be something different.

(Matt) as long as you have fun that’s all that matters.

(Adam tag) so the next leg of the Trifishalon will be January 19th up at Rockport reservoir and the final leg will be February 9th at Starvation for some of those Starvation Steelhead. Time now to dive into tonights Utah Field Guide.

Add comment

Get In Touch

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.