Utah

On Martin Luther King Day there is an annual event at Bear Lake called the Cisco Disco. If there is ice on the lake, the event is on the ice. If not, it’s at the state park on the east side of the lake. The year I was there, it occurred at the state park. I was a guest of Bryce and Scott, the Utah Fish and Game biologists who appear to be the main force behind the Cisco Disco.

On Saturday we went fishing until we caught our limit. There were several boats each with two or three or four fishermen. I easily could have tossed my lure into someone else’s boat.

We fished approximately a half-mile from shore above the rock pile in water about sixty feet deep. Cisco spawn on the rocks and fishermen use a very shiny lure on which the fish also try to spawn. The lure is jigged up and down and the fish are snagged. The Whitefish are there to eat Cisco eggs, but sometimes they get in the way and they too get snagged.

Monday was the big event. All the fishermen brought cleaned fish. The others brought beer and whiskey. Good food, scones and deep-fried fish and camaraderie! That’s what this event is all about.

This is a picture of a 5-gallon bucket of bloody snagged fish.