December (Annual Christmas Party) Meeting

Strawberry Reservoir Fishing Report – Chicken Creek

Tuesday, October 27, 2026 Update

By Jeff Wells. Another outstanding fall fishing report from Renegade Bay! Fishing Report by Jeff Wells It looks like Strawberry Reservoir isn't ready to call it quits for the season! Following Wade's excellent report, I headed to Renegade for another terrific day of late-fall fly fishing—and practically had the entire bay to myself.

Big Trout, Steady Action, and Almost No Competition!

I spent the day fishing from my kick boat, trolling at approximately 1 mph with a Type 7 sinking line. And here's the amazing part: I never needed to venture more than a few hundred yards from the Renegade dock! Working back and forth over that relatively small stretch of water, I consistently hooked into nice-sized trout about every 15–30 minutes throughout the day. Most of the fish were beautiful, healthy cutthroats, but the rainbows really stole the show! I landed four football-sized rainbows exceeding 20 inches, including one real bruiser that measured an impressive 23.5 inches!

One Rod, Lots of Flies, and Plenty of Fish

Unlike some anglers who fish multiple rods, I fish just ONE rod, and it was more than enough to keep me entertained! In fact, the fishing was so consistent that I started changing flies about every hour, mostly out of curiosity and boredom. The surprising result? Everything seemed to work equally well! Sometimes, when the fish are feeding aggressively, fly selection just doesn't seem to matter nearly as much as getting your presentation into the right zone.

A Little Wind and a Different Kind of Fun

The weather was much like Wade described in his earlier report, although I did encounter a few strong, troublesome gusts throughout the day. Around 3:30 PM, I decided to switch things up for the final hour of fishing. I pulled out my 17-foot Keiryu rod and fished without an indicator, simply allowing the fly to drop to approximately 20 feet. What a blast! The cutthroats were more than willing to cooperate. Although these fish were smaller than the ones I'd been catching while trolling, bringing them in on the long Keiryu rod was an absolute delight and a great way to finish the day.

Strawberry Is Still Calling!

Between the steady action, beautiful cutthroats, oversized rainbows, and the luxury of having nearly an entire bay to myself, it was another memorable day on Strawberry Reservoir. I'd love to head right back tomorrow, but family obligations will have to take priority. For anyone wondering whether it's worth making another trip before winter settles in, the fishing at Strawberry is still going strong!

Tight lines, Jeff Wells

Monday, October 26, 2026 Update

By Wade Hall. 36 fish to the net, ideal water temperatures, and plenty of room to fish! As the stillwater fishing season begins to wind down, Strawberry Reservoir is proving that there's still some excellent fishing to be had! My latest outing was a great reminder of just how productive late-fall fishing can be when the conditions come together.

A Foggy Start to a Beautiful Day

I launched at the Renegade boat ramp and was on the water by about 9:45 AM. Incidentally, the Renegade ramp has been free for the past couple of weeks, which is a nice bonus. The morning greeted me with temperatures around 34°F and dense fog that limited visibility to roughly 50 feet. The fog finally lifted around 11:00 AM, revealing a nearly deserted reservoir. Water temperatures were holding at an ideal 55°F, and the forecast winds of 5–9 mph were right on the money. All things considered, it was shaping up to be a nearly perfect day on the water.

Finding the Fish

I spent the morning fishing the east side of Renegade, where the most productive water was between 25 and 40 feet deep. I fished two lines throughout the day:

• Type 3 sinking line: A dependable choice for getting flies down into the feeding zone.
• Hover/2/4 sinking line: One of my new favorites! This 100-foot integrated line features a 20-foot Type 4 sinking tip, followed by 30 feet of Type 2 sinking line, with the remaining 50 feet consisting of a hover section that sinks approximately six inches below the surface.

I've found the Hover/2/4 to be an especially effective presentation for fishing water in the 20–40-foot range.

And the fly selection? Couldn't have been simpler! One fly. All day. No changes. A size 6 Olive/Copper Polar Flash with a Brown/Black tail did all the work.

The Afternoon Bite Really Turned On!

By noon, I had brought 12 fish to the net. Not a bad morning, but the best fishing was still ahead. I moved to the southernmost bay east of Renegade for the afternoon session. Here, the fish were holding somewhat shallower, with the best action coming in 18–30 feet of water. The bite really picked up! There were multiple doubles, plenty of missed grabs, and almost nonstop opportunities. The afternoon produced another 24 fish, bringing the day's total to an impressive 36 fish to the net by the time I wrapped things up at 4:30 PM.

Quality Fish and Very Little Company

About two-thirds of the catch consisted of cutthroat trout, with rainbows making up the remainder. There were only a few small stocked fish in the mix, with most of the trout measuring a very respectable 17–20 inches. Perhaps just as remarkable was the lack of boat traffic. During the entire afternoon, I could see only two other boats! In past years, 30-plus-fish days have been fairly common during Strawberry's fall season. This year, however, those kinds of days have been harder to come by, making this outing particularly memorable—and definitely worth sharing.

Don't Put Away Those Stillwater Rods Just Yet!

The water temperatures are excellent, the crowds are gone, and the trout are still willing to cooperate. If you've been thinking about squeezing in one more trip to Strawberry before winter settles in, now might be a great time to make it happen! Tight lines, and get out there if you can!

Sunday, October 18, 2026 Update

By Jack Campbell Fished the East Portal yesterday. Fishing was slow but steady. The Manitoba Minnow was the most productive fly, although Gene’s Perch pattern worked well, too. My buddy and I each landed 10 fish, a nice mix of cutthroats and rainbows.

Chicken Creek — A Very Different Day on the Water

Saturday, October 17, 2026 For me, there was really only one way to describe the day: it sucked. After about four hours on the water, I finished with only six fish. One bright spot was a beautiful 20- to 21-inch rainbow — what I call a “Minersville-class” fish. Jeff Wells did better, landing 13 fish, including five large rainbows in that same class, with one stretching to about 22 inches. Both of us also caught a couple of nice cutthroat, along with a few smaller fish. On almost any other day, those numbers might have seemed respectable. But this outing was very different from what I had experienced at Chicken Creek over the previous several weeks. Since early September, I had fished Chicken Creek six or seven times. My previous slowest day had produced 20 fish, although about half were small. Before that, my totals generally ranged from 24 to 27 fish, with roughly 80 percent of them being large cutthroat and rainbows in the 20-inch class. The biggest difference, however, wasn’t just the number of fish caught — it was what I was seeing on my Humminbird. On those earlier trips, the screen frequently showed fish stacked along the bottom, particularly at depths of 25 feet and deeper. At times, the bottom looked almost covered with fish. On this outing, those fish had virtually disappeared. I probably could have counted the fish marks on my fingers, or only a few more than that.

Beautiful Weather — Strange Water

The weather itself could hardly have been better. Saturday was sunny, comfortably warm, and relatively calm — actually a little less windy than I would have liked. The water temperature was about 54°F when I started and approximately 57°F when I left the water. One fellow at the ramp who was getting ready to launch when I arrived said it had been only 17°F when he got there. But the surface of the reservoir looked anything but normal. Large patches of what appeared to be algae covered much of the water. Some were only a few inches across, while others were larger than our boats. At times, the accumulation was so thick it looked like we could almost walk on it. The dramatic change in fishing, the disappearance of fish from the sonar, and the unusual material on the surface made me wonder whether Chicken Creek might be experiencing its fall turnover. I called Dave Tall during the day to get his thoughts. His answer was basically: maybe.

Looking for an Explanation

After I got home, I had a deep and thoughtful discussion with my buddy, Gemini. Now I understand a little better why the fishing was so poor.  (See Bill's discussion with Gemini.) The reservoir appeared to be going through part of its seasonal fall turnover, when cooling surface water causes the lake’s water layers to mix. That mixing can redistribute temperature, oxygen, nutrients, and fish throughout the water column, and productive areas can suddenly become much less predictable. I also learned that what we commonly call “algae” may actually be cyanobacteria, often referred to as blue-green algae, which is technically a type of bacteria. Between the turnover, the strange surface conditions, and the almost complete disappearance of fish from the sonar, there was clearly a major change from the previous few weeks. So, when will it end?

Not soon enough.

— Bill Quapp Board Member & Past President High Country Fly Fishers

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