The BFF Strawberry Reservoir Day Trip on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, was a qualified success. Our goal is always to have every participant catch fish, and that did not happen. Among the 15 participants in the trip a dozen or so fish were landed, a few were hooked but lost, others ate without hookups, and a few disdainfully rejected the fly. All count as some form of action. Fish reacted to top water flies of various types as well as assorted streamers, buggers and leeches.

The lake fished as pre-fishing trips predicted. There were some active feeders and cruisers but they were scattered among several locations. The long stretch of unseasonably warm weather preceding the trip was the most common excuse for the sparsity of fish. The weather was glorious for anglers (unless you were wearing too many layers of clothing under your waders), but the inevitable Strawberry wind made casting challenging at times.

Catch count aside, anglers appreciated the introduction to fishing sites and techniques they had not experienced before. Seeing a few of the beautiful Bear Lake cutthroats landed can whet the appetite and personal connections made will likely lead to future trips to Strawberry.

A special thanks to Mark Hayes, Kim Schroeder and Dave Whiteman who generously shared their knowledge with other anglers. Thanks as well to Pat Ronneberg for a detailed pre-fish report.

Ron BarnettTrip leader