New Lures Producing Trout at Scofield Reservoir

Fishing Time: 7:30 am to 3:00 pm

Weather: Partly cloudy, calm, T-40s

Moon Phase: 50% Moon

Location: Scofield Reservoir

Best Bait: Trolling with a shallow diving crawdad crankbait

Who Went: Casey Davies, Bruce, Dunc

I still had the musky itch so I talked Casey into trying our luck at Scofield.  He invited his brother in-law, Bruce, from Canada to join along.  We arrived early to a fogged over lake.  We were prepared with our pre-tied lures of choice for musky and started throwing them off every point and bay we could find.  We had a lot of trout follows, but no musky to speak of.  After musky exhaustion set in, we turned to the tube jigs and targeted trout.  To our surprise there weren’t a lot of trout that wanted to play with our tube jig offerings.

Finally, I gave in to Casey’s need to troll and it was a good thing I did.  We trolled around the island and started landing fish.  Casey was using a crawdad crankbait and out produced Bruce and my Rapalas 4 to 1.  I just happened to have one in my tackle box, so I put one on and Casey gave one to Bruce.  From that point on we had a fish on every couple minutes.

We never did find any fish with size and majority of them were cutthroats with a few rainbows mixed in.  Either way the crawdad troll saved the trip, and we caught more fish than I could count. 

We ended the day with another exhausting round of musky casting, but never saw one or had a confirmed bite.  Good fishing with good company.  It was fun having Bruce on the boat and learning about his home in Western Canada.

Weeping Rocks on The Green

Fishing Time: Saturday/Sunday (September 14/15^th)

Weather: Beautiful sunny warm weather with a slight breeze Saturday afternoon

Moon Phase: 90% Moon

Location: Weeping Rock Campground in Wyoming on the Green River below Fontenelle Dam

Best Baits: Beaded pheasant tail and beaded hare’s ear flies

Who Went: Roger Parks, Stuart Dahl, Dunc

My coworker Roger has been bragging about the fishing up on the Green River below Fontenelle Dam for years now.  Finally, we got the chance to make the trip along with another coworker Stuart.

First thing I will say is I will go camping with Roger anytime.  He provided all the food, and he also drove, towing along his brand new fifth wheel.  We ate like kings and Roger did all the cooking.  Host of the year for sure.

We left after work Friday and arrived late that night to Weeping Rock Campground and setup the trailer to lay our heads down.  The campground is called weeping rock because the reservoir above seeps into the limestone and creates a contact spring through a crack in the rock wall along the entire length of the river near the campground.  It’s super cool and nice to listen to while you’re fishing.  The next morning, we woke up to pancakes, bacon, and eggs.  After the first feast of the trip, we geared up and hit the river, which was only a few steps from our trailer door.

We all started out nymphing with an assortment of different flies, but the hits weren’t coming.  Finally, Roger caught the first fish, but it was a whitefish.  Apparently, Roger is not a fan of whitefish because he chucked it out into the river before I could take any pics.  Roger says whitefish are not picture worthy.

After awhile we switched to dries and then streamers, but nothing seemed to make them bite.  I spoke with a few drift boats and it sounded like no one was having any success.  Roger ended up catching a couple more whitefish, but that was it for the entire day.  It was painful.  We soothed our spirits by watching college football and eating steak and potatoes.  Man did it taste good!

The next morning Roger decided to stay at camp while Stu and I hit the river.  Before leaving camp I took a look at Rogers setup and tried to mimic it.  I noticed his rig had much more weight than mine, so I added some.  Sure enough on my first cast I was hooked up with a whitefish.  After that it was game on for whitefish and I caught five more and missed just as many.

It wasn’t trout and I’m sure Roger would have been disgusted, but I had a lot of fun catching them on the fly rod. I ended up snagging one of them in the dorsal fin and man what a fight.  I had to walk him down river to tire him out.

Roger said it’s the only time he has ever been skunked on this stretch of river, but honestly the scenery, company, and good food made up for not catching many fish.  I’ve already asked when we can go back and try again.

Biting Bass and Lockjaw Musky at Newton Reservoir

Fishing Time: 7:30 am to 2:00 pm

Weather: Mostly sunny, calm morning and breezy afternoon, T-80s

Moon Phase: 35% Moon

Location: Newton Reservoir

Water Temp: 66 degrees

Best Bait: Silver Ned Rig (green pumpkin), Spinnerbait, and Kietech swimbait (2.5-inch)

Who Went: Dunc

I continued my quest for a musky bite at Newton Reservoir knowing full well I was bass fishing and not musky fishing.  The launch was a bit tricky with no one to help me and no docks in the water.  Luckily no one was around so I could take my time and made it work. I tried throwing baits that I knew would catch bass, but also gave me a chance at a musky.  I did tie on one musky bait which I threw for about 20 minutes with no luck.

The bass fishing did produce although it wasn’t fast and furious.  I had to work hard for them, and I never did find a pattern that consistently produced. I ended up catching 8 bass and almost all of them hit on something different.  Largest was around 2 pounds.

I caught them on a ned rig, spinnerbait, swimbait, senko, and a roboworm on a drop-shot rig.  I did try some crankbaits, rattletraps, and chatterbaits with no success, but watched a guy in a boat near me catch one on a chatterbait, so it was just one of those days.  

The weather was gorgeous, and I only counted 3 other boats on the water all day.  There is no better way to relax your mind than a quiet day on the water.

Big Cutts and Slurping Carp at Bear Lake

Fishing Time: 6:30 am to 11:00 am

Weather: Sunny, warm, calm, T-80s

Moon Phase: 10% Moon

Location: Bear Lake

Best Baits: Berkley Flicker Shad (Purple Bengal)

Who Went: Alex Covili, Devin, Dayton, Dunc

Another annual trip to Bear Lake and the boys were excited to take the boat and see if we could catch some fish.  Big blue hasn’t always treated us to well, but I felt a bit more prepared this time with downrigger equipment and some highly recommended crankbaits.

We were on the lake at first light and headed towards the rock piles.  We set the downriggers about 10 ft above the bottom in 60-80 ft of water and started trolling.  It didn’t take long for Dayton to lose interest and he was soon fast asleep at the front of the boat.

Devin and Alex watched each downrigger rod and then we threw one shallow rig out the back just for fun.  Devin’s rod was the first to double over and the fight was on.  He ended up landing a nice 4–5-pound cutthroat that made his morning.  

It went cold after that, and we must have trolled for a good hour with no bites. Alex started losing a bit of interest just as another rod bent over, so again Devin grabbed the rod and went to work.  This cutthroat wasn’t as big but had some beautiful coloring.

After that I think I was the only one watching the rods and lucky me I hooked up with what I thought was a nice fish, but turned out I snagged a Utah Sucker in the back.  I had no idea they would be hanging out in 70 ft of water, but I guess they do. 

Before we called it a trip I stopped and jigged for a minute using my active target live sonar and man was it fun watching the fish react to your jig.  I had one fish that was very active and bit me once, but never did get one to fully commit.  Two cutthroats and one sucker was the final total, but hey, that is an improvement from most years!

Devin also made his own carp dough at home before the trip and man was it a hit. We would watch as carp would swim by and as soon as they saw it, they couldn’t resist.  Devin and his friend Beau caught quite a few carp near the marina at Ideal Beach Resort using his homemade carp dough.

Moral Has Never Been Higher... or Lower

Fishing Time: 6:30 am to 6:00 pm

Weather: Sunny, calm, T-80s

Moon Phase: 50% Moon

Location: Pineview Reservoir

Best Bait: None – spinnerbait for smallmouth bass

Who Went: Dunc

I’ve had musky fever lately as it’s been a long time since I’ve caught one.  I had a day to fish and no one to go with, so I thought this was my chance.  If I could give it a full day with my undivided attention and fish hard all day long, I just knew I would get a chance to land one.  I sent a first of the day “moral has never been higher” photo to my fishing buddy Bobber.

I pre-rigged 9 rods with a variety of baits to target musky.  

I started off throwing topwater for about 30 minutes, but didn’t have many expectations.  After that I started casting all the good points and shorelines I know switching between different rods and baits.  Never had a follow or bite.  By 11:00 I turned to trolling on the downriggers.  I covered a lot of different areas.  Some where I’ve had success in the past and others that were new to me.  

I had one rod bend that got me excited, but I think I snagged a cable off the docks.  Looking back, it was the second most exciting thing that happened all day.

I spent all afternoon trolling with no success.  Sad part is I didn’t even see anything on my active target that looked like a musky.  Late afternoon I started casting again.  I was throwing a spinnerbait and had a good bite.  My reaction was musky on, but my hook set sent an 8-inch smallmouth over the top of my boat!  That was the most exciting part of the day.  

My arm had been half cocked all day waiting for the big bite and that poor smallmouth felt the wrath.

By 6:00 I was spent.  That is the hardest I have ever fished for musky, and I never had one follow or bite.  I know that is musky fishing but man it took a toll on my confidence.  I sent the end of the day “moral has never been lower” photo to Bobber and hit the road for home.  Next time…

Mountain Air and big Tiger's at Electric Lake

Fishing Time: 7:00 am to 1:00 pm

Weather: Partly Cloudy, calm (no wind), T-70s

Moon Phase:  Full Moon

Location:  Electric Lake

Best Bait: White Tube jig on 1/8 oz jig head, Trolling with pop gear and a worm

Who Went: Casey Davies, Dunc

With summer quickly coming to an end I realized that I needed to get up into the mountain air.  I talked with Casey at work, and we decided we should go up to Electric Lake and give it a try.  I’ve fished there many years ago, but never put my boat on it.  It rained hard the night before, and the lake was socked in with fog when we arrived.  It made for a cool morning, but the lake was glass, and it was gorgeous.

The first thing we did was study the contours and try to find some lake trout, we tried a couple areas that looked fishy on the map, but never did find them.  After that we started working points and bays using tube jigs.  I was able to get my active target working and it was incredible.  We started seeing fish immediately and were able to cast right to them.  It didn’t take long until I was hooked up with what ended up being the fish of the trip, and a 20-inch tiger trout.

We continued throwing jigs at them and they would come investigate, but we only hooked up a couple more times.  Once the sun came up, we switched tactics and started trolling.  I brought the downriggers which made it nice to adjust our depth as needed.  I was using a silver crocodile and Casey was using a red Tasmanian Devil.  I hooked up quick with a decent cutthroat, but then it slowed down. 

We made our way down to the dam and Casey put on the trusty pop gear and a worm and man that was the ticket!  He immediately started catching fish.  He caught quite a few tiger trout and some cutthroat.  It took me a minute, but I finally made the switch and joined in on the catching.

It was a successful outing, and the scenery and weather was incredible.  We saw deer, elk, and the biggest osprey nest I have ever seen.  On the way home we stopped to check out the water below Scofield Reservoir because the rumor is it’s littered with monster Tiger Musky that don’t bite.  We found both rumors to be true!

(Osprey Nest on Electric Lake overflow)

(I could see eight 40+ inch Tiger Musky in this hole below the Scofield Dam)