Saturday, March 24, 2007

Ice Free At Last!

Moon Phase:
Fishing Time: 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m
Weather: sunny, breezy, 60's
After a long wait, Jordanelle is ice free at last! We headed up to see if we could get in on the ice off action. Many times right after ice off, the fishing is hot! We loaded up JJ's boat and headed to the Rock Cliff Arm of Jordanelle. We had dreams of monster Brown Trout in our heads. We didn't quite find any of those big boys, but we did find lots of little guys that wanted to bite! We caught 1 small Brown and many small Rainbows. I started off throwing a drop shot rig with a gulp minnow in black shad color. I had two hits on this set up but no hook ups. I then tried throwing a Rapala X-rap with no success. JJ put on his favorite go to lure, the kastmaster, or as he calls it, the cashmaster! Soon after the cashmaster was in the water JJ had hooked up with a small rainbow. We all ended up putting on the cashmaster and thats when we all started catching fish. Ed shows off one that he caught in this picture. This was the maiden voyage for JJ's boat and I found that out the hard way. We started to get blown into some trees that stick up out of the water, so Ed started the motor to try to get us away from them. I was at the front of the boat and didn't realize Ed was starting the motor. The problem is that this motor only goes in one direction when started. Forward! Ed started the motor and I found out what trees taste like. I yelled, kill it! Kill it! The delayed reaction by Ed had the motor killed 4 seconds later after I was already neck deep into branches. Oh well whats a fishing trip without a little extra excitement!

Thursday, March 22, 2007

A Good Day Off!

Moon Phase:
Fishing: Time: All Day
Weather: cool, cloudy, 50's

So I just landed a new job with Parsons Engineering working in their Environmental Group and I put my two weeks in with Amec! Yeah! I had some vacation built up with Amec and one of the days was a personal day and they don't pay it out when you leave so I said okay then I'm gonna use it! I decided to go on an all day fishing excursion all around the state starting with Yuba Reservoir. From there I would go wherever the wind blew me. I got up early and made it to Yuba just in time for a beautiful sunrise.
The lake was glass and looked beautiful on a crisp cool march morning. I had heard rumors that there were some big rainbows down at Yuba so here was my chance to find out. I started fishing just south of the dam along a rocky shoreline. I could see rainbows swimming the banks and they were about 16 to 17 inches long from what I could tell. The problem was I could not get them to take anything. I tried throwing spinners, Rapalas, jigs, and a drop shot with a live worm. The only thing I could get to hit were the aannoying Perch that infest Yuba. The Perch were good sized at about 12 to 13 inches but not worth the time. I hate Perch! So I moved on with my fishing adventure and left Yuba. On my drive out I got a good shot of a Golden Eagle that was hanging out in some big trees along the lake. I was trying to decide where to go and thought to myself "I know where I can catch some trout." I headed up Hobble Creek Canyon. I knew I could catch some fish there guaranteed. Luckily I came prepared with waders so I could walk up stream instead of fishing from the bank. The stream is gorgeous this time of year and just like I thought the fish were everywhere. They were all Brown Trout ranging from 8-14 inches, but they fought like they were much bigger. After playing with the Brownies for a few hours I figured it was time to continue on down the road in search of more fishies. Next stop Utah Lake. I went to the Lincoln Beach Boat Harbor in search of anything that might take a worm or chub. I fished on the south dike and threw in a worm on one pole and a chub on another and relaxed after a long adventurous day. No fish were hitting at Utah Lake so after an hour or so I called it a day. What better way to spend my last day off at Amec. I love it! (Lincoln Beach Boat Harbor)

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Sometimes you find Out The Hard Way!

Moon Phase:
Fishing Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Weather: sunny, clear 60's

Sometimes an idea sounds great in your head but when you actually do it then it doesn't seem as good anymore. This is how my trip to Willard Bay from the shore went. I have never fished here before and had no idea where we were going, or where to fish at. The Dam was under repairs so the reservoir was really low. We picked the best area that we could from the shore but everything seemed shallow. I guess we were stuck hoping that a catfish might swim buy. We all had two poles in with a chub or a worm off the bottom. The only fish caught was by JJ with this trophy Mud Cat. What a waste of a good Saturday.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

First Trip with no ice!

Moon Phase:
Fishing Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Weather: sunny, cold, 40's

Well its gotten really warm all of the sudden in early March so ice fishing just didn't sound like to much fun. So I grabbed the long pole and headed to Utah Lake where the ice has just melted. It was a beautiful day with no clouds in the sky. I wanted to see if I could get anything to bite. I forgot my brand new camera that I got for my birthday so no pics. Bummer! But I only managed to get one fish to play with me anyway. The fish that I did catch though surprised me for this time of year. It was a 14 inch Largemouth Bass. I caught it on a drop shot rig with a live worm. That is the earliest into the year I have ever caught a Largemouth before. Cool!