Fathers Day Gift to Southern Utah

Fishing Time:  Saturday through Tuesday (June 21-25)

Weather:  Sunny, clear, windy on Saturday and Monday, T-70s

Moon Phase:  Full Moon (Supermoon)

Location:  Boulder Mountain and surrounding areas

Bait:  Lake Trout- 7-inch Tube (green), Tiger Musky- Jointed Rapala (perch), Brook Trout- Marabou jig (olive green/black)

Who Went:  Bobber John, Me

My Father’s Day gift from Cari this year was a four day fishing trip wherever I wanted to go (within reason).  After a lot of thought I made a phone call to my Uncle Scott and asked if I could stay in his house down in Torrey, Utah for a few days to fish some of the lakes on and around the Boulder Mountain.  Scott told me the house was free that week and he would be happy to let me use it (Thanks Scott!).  Here is how it all went down…

Saturday:  Bobber John and I left on Saturday morning at 3:30 a.m. and arrived to Fish Lake around 7:30 am.  

The lake trout masses were out in force and we were late to the party.  Success stories from other boats were depressing as the bite had already turned off by the time we got on the water and the wind was already whipping.  We didn’t fish long before moving on down the road to Johnson Reservoir.  The wind was just as bad at Johnson, but we toughed it out and I was able to put one small tiger musky in the boat.  Bobber John landed a couple perch, but no musky. 

Sunday:  We slept in and didn’t hit the road until 10:00 a.m.  We headed to a boulder mountain lake that came highly recommended from my cousin for holding some impressive brook trout (Thanks Phil!).  It took us 2 hours to get there on some very rough roads, but it was worth the fishing that awaited us.  On the third cast I landed the biggest brook trout of my life at 3.5 pounds.  I landed many more very nice fish and it was by far the best brookie fishing I have ever experienced.  

I was throwing an 1/8 oz black/olive green marabou.  Bobber struggled a bit and only landed one, but redeemed himself the rest of the trip.

Monday:  The fishing was so good the day before that we made the long trek back to the same Boulder Mountain Lake and again had great success for large brookies.   We caught a bunch and enjoyed the second day in a row of having the high mountain lake all to ourselves.  You just can’t beat the solitude of fishing on the boulder mountain, especially when you’re landing big brookies.  

Bobber John put the marabou away this day and put a worm beneath a bobber and absolutely slayed some nice brookies.  

Tuesday:   We left Scotts house at 5:00 a.m. and had the boat on Fish Lake by 6:15.  The wind was calm and the fish were active.  Everything seemed to be right for a good day of jigging for lake trout and that ended up being the case.  The fish were very active and it wasn’t long before Bobber was hooked up with what ended up being the biggest lake trout ever landed on my boat at a whopping 35 pounds!  

Bobber joined the 30 pound club and it seemed even more special that it happened at Fish Lake and not the lake trout mecca of Flaming Gorge.  Soon after Bobber landed his beast, I was hooked up with another nice fish.  

I didn’t weigh mine, but it was probably mid to high twenties.  The morning produced many more hits and one more 8-10 pound fish, but only the three ended up in the boat.

On the way home we stopped by a small pond that I’ve always wanted to scout for largemouth.  At first it seemed like a lost cause with shallow unproductive looking shorelines, but after some patience and walking the entire pond, I began seeing some very nice largemouth.  In fact, I may have seen the nicest largemouth I’ve ever seen in Utah waters.  This little pond is now hot on my radar and we will definitely be spending some time working it over.  I think it has the potential to produce some VERY hefty bass, especially during the pre-spawn/spawn in the spring months. 

Conclusion:  The first day had me depressed about Fish Lake, but the last day definitely revived my confidence in fishing for lake trout down south.  According to many of the locals the fish congregate on the hump we were fishing starting about mid June and begin to go deeper sometime in mid to late July.

I really want to get back and fish Johnson again for another opportunity at some musky.  The wind was pretty bad while we were there and the water was very murky.  I think the lake has potential to put out some nice sized musky, and the best part is, No pressure!

That was the best brook trout fishing I have ever experienced with non-stop action for the nicest brook trout I’ve ever caught.  I will definitely be heading back for some more of those toads!  They fight awesome and are by far the prettiest trout there is (although there not really a trout).  It brought back a lot of memories of my childhood and fishing on that mountain with my old man.  I think it re-stoked my fire about the Boulder Mountain!