Sand Hollow Family Reunion

Fishing Time: 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Weather: Sunny, calm, T-90s

Moon Phase: 35% Moon

Water Temp: 65 degrees

Best Bait: Roboworm on a dropshot rig

Who Went: Mike Kraus, Alex Covili, Devin Duncan, Dayton Duncan, Dunc

We were at a family reunion in St. George and I decided to drag the boat along so we could fish Sand Hollow Reservoir.  My boys love fishing there because we usually do well and you have a chance at some nice bass.

The morning was gorgeous with calm weather and unseasonably warm temperatures.  We started out throwing topwater, but that didn’t get a sniff.  We moved to the dam and threw crankbaits, but that didn’t produce anything either.  We moved to deeper water and found the grass beds and rigged up some drop shot rigs using roboworms.  This was the trick and we started putting bass in the boat.

I caught one nice one pushing 3 pounds.

Unfortunately Devin started feeling ill, the ski boats were out in full force, and the weather was already hot, so we called it a day early.  It was a fun trip and worth dragging the boat 300 miles.

Hidden Gem in the Desert

Fishing Time: 6:00 to 7:00 PM

Weather: Sunny, calm, T-70s

Moon Phase: 25% Moon

Best Bait: Whopper Plopper - Topwater

Who Went: Mike Kraus, Alex Covili, Devin Duncan, Dayton Duncan, Dunc

I heard rumors about this little reservoir that is right outside St. George and we were in the area for the weekend so we decided to go check it out.  We arrived about an hour before dark and it was beautiful with the sunset in full glory. 

We all tied on some topwater baits and went to work.  There is a weed line that covers most of the little reservoir and everything between the weed line and shoreline that had access by foot seemed to be less than 1 foot deep.  This made fishing difficult and so I took a walk around the reservoir to see if there were any areas that I might have better access. 

On the other side of the reservoir I found a little canal that entered the reservoir and decided to make a cast.  As soon as my lure hit the water, I had a fish on.  The first largemouth of the night.  I called my boys and told them to come over.  I made two more casts which produced two more bites but didn’t land them.  Once the boys arrived I showed them where I was getting bit, but they had a bad angle and ended up getting snagged and never could hit the target.  I started casting again but never got another bite.  The boys went back to fishing the reservoir and I made the journey back around the lake.  I received a phone call from Devin a few minutes later and he had landed this little largemouth on topwater.  Success!

We fished until dark but only landed the two fish.  I would love to revisit this little reservoir in my float tube where I could get beyond the weed line.  The lake looked promising and could be holding some nice bass.  Next time…

Fall is in the Air

Fishing Time:  8:30 AM – 3:30 PM

Weather: Foggy morning, sunny, calm winds, T-60s

Moon Phase: 30% Moon

Location: Soldier Creek Reservoir

Best Baits: 3-inch white tube jig tipped with minnow

Water Temp:  53-57 degrees

Who Went: Devin Duncan, Dayton Duncan, Dunc

With fall in the air, I thought it might be time to get up to Strawberry and see if the water temps have cooled enough to turn the fish on.  The boys came with me and to avoid the crowds we decided to go to the Soldier Creek side and launch from there. 

The lake was pure fog as the air temps on arrival were 37 degrees sitting on top of almost 60-degree water.  We launched but couldn’t see 10 feet in front or behind us.  I decided to drop the Active Target and play around with it until the fog burned off a bit.  As soon as we turned it on, we saw a fish and Devin casted toward it.  We watched his jig fall on top of the fish and the fish turned up and grabbed it.  First fish of the day was in the boat.  We found another fish quickly and Devin was on again.  Two fish in the boat within minutes.  We knew it was going to be a good day.

We moved over to the mouth of the narrows as the fog lifted and started fishing rocky points and sharp drop offs.  The morning was hot, and we put 20 fish in the boat.  

We had one package of minnows, which Devin was using to tip his white tube jig, and I was tipping with worms.  The minnows seemed to out produce the worms.  We also found a kokanee salmon half dead swirling on the surface.  

Unfortunately, this was the end of her life cycle.  We put her back and left her in peace.  

Dayton missed most the hot action in the morning curled up in his blanket for a 4-hour nap!  He had a long day of baseball and basketball the day before, so we let him catch up on some much-needed sleep.

The afternoon was slow, but we put a few more fish in the boat.  When Dayton woke up we made a move to get him on a few fish.  I also had a good roll on a dry fly casting over some submerged boulders.  I had a hook in him for a second, but never could get another bite on the fly rod.

I’m not as familiar with the Soldier Creek side and when we found fish, we caught them.  I had a feeling if we fished the Strawberry side, which I know much better, we may have doubled our fish total, but 25 fish isn’t a bad day at all.  The boys had fun, the fall colors were gorgeous, and the weather was a perfect fall day.