First Largemouth!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 90's

I got a phone call from JJ and he told me he wanted to go fishin. We tried to decide where to go and with many of the lakes fishing well right now it made the decision tough. should we hit Strawberry and go after the big trout, or Jordanelle where they are reporting some monster Smallies. Then you have Pineview where the Muskies are on fire! Not forgetting that with the temperature in the mid 90's that the Catfish at Utah Lake are probably going nuts! Its mid June which is when the fishing peaks for the year and most places are hot spots! With all these in mind we took a different approach and decided to find JJ his first Largemouth Bass! What better place to go with gas prices topping $3.20 a gallon then back to the I-80 ponds. When we got there it was approaching 95 degrees so we ditched the waders and floated our tubes in swimsuits. The fishing started off well with me landing a few small bass, but we were in search of one that would take a liking to what JJ was throwing. I have a small spot on the pond where I have caught at least a couple bass from every time I go to the I-80 ponds. So we headed there and this is where JJ landed his first ever Largemouth Bass. It wasn't a monster but he was on the board! Shortly after he landed another small bass and was now a part of the bass fishing world. I caught quite a few but never landed any big ones. JJ only caught a few but got some good practice on some of the best techniques to land bass. It was a good time on the water and we even got a bonus when on the way home we ran into a den full of baby fox's. What more can you ask for from a day on the water.

I Guess It Can Get Better!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 6:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 90's

The I-80 Pond was calling my name again with the beauty I pulled out last round so I headed back for some more action! The story was almost the same except a little bit better! I got there early and immediately started catching bass. They were all in the small to medium range but the white fluke minnow was still on fire! Some guys showed up throwing weightless senkos and began to tell me that its the only thing to throw around here to catch bass. I laughed all the way down the shoreline as I was catching 5 to 1 the bass that they were. They noticed but I think their pride got in the way of them switching up! I was catching a bunch of bass in this size range when the unexpected happened! I caught a bass that felt like every other bass I had caught. I got it right up to my float tube and it surfaced! This was no small bass and once he saw me he started acting like the size he was. He took off and started peeling off line. He went left then right and I fought him all the way back to my tube and he took off again, only this time he went straight down beneath me into the thickest weeds you could ever imagine! Once he went under my rod lost all action and I was stuck right to the floor straight beneath me. My pole was doubled over to where it felt like my pole might snap! I have read about big bass diving into the weeds to get away and that they are usually successful. I sat there for what seemed like hours but was probably a couple minutes. The only thing going through my mind was how the story of losing this monster bass was going to go! I kept tight pressure on my pole knowing in my mind that the fish was probably long gone and I was left stuck with a snag that wouldn't come lose when all of the sudden I felt a wiggle! I pulled as hard as I could and Suddenly the bass came lose and I got him to my tube as fast as I could! I was able to lip him and now the story sounds a lot better, with pictures to add to it! He was a monster coming in at 19 inches and 3 pounds! He was a football! I am now completely addicted to the I-80 Pond!

I-80 Pond

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 6:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 80's

With another Friday off I figured I would make a trip back to the I-80 pond. The fishing started off hot with a bunch of small bass wanting to play! I had a blast with these guys

and must of caught fifteen of them. As much fun as it was I wanted to catch something bigger, and I knew they were in there cause I have seen them swimming around the shoreline and have caught a few of them in the past. I was fishing with a earth worm when catching these dinky bass and the Bluegill were bugging me to death because they wouldn't leave it alone. I decided to go to something different in order to keep the Bluegill away and possibly the smaller bass too. I tried throwing a weightless senko but to no avail, then the magic bait was found! I threw on a fluke minnow and rigged it drop shot and instantly started catching bass again. Then it happened! I landed an 18 inch 2.5 pound largemouth. It was a brute and it is the biggest bass I have ever caught out of the I-80 pond. I left after catching this guy and figured it can't get any better than that! Here is a few pics of the big guy and also a pic of Lone Rock on the Great Salt Lake in which the I-80 Pond sits right next to.

Pathetic!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 80's

Another Friday off and decisions on where to fish! I wasn't in the mood to travel to far so I decided to hit an urban pond that has created quite a buzz this year! Salem Pond! They planted largemouth in their a couple years back and they have gotten to be pretty good size from the stories and pictures I've heard and seen. I got there around 8:00 a.m. to find this Grass Carp dead on the shoreline. I walked to another edge of the pond and instantly saw Bluegill lining the shoreline under any structure they could find. I also saw a few Largemouth swimming around the same structure and they were just like the stories I had heard. some of them had to push 18 inches. Only problem was I couldn't get them to hit for nothin. I threw an assortment of drop shot rigs from plastic worms to minnows and I also tried many different colors of curly tailed grubs. Not even a bite! I did find a new bait that is killer for channel cats. Last weekend on my Powell trip I started throwing a Gulp Minnow in black shad color and instantly caught Catfish after Catfish. Well now I did the same thing at Salem pond. I only caught one cause I only fished with it for a minute, but the Cats obviously love this new rig. Unfortunately this Channel Cat was the only thing I pulled out of Salem Pond all morning! On my way home I got an itchin to stop at Utah Lake where Spring Creek enters the lake. I dropped a float tube in and started fishing a dark green sparkled plastic worm rigged drop shot. On my first cast I had a hit of a lifetime and got the fish all the way to my tube when the fish dove strait down into some brush and got me tangled up. I ended up losing the fish! 3rd cast I had another one on and the same thing happened. I was getting very frustrated cause I was obviously sitting right on top of some nasty brush. It only got worse from there! On my 5th cast I caught another one that only stayed on for about 3 seconds before spitting my hook. Being more frustrated than I think I have ever been while fishing I didn't get another bite all day. Ouch that one hurt. So to wrap up my day in one word the only thing I could think of was PATHETIC!

Another Year At Powell!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: All Day

Weather: mostly clear, sunny, 90's

Water Level: 3,605 ft amsl

Who Went: Phil Bringhurst, Mike Duncan, Mike Zenger, Dunc

It was time for another yearly trip to fish Lake Powell. None of my friends could go this year so I went with my cousins Phil, Mike and there friend Mike Zenger. Turns out that Zenger was a good one to invite considering he had a nice 17 foot Bass Boat, a nice truck to pull it and a Houseboat for us to stay on while we were there. We tried this trip two weeks ago only to make it to Lake Powell in the snow, stay in a hotel one night and go home the next morning due to more snow in the forecast. So now for round two. We got to Bullfrog on Friday night and finally found the houseboat in the dark. Saturday was an early wake up call at 5:30 a.m., and it was an absolutely gorgeous morning with a beautiful sunrise to start the day!

When we first started fishing it seemed as if it was going to be one of those normal days of fishing at Lake Powell. Fish were jumping everywhere and Zenger had a Smallmouth to the boat right off the rip. Soon after Phil was in the mix adding the trips first Striper. The two Duncans were still looking for their first fish while Phil and Zenger continued to catch a variety of different fish. I really got jealous when Zenger pulled in this nice Largemouth. Still the Duncan boys were fishless. We tried moving to different spots and trying different tactics but nothing seemed to work for us. Phil and Zenger had slowed down at this point but they were still catching an occasional fish. It was really starting to make me angry. I had a few hits and just couldn't bring them to the boat. We tried yet another location across from Bullfrog bay and the houseboat fields and I had 3 hits with nothing to show for it. Phil had on the nicest Largemouth I have ever seen in Powell and got it right to the boat before he decided to spit the jig out. Soon after Phil scored again with a Walleye caught on a chartreuse sparkled curly tailed jig. Still no fish for me or Mike! Our next location deep in Halls Canyon we found a cozy little cove with many dead trees and reeds lining the shoreline. I finally hooked up with my first fish of the day with a nice little Black Crappie. The action was hot for me for about 10 minutes bringing in two more Crappie, and a small Largemouth Bass. In all the excitement of finally catching fish I forgot to take any pictures! Nice going Chris! My glory soon ended and I was back to catching nothing. Mike finally got off the snide by pulling in a dink Smallmouth. Once it hit mid-day the fishing died off dramatically so we decided to hit Moki Wall to see if we could find some Stripers. It didn't take long to find them right along the wall, and with a little chum we had them all around us.

After catching as many Stripers as we wanted we got bored and decided to move on. We fished the evening looking for more varieties of fish and found very few of them. We caught a few of them here and there but the fishing just never reached the normal Lake Powell mode of RED HOT!!! It didn't impress my cousins much so we hit the sack woke up the next morning and went strait to Moki Wall where we knew we would at least catch fish. We caught Striper after Striper for a few hours and then called it a day and made it home in time to see the first game in the Western Conference finals between the Jazz and the Spurs. Jazz got blown out and the Spurs took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Pineview Finally!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 7:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 80's

I have always wanted to get back up to Pineview to chase some of those toothy Tiger Muskies. I have only tried it once and lucked into catching one back in 2004 while staying at Moose Hollow with the family. It was about 30 inches long but real skinny. Now I finally convinced someone to make the trip again. JJ and his dad got the bug to catch one of these weird looking creatures, so we headed up there this past weekend. It was a beautiful morning and the lake was glass. The Wakeboarders were not on the water yet so the lake was all ours. We started fishing out of Anderson Cove and I was the first to find action when I landed this nice Smallmouth.

I caught it throwing a gold rattling crankbait. Happy with the catch but longing for a musky I soon switched to a chartreuse and bright orange curly tail jig in order to entice the toothy ones. It didn't do much for them but shortly after I found another Smallmouth on the end of my line and pulled this guy in. After this one swam off, we went on a long period of drought. I threw everything I could think of that might entice one of these elusive Tiger Muskies, and couldn't buy a bite. I had one follow my jig all the way to the boat only to turn away at the last second and go strait back down into the green water. The weirdest part of the whole trip was that I could see the Muskies everywhere! They were just basking in the sun right next to the shoreline. The problem was they wouldn't move for anything. I threw all sorts of things their way with not even a look. I actually hit one right on the noggin while retrieving a jig and it just moved a few inches to the side and sat there again. It was driving me nuts! They could have cared less about us. We started floating right over the top of them and they wouldn't move until the boat was inches from hitting them. I tried to take a picture of one of them in the water and it didn't turn out as well as I thought it would, but if you look close in the bottom left hand corner of the picture you will see a long oval looking dark spot, this is one of the basking muskies that we floated right over the top of!

We continued to throw everything in our tackle box trying to entice a hit, but to no avail. JJ finally hooked up on his only Smallmouth of the day with this little tike. He caught it on a drop shot rig with a white with black speckles Senko. After he caught this one we called it a day. But I will be back to try for these toothy guys again they have got me determined to catch one and that is not a good thing for them!!!

Bass Fever!!!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Weather: cool, windy, cloudy, 60's

With the nice weather we had at the end of March you would think that it would be a nice April. Wrong! April has brought storm after storm keeping the bass and the bass fisherman guessing when the spawn might begin. Well I got sick of waiting so I decided to go down to the I-80 ponds and test my luck. I put on a dark green sparkle Zoom Worm and rigged it drop shot wacky style as this picture shows to the right. This has always been my go to bait for the I-80 ponds. I fished it for about a half hour and had a few hits but they were all small as I could see them in the clear shallow pond. I finally got one of these little guys to hang on long enough to get him to shore. Then the wind started to blow and it became really difficult to know when something was hitting. I ended up with many fish on but didn't have much luck getting them in before they spit out my bait. I even had a few on topwater throwing a spook minnow and walking the dog. I couldn't get them to hang on either. Once the wind calmed down a bit I went back to the drop shot rig that has always treated me well here and I then Finally got something to hang on. I fought me left and then right, and then right into the bushes. I finally untangled him and was able to lip him and hang on. This was the biggest Largemouth to date for this year at around 2 pounds. He was a fat little guy. Once the temps steady for a few days in a row this place will be on fire. Can't wait for that day!

Strawberry ICE OFF!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 50's

It's one of the most popular times to fish Strawberry Reservoir. When the ice recedes back far enough to allow you to cast out to the edge, but not too far to where you can't reach the edge with a long cast. Something about these conditions seem to produce a lot of fish and some of the largest fish you will catch all year. So the conditions were almost perfect and we were there to take advantage of it. The only problem was that the fish didn't want to cooperate with the plan. We threw everything at them but the kitchen sink, with no success. Between me, JJ, and Ed, I managed to pull in the only fish of the day by drop shotting a gulp minnow in black shad color. This fish was one of the weirdest Cutthroats I have ever caught. I started reeling him in and it felt like I had on a log. There was no fight in him at all! Then once I got him about 4 feet from shore the life came out in him. He started reeling off line like he was an 8 pound bass. I would let him run and then get him about 4 feet from shore again and zzzzzzzzzst there goes my line. After about 4 of these I finally landed him and it was a nice 3.5 pound Cutt that was 22 inches long. I'm really upset about it to because I completely forgot to get a picture of this fighter. Ugh! So the only fish we caught all day and no picture to prove it! We ended the day by driving to the Soldier Creek side and finding no fish there either. We did get some good pics overlooking the Strawberry River, but the fishing was not what we expected.