Slob Smallies at Pineview Reservoir

 

Fishing Time: 5:30 am to 11:00 am

Weather: Sunny, hot, T-90s, calm wind

Moon Phase: 99% Moon

Location:  Pineview

Best Bait:  Trolling Deep Diving Crankbaits, perch and multi-color

Who Went:  Bobber John, Dunc

We headed out early morning dragging Bobbers boat to Pineview in order to beat the boaters to the lake and chase some musky and smallmouth.  Bobber John has been up there quite a bit this year and it sounded like the musky fishing has been extremely slow.  We tried a different tactic today and trolled an assortment of musky lures and crankbaits instead of our usual casting techniques.

The weather was perfect, and the lake was calm all day.  We started trolling right from the boat ramp dragging J-13 Rapalas around the narrows, back to Anderson Cove, and then around Cemetery Point.  It was a long morning with no bites until we hit Cemetery point, when finally, Bobbers rod doubled over, and we landed the first fish of the day.  It wasn’t a musky, but it got us excited when he reeled in a beauty smallmouth bass.

The trolling continued around Cemetery Point and within minutes it was my turn.  The fish jumped immediately, and I was almost positive it was a musky.  Again, we were surprised with another jumbo smallmouth. 

We continued to troll around Cemetary Point and Brownings Point with no success for musky, but the monster smallies made the trip a success.  Musky hunting sure has gotten tough the last couple of years.  Not sure what’s going on, but I’m sure we will keep trying…

Where Did My Tire Go...

Fishing Time: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Weather: Sunny, hot, T-90s, windy

Moon Phase: 41% Moon

Location:  Deer Creek Reservoir

Best Bait:  Bottom bouncers with worm harness

Who Went:  Bobber John, Sean Mitchell, Dunc

I haven’t been fishing much lately with the new COVID-19 world we are living in, but that hasn’t stopped my fishing buddy Bobber John from getting out there.  He reported catching some walleye up at Deer Creek, so naturally, I wanted to plan a trip.

I picked up Bobber John and his new fishing buddy/coworker Sean Mitchell bright and early and we were on our way.  Just as I was turning into the marina at Deer Creek the truck behind me honked and started waving at us.  At first, I thought he was mad at my driving, but we soon figured out he was trying to warn us of what was about to happen.  We felt a big thump followed with an awful grinding coming from behind my truck.  It took a second to realize that my boat trailer tire had literally flew off into the weeds and I was dragging the boat trailer axle along the asphalt.

I quickly stopped and we jumped out to assess the damage.  It didn’t look good with my tire off in the weeds smoking, trailer axle on the ground, and the side step on the trailer bent up towards the boat.  We were so close to the ramp and fishing, but everything changed in an instant. 

We put the tire back on using a jack and limped it into a parking spot and called a mobile service to come replace my hub and bearings.  The mobile service was there quick and provided good service, but the price reflected it at a whopping $528.  Yikes!

By the time it was fixed, we launched at about 11:00 am.  The wind was blowing, and the barrage of skiers and wave runners were out in full force.

We tried bottom bouncing the flat area on the north end of the lake, and Sean had what looked to be a really good walleye right to the boat before it came unbuttoned.  Add it to the day’s blunders.  Sean did catch another rainbow, and John and I added a couple jumbo perch, but before long the wind and boat wake became to much and we left.

My mind was not in the right place after the flying tire event, so no photos were taken during fishing.  I think I was trying to wrap my head around the cost for mobile service on my tire!  Lesson learned… grease your hubs regularly!

Fly Fishing Lessons on the Weber

Fishing Time: 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Weather: Sunny, hot, T-80s, breezy

Moon Phase: 12% Moon

Location:  Weber River (Coalville)

Best Bait:  Rogers #24 midge

Who Went:  Roger Parks, Dunc

My coworker Roger is a good fly fisherman and I have been asking for him to get me out on the river.  Roger wants to get into warm water fishing a bit more, so I told him we can trade services.  You make me a better fly fisherman and I will show you some places and techniques for some of the warm water species in Utah.

We snuck out of work a bit early and drove up to the Weber River, which is one of his favorite spots to fish.  I have fly fished there before with little success and was excited to have him show me how it’s done.

We made our way to the river and immediately Roger showed me how it was done by hooking up with a really nice whitefish.  He’s not a fan of whitefish though, so he wouldn’t let me take a photo.

We worked our way down river and found a good spot where fish were active.  Roger set the hook on another fish and luckily it was a brown trout, so photos were okay!  I took over his spot to try and get on the board.  I had multiple hits and a couple fish on.  I even had one all the way to the bank before it came unhooked.  The fish were small and that’s my excuse, but I never did get one in the net. 

I learned a lot about tackle and how to mend my line correctly, so the trip was a great learning experience.  I look forward to getting out with Roger more to better my skills as a fly fisherman.  Now it’s my turn to come through on my end with the warm water species.

Camping and Fishing in Escalante

Fishing Time: Thursday to Sunday (June 25-28)

Weather:  Hot, windy, T-90s

Moon Phase:  43% Moon

Location:  Wide Hollow Reservoir

Best Bait:  Spinnerbait, Texas rigged senko, and topwater plugs

Who Went: Chris, Cari, Devin, Addison, and Dayton Duncan

We rented a 26-foot camp trailer and headed south to Escalante and spent 4 days camping, fishing, and hiking slot canyons.  We stayed at the Escalante Petrified State Park, which is right next to Wide Hollow Reservoir.  I’ve always wanted to try fishing there and the boys were excited to try their luck at some largemouth bass.

After a fun day hiking Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons it was time to fish.  The kids were doing great on there own and caught a bunch of largemouth bass.  Dayton is more of a cast and reel kid, so he mainly used a spinnerbait and tore it up.  Devin was refining his skills on the plastics using a Texas rigged senko and put on a clinic.  

It was fun to have camp so close so the boys could run down and fish anytime they wanted.  Addi fished a little and caught a couple, but she enjoyed riding scooters and playing on the docks a bit more.

Most of the trip was windy and we had to pick our spots for calm fishing.  One night it was calm and beautiful, so all of us walked down to the docks to fish.  There were some other family’s fishing and it was fun to watch Devin and Dayton show up and immediately start reeling in fish.  The other families were pumping them for information.  Unfortunately, the fun didn’t last long as a wind wall come across the lake to ruin the night.  To make matters worse.  I was helping Devin with a tangle and the microburst blew my camp chair off the dock and into the lake.  I wasn’t worried about the chair, but my phone was sitting in the cup holder.  I pulled the chair out of the lake just in time to see my phone sinking to the bottom of the lake.  I jumped in fully clothed and the water was above my head.  I took a deep breath and swam down and retrieved it.  I took it to an Apple repair store when we got home but the phone was too soaked to be saved.  It had all my photos and videos from the hiking and fishing from the trip.  I was super bummed and that’s why I don’t many photos for the blog. 

Dayton turned 9 on our trip and all he wanted was to catch a bass on his birthday.  The wind had other plans and we didn’t get to fish during the day, but by late evening it finally calmed down and we walked down to the lake after dinner.  The boys tried their luck with topwater, and Dayton caught a topwater bass for the icing on the cake of a great birthday.

Wide Hollow is a super fun little reservoir, and I would love to go back and camp and fish it again.  It holds a lot of bass willing to bite a variety of baits which makes it fun for kids.  We didn’t catch any monsters, but they were healthy little footballs that put up a good fight.