Party at Flaming Gorge

Fishing Time: February 2-4, 2024 (Fri. – Sun.)

Weather: High winds, cloudy, cold T-20s

Moon Phase: 42% Moon

Best Baits: Lake Trout: 4-inch white tube jig, Burbot: glow curly tail jig on ¼ oz jig head

Who Went: Mark, Tim, Tad, Rick, Newt, Barclay, Dunc

Rick Everson put a trip together for his birthday with a bunch of his buddies.  We stayed at The Red Canyon Lodge which is about 45 minutes south of Manila, UT.  Cool part was it has a private pond that holds rainbows and tiger trout, so we looked forward to fishing it.

The lodge was nice and we had two adjoining rooms to fit the whole crew.  The wood burning fireplace was a nice touch and we started some fires as soon as we got there.  Unfortunately, someone left the keys on top of the fireplace and that didn’t go well.  They melted immediately.  However, we did redeem and cook the lasagna by leaving it on top of the fireplace while we played poker.

Poker went late into the night, so we didn’t make it onto the ice until noon.  We also had to find safe ice which isn’t easy this year.  Luckily our spot near Buckboard kept us safe with 3-4 inches.  The bad part was the wind.  It was gale force and never went away.  

It made fishing tough and we didn’t see many fish swim by on our fish finders.  Rick, Newton, and myself went on a little hike armed with a fish finder, ice chisel, and one rod.  We found a few fish and Rick landed one.  This ended up being the only mack caught for the day. 

After a couple hours we couldn’t take the gale force winds any longer.  We packed up and headed to our burbot spot.  We were sheltered a little more from the wind up against the rocky cliffs, but it never really gave up all night.  The burb fishing was fair.  We probably landed 15, but none with any size.  We set out some tip ups and had fun fishing in our shelters.

The next day we decided to try the private pond at the lodge.  Rick has caught some decent tiger trout here in the past with his fly rod. We headed onto the ice and started popping holes.  The entire lake seemed to be about 8 ft deep. 

We searched the entire lake and never saw a fish on our fish finders. We couldn’t find a fish to save our life.  We finally gave up, packed our gear, and headed home.  On the way home we stopped at the overlook of Sheep Creek Bay.  One of my favorite overlooks in Utah.

Pineview Night Fishing

Fishing Time: 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Weather: No wind, warm T-40s, clear skies

Moon Phase: 96% Moon

Best Baits: glow ice fly 1/8 oz tipped with shrimp

Who Went: Roger Parks, Dunc

The ice situation this year has been abysmal, but the crazy part is the state has gotten a lot of snow.  The valleys only get rain but the mountains are getting snow.  Temperatures just haven’t been cold.  It’s weird to worry about ice at Pineview in January, but that’s where we are at.  Luckily there was about 7-inches in the narrows, so no problems there, but it was probably the warmest night of ice fishing I’ve ever experienced.

We setup in about 60 ft of water which is a bit deeper than I like, but the crappie immediately showed up suspended from 25-45 ft.  It was my first time trying the Active Target through the ice and WOW! 

It’s so cool watching fish swim around and seeing how they move.  Within minutes I had the first crappie on the ice.  Expectations were high with the screen full of fish and one on the deck, but unfortunately the catching didn’t last long.  We missed a few light bites, but ultimately only put 3 crappie on the hard deck.  We tried a few different lures and baits, but nothing enticed more bites.

A nice night to be out, but the fishing was extremely slow.  Not our best night trip to Pineview.

Hunting Big Fish at Flaming Gorge

Fishing Time: Friday-Saturday, December 29-30, 2023

Weather: Sunny, calm, T-20s

Moon Phase: 85% Moon

Water Temp: 43 degrees

Best Bait: 7-inch tube jig (rainbow color)

Who Went: Casey Davies, Roger Parks, Dunc

Winter had a slow start this year leaving all the lakes wide open with no ice.  I’ve been itching to get up to Flaming Gorge to chase lake trout, but ice fishing isn’t an option so a late December boating trip was my only option.  I invited a couple friends from work, and we made an early start leaving Salt Lake City at 3 am.  Casey towed my boat with his brand-new GMC and we made good time.  Too good of time as we sat at the boat ramp for an hour waiting for sunrise.

The first cold trip snag was the boat didn’t want to start.  Once started the water was not circulating through the pea hole (frozen), so we couldn’t run far before my boat was telling me it was going to overheat.  So we made a short run over to Antelope Flats and started fishing.  We found fish but no takers.  Once the motor warmed up and we were circulating water we made the trip south to Sheep Creek which is where we planned to fish.  We immediately found good groups of fish and fished hard through the morning.  

We saw an active group on the screen and I told Roger and Casey to be ready, but before I could finish the sentence Casey was hooked up.  I think Casey was amazed with the whole ordeal.  From the amount of line the fish ripped off his reel, to the 8 minutes it took to land, and the most fun was his reaction when he saw the fish surface!  I loved every moment of it. 

You can watch the epic fight by clicking on this link:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/jlp6rfoERtWrS0QBy-GzUQ.djnDq9MYEQgdK818OYRDWh

The fish weighed a whopping 27 pounds and made our trip.  After a quick photo the fish was sent back to swim another day.  We continued fishing the area and Roger and I both ended up missing bites.  That was the only fish landed.

The second day we launched the boat and I heard a weird noise as the boat came off the trailer.  I didn’t know what it was so we moved on and started the boat.  Just like the day before the water was not circulating.  Back to Antelope Flats we went.  We fished there for about an hour and then the motor was warm and we made it back to Sheep Creek.  We found the fish once more, but they did not have the same interest as the day before.  We tried multiple techniques, but never could entice a bite. 

On a last ditch effort we moved over to Swim Beach and found a huge group of fish.  They seemed a bit more interested and we fished them hard.  Finally Casey again yelled fish on!  Unfortunately he found a very rare snag.  It had us all excited and unfortunately the was the last excitement of the trip.  We never did get a confirmed bite the second day.

When we arrived at the boat ramp Casey backed the trailer down and we noticed their was a running board missing.  I guess now we knew what the weird sound was when the boat came off the trailer at first light.  We couldn't load the boat without it, so Casey searched the shoreline and Roger and I searched the marina.  As we were searching, Roger said what is that way out there.  Sure enough we found it!  After some MacGyver moves we were able to tie it back on for a quick fix.  Cold temperature boating at it's finest!

Lake trout fishing is not for the faint of heart.  It takes a lot of work and dedication to get a few bites, but once you experience the hook up and fight with a 20+ pound fish you are never the same.  It eats at you to come back and do it again.  Hopefully I won’t have to wait long to get up there again soon.

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.