Biting Bass and Lockjaw Musky at Newton Reservoir

Fishing Time: 7:30 am to 2:00 pm

Weather: Mostly sunny, calm morning and breezy afternoon, T-80s

Moon Phase: 35% Moon

Location: Newton Reservoir

Water Temp: 66 degrees

Best Bait: Silver Ned Rig (green pumpkin), Spinnerbait, and Kietech swimbait (2.5-inch)

Who Went: Dunc

I continued my quest for a musky bite at Newton Reservoir knowing full well I was bass fishing and not musky fishing.  The launch was a bit tricky with no one to help me and no docks in the water.  Luckily no one was around so I could take my time and made it work. I tried throwing baits that I knew would catch bass, but also gave me a chance at a musky.  I did tie on one musky bait which I threw for about 20 minutes with no luck.

The bass fishing did produce although it wasn’t fast and furious.  I had to work hard for them, and I never did find a pattern that consistently produced. I ended up catching 8 bass and almost all of them hit on something different.  Largest was around 2 pounds.

I caught them on a ned rig, spinnerbait, swimbait, senko, and a roboworm on a drop-shot rig.  I did try some crankbaits, rattletraps, and chatterbaits with no success, but watched a guy in a boat near me catch one on a chatterbait, so it was just one of those days.  

The weather was gorgeous, and I only counted 3 other boats on the water all day.  There is no better way to relax your mind than a quiet day on the water.

Big Cutts and Slurping Carp at Bear Lake

Fishing Time: 6:30 am to 11:00 am

Weather: Sunny, warm, calm, T-80s

Moon Phase: 10% Moon

Location: Bear Lake

Best Baits: Berkley Flicker Shad (Purple Bengal)

Who Went: Alex Covili, Devin, Dayton, Dunc

Another annual trip to Bear Lake and the boys were excited to take the boat and see if we could catch some fish.  Big blue hasn’t always treated us to well, but I felt a bit more prepared this time with downrigger equipment and some highly recommended crankbaits.

We were on the lake at first light and headed towards the rock piles.  We set the downriggers about 10 ft above the bottom in 60-80 ft of water and started trolling.  It didn’t take long for Dayton to lose interest and he was soon fast asleep at the front of the boat.

Devin and Alex watched each downrigger rod and then we threw one shallow rig out the back just for fun.  Devin’s rod was the first to double over and the fight was on.  He ended up landing a nice 4–5-pound cutthroat that made his morning.  

It went cold after that, and we must have trolled for a good hour with no bites. Alex started losing a bit of interest just as another rod bent over, so again Devin grabbed the rod and went to work.  This cutthroat wasn’t as big but had some beautiful coloring.

After that I think I was the only one watching the rods and lucky me I hooked up with what I thought was a nice fish, but turned out I snagged a Utah Sucker in the back.  I had no idea they would be hanging out in 70 ft of water, but I guess they do. 

Before we called it a trip I stopped and jigged for a minute using my active target live sonar and man was it fun watching the fish react to your jig.  I had one fish that was very active and bit me once, but never did get one to fully commit.  Two cutthroats and one sucker was the final total, but hey, that is an improvement from most years!

Devin also made his own carp dough at home before the trip and man was it a hit. We would watch as carp would swim by and as soon as they saw it, they couldn’t resist.  Devin and his friend Beau caught quite a few carp near the marina at Ideal Beach Resort using his homemade carp dough.

Moral Has Never Been Higher... or Lower

Fishing Time: 6:30 am to 6:00 pm

Weather: Sunny, calm, T-80s

Moon Phase: 50% Moon

Location: Pineview Reservoir

Best Bait: None – spinnerbait for smallmouth bass

Who Went: Dunc

I’ve had musky fever lately as it’s been a long time since I’ve caught one.  I had a day to fish and no one to go with, so I thought this was my chance.  If I could give it a full day with my undivided attention and fish hard all day long, I just knew I would get a chance to land one.  I sent a first of the day “moral has never been higher” photo to my fishing buddy Bobber.

I pre-rigged 9 rods with a variety of baits to target musky.  

I started off throwing topwater for about 30 minutes, but didn’t have many expectations.  After that I started casting all the good points and shorelines I know switching between different rods and baits.  Never had a follow or bite.  By 11:00 I turned to trolling on the downriggers.  I covered a lot of different areas.  Some where I’ve had success in the past and others that were new to me.  

I had one rod bend that got me excited, but I think I snagged a cable off the docks.  Looking back, it was the second most exciting thing that happened all day.

I spent all afternoon trolling with no success.  Sad part is I didn’t even see anything on my active target that looked like a musky.  Late afternoon I started casting again.  I was throwing a spinnerbait and had a good bite.  My reaction was musky on, but my hook set sent an 8-inch smallmouth over the top of my boat!  That was the most exciting part of the day.  

My arm had been half cocked all day waiting for the big bite and that poor smallmouth felt the wrath.

By 6:00 I was spent.  That is the hardest I have ever fished for musky, and I never had one follow or bite.  I know that is musky fishing but man it took a toll on my confidence.  I sent the end of the day “moral has never been lower” photo to Bobber and hit the road for home.  Next time…

Mountain Air and big Tiger's at Electric Lake

Fishing Time: 7:00 am to 1:00 pm

Weather: Partly Cloudy, calm (no wind), T-70s

Moon Phase:  Full Moon

Location:  Electric Lake

Best Bait: White Tube jig on 1/8 oz jig head, Trolling with pop gear and a worm

Who Went: Casey Davies, Dunc

With summer quickly coming to an end I realized that I needed to get up into the mountain air.  I talked with Casey at work, and we decided we should go up to Electric Lake and give it a try.  I’ve fished there many years ago, but never put my boat on it.  It rained hard the night before, and the lake was socked in with fog when we arrived.  It made for a cool morning, but the lake was glass, and it was gorgeous.

The first thing we did was study the contours and try to find some lake trout, we tried a couple areas that looked fishy on the map, but never did find them.  After that we started working points and bays using tube jigs.  I was able to get my active target working and it was incredible.  We started seeing fish immediately and were able to cast right to them.  It didn’t take long until I was hooked up with what ended up being the fish of the trip, and a 20-inch tiger trout.

We continued throwing jigs at them and they would come investigate, but we only hooked up a couple more times.  Once the sun came up, we switched tactics and started trolling.  I brought the downriggers which made it nice to adjust our depth as needed.  I was using a silver crocodile and Casey was using a red Tasmanian Devil.  I hooked up quick with a decent cutthroat, but then it slowed down. 

We made our way down to the dam and Casey put on the trusty pop gear and a worm and man that was the ticket!  He immediately started catching fish.  He caught quite a few tiger trout and some cutthroat.  It took me a minute, but I finally made the switch and joined in on the catching.

It was a successful outing, and the scenery and weather was incredible.  We saw deer, elk, and the biggest osprey nest I have ever seen.  On the way home we stopped to check out the water below Scofield Reservoir because the rumor is it’s littered with monster Tiger Musky that don’t bite.  We found both rumors to be true!

(Osprey Nest on Electric Lake overflow)

(I could see eight 40+ inch Tiger Musky in this hole below the Scofield Dam)

Hidden White Bass Honey Hole in West Valley City

 

Fishing Time: 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Weather: Sunny, calm winds, T-90s

Moon Phase: 50% Moon

Location: Ridgeland Canal (West Valley City)

Best Bait: Silver Mepp’s Spinner

Who Went: Dunc

I heard about a canal in West Valley City not far from my work that held largemouth bass so I wanted to go check it out.  Upon arrival I first noticed that the canal was very shallow at around one foot deep.  It also had a moss covered bottom so that didn’t leave a lot of water column to work with. 

I first tried casting a jig and trailer, but it was to mossy to be affective.  I tied on a curly tailed grub and that started getting bites, but for whatever reason they kept nipping at the tail and I wasn’t hooking up.

Finally, I tied on a mepp’s spinner and that was the ticket.  I immediately started hooking up, but it wasn’t largemouth I was catching, it was white bass.  For the next half hour I consistently got bit and had a lot of fun.  I never did catch a largemouth though and I’d like to go back and give it another shot.

Missed Bites and Big Storms in Central Utah

Fishing Time: 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

Weather:  Cloudy, some rain and wind, cooler temps at approximately 80 degrees

Moon Phase: 25% Moon

Location:  DMAD Reservoir, Sevier River, and Gunnison Bend Reservoir

Best Bait: Green and orange curly tail grub, chartreuse & white spinner bait

Who Went: Dunc

I did a little exploring to an area I’ve never fished before near Delta, UT.  I started at DMAD reservoir, then fished the Sevier River below DMAD, and then Gunnison Bend Reservoir.  I arrived at DMAD at 8:00 am.  It was refreshing not seeing another soul at the lake or on the river below.  I started fishing the river below DMAD using a curly tail grub on an 1/8 oz jig head and immediately started getting bites. Problem was I couldn't seem to hook up.  I even had a couple of fish bite right at shore as I watched them, but still couldn’t hook up. 

After an hour of bites with no hookups I gave up frustrated and walked up to the reservoir.  I changed to a spinnerbait to target bass and northern pike and on my second cast I had a northern swipe at my bait right next to shore.  Then it happened again.  I started doing the figure 8 near shore on my retrieves and had two more bites, but no hook ups!  By now my frustration was through the roof and I decided to move on to Gunnison Bend Reservoir. 

Not knowing the area or lake I drove to the main boat ramp, which happened to be near a canal coming out of the lake.  It looked fishy, so I tossed a curly tail grub near a pump house and again got a couple bites but didn’t hook up.  Thinking this was probably crappie that were biting, I went back to the drawing board and setup a slip bobber with a marabou jig. I didn’t have any worms to tip the jig so I tried to find a bug or grasshopper, but they are only around when your not looking for them.  Needless to say I never got another bite.  I tried one more area on the lake hoping for a bass to change the feeling of the trip, but it wasn’t meant to be.

On my way back towards home I stopped again on the river below DMAD Reservoir and continued throwing my curly tail grub.  Finally I was able to hook up with a little wiper.  I was excited to finally catch a fish and as I was releasing it I heard a big boom of thunder and lightning hit very close to me.  It then started raining hard.  Today was not my day too win.  It was still a successful fun trip fishing a lot of new water, but I think I missed enough bites today to last a lifetime.

Smallies in Abundance

Fishing Time: 7:00 am to 1:00 pm

Weather: Sunny, no wind until noon, T-80s

Moon Phase: 32% Moon

Location: Deer Creek Reservoir

Best Baits: Whopper plopper, curly tail grub, and kietech swimbait

Who Went: Devin, Dayton, Dunc

We have been searching for different locations to bass fish and this week we decided to give Deer Creek Reservoir a try.  We arrived early and the weather was perfect.  No wind and a reprieve from the valley heat. 

We made our way over to the east shoreline near the dam and began casting.  Dayt was throwing a small swimbait, Dev a creature bait, and I went with a whopper plopper.  Dev quickly started getting hits but couldn’t hook up.  I think the creature was a bit big for the size of fish that were biting.  Dayt put some fish in the boat with the swimbait, and I did as well on topwater.  Dayt wanted to throw the topwater, so I gave him my rod and Dev took over the swimbait.  It was never on fire, but we consistently caught smallies all along the east shoreline.

After our east side run, we moved to the west side and Dev switched to a curly tail grub and put on a clinic.  Caught them one after the other.  Dayt was catching them on the swimbait as well, but the grub was king.  I landed a few on the creature bait.

We decided to make one more run to Wallsburg bay and try our luck there, but it was tough in the bay.  We landed a few, but we had to work for them.  Soon the wind picked up, so we changed tactics and tried our luck at trolling.  By the time we trolled out of Wallsburg bay the white caps were rolling and the recreation boats were in force.  We decided to call it a day.

I was hoping we might catch a few different species today, but it was smallies only.  We caught a few decent ones, but most were small.  The topwater bite was a blast though and we had a lot of fun and enjoyed the cooler weather. 

Chasing Bass in Dead Water

Fishing Time: 6:30 -10:30 am

Weather: Strong breeze, partly cloudy, T-80s

Moon Phase: Full Moon

Water Temp: 77 degrees

Best Bait: Texas rigged weightless Senko

Who Went: Devin, Dunc

Devin has been itching to catch some largemouth bass and I have been itching to fish new water, so we started doing a little research.  Mantua Reservoir seemed like a decent option, but it also sounds like there was a major fish kill last fall after the city hired a company to kill the underwater foliage using a chemical that was supposedly safe for fish.  Reports said the dissolved oxygen dropped to a 2 or 3 and there were dead bass and trout floating everywhere.  Doesn’t sound like the safe for fish part was true.  However, I saw some reports of fish being caught this spring and figured some must have survived. 

I guess I should have listened to my gut and chose another spot because the fishing was slooooow.  I ended up catching one bass on a weightless Senko and that was it for the day.  The lake was also inundated with weeds, so not only did they kill all the fish, but it also didn’t do anything to clear up the lake either.  Sounds like a completely failed effort and now it will need a couple years to recover.