Berry with the little ones

Fishing Time: 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Weather: Sunny, 50's
Location: Strawberry Reservoir
Who Went: Phil, Dax, Zenger, Zack, Me

I planned on going deer hunting this saturday, but my friends had other things going on, so Phil and I decided to take Dax on a Berry trip. Zenger and his 8 year old son, Zack, tagged along as well. We started out at Chicken Creek East and only found a few fish that would bite. We moved to Strawberry Bay, but nothing was biting there either. We gave Haws Point a quick try and got nothing. We were about to head to the narrows to hide from the oncoming wind but decided to try the mouth of the narrows by drift jigging. Bingo! we finally found some cutts that wanted to bite. We kept seeing large schools of fish that we assumed were chubs roll through on the fish finder. My guess is the cutts were right around the schools feeding on the chubs. We caught around 25 to 30 fish in about 4 drift runs until it finally died down and the chub schools moved on. The wind was worse now so we headed to one of my favorite spots in the narrows. We instantly started catching fish! Well everybody except Phil! The line of the day was when dax, seeing me and Zenger catch fish all day, told Phil, "dad I don't want your help anymore." Not to long after we all looked over and Dax was reeling in his own fish that he caught all by himself! Classic!

Phil had a rough day ending with 8 fish. Zenger and I were both tied at 14 a piece and decided that whoever caught the next fish was the big winner of the day! Just after we said that I missed a good hit, and shortly after Zenger missed one to. Then it ended up where if I got a bite then Zenger would run over and try to steal my fish, and I would do the same to him. It finally ended, when yours truly yanked in the last fish of the day for the big win! It was a blast taking the little guys fishing and I can't wait til my little guy is here doing the same thing!

One Year Wait Pays Off!

Fishing Time: All Day
Weather: Warm, slight breeze on second morning, 90's
Who Went: Dad, Me

After many trips to Flaming Gorge chasing the elusive, Monster Lake Trout, I realized that it could take a lifetime to figure out. So I decided to cheat a little and hire a guide to take my old man and I out on the lake, to show us how it's done! I booked this trip in July of 2007. That's how popular this guide is, he has to be booked over a year in advance! My dad reserved a little cabin just outside of Manilla, Utah and this is where we called home for a few days. We met Captain Jim our guide at the docks at 7:30 a.m., where he informed us that we were late and that the best fishing was already over. I was bummed for sure, but he assured us we would still catch fish! After about 2 hours of learning and incorporating our guides instructions I finally hooked up with the fish I have waited my whole life to catch. When I set the hook it was instant zing from my drag! It dove down about 30 feet to the bottom of a 100 foot floor. I didn't even make up any ground for the first 5 minutes he was on. I just held my pole as tight as I could and made sure I didn't give him any slack! I finally got him to give a little and the battle began. I would gain about 20 feet of line and then he would go back down 30! When I finally won the battle and this monster surfaced I was as happy as a fisherman could be. It was over 30 inches long and weighed in at a whopping 26 pounds. My first trophy Lake Trout!

Once you catch a fish like this, the only thing on your mind is, lets get our poles back in the water and do it again! We fished for a few more hours with a couple missed bites and then my dad hooked up with a 4 pound Mack. Not exactly what we were looking for so no pic was taken and on with the fishing. Soon after, I got a hit, and WHAM! The fight was on again. This one fought very different than the 26 pound fish. Although it was an unbelievable fight, I was able to reel him in almost halfway to the boat from 80 feet, but then he decided he didn't like that and ran on me. Now it felt just like the 26 pound laker caught earlier. I finally got him right to the boat and snap! The hook came flying out of his mouth! I was really angry but it really doesn't matter! I was in it for the fight, which I got, and I would have let him go anyway. The only thing I am missing is a picture. Captain Jim said it was around an eighteen pound fish and that he is usually dead on within a pound or two of estimating the weight of these things, so that's what I'm going with! We fished the rest of the day with a few more hits but no hook-ups. We payed and thanked Captain Jim for his services and then we ran back to our cabin, grabbed my boat and we were back on the water within a couple hours! We had one hit from my boat all evening and it produced this 13 pound Lake Trout! It was a gorgeous evening with an unbelievable sunset and I'm hooked on Mack fishing for life!
The next morning we got up early and were welcomed with a stiff breeze! This is exactly what you don't want while jigging for Lake Trout but we gave it our best anyway! I had one really good hit that I missed and that was it for the day! We had fished hard for 2 straight days with only a few bites, so we decided to travel up lake for the evening and try our luck at some kokanee fishing! We caught a few small kokanee and it ended up being a very beautiful evening! This is a trip I will never forget, and I have learned a special art in learning how to locate and catch large Lake Trout! I just want to be there right now!!!

Strawberry

Fishing Time: 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Weather: Warm, 80's, slight breeze
Who Went: JJ, Me

Another successful Strawberry trip with lots of Cutthroats being landed. The story of this trip was the beautiful weather and scenery that I always enjoy on this high mountain lake! We took a few snapshots from behind the boat just as the sun was about to come over the mountains. This pic shows exactly why I love the outdoors. We gazed at the scenery on the boat ride over to one of our well known and successful spots and when we got there we had this beautiful landscape to welcome us. Finally after all the ooh's and ah's we got down to the actual fishing part.

We were moderately successful, each catching around 10 throughout the day! I was lucky to land this Cutthroat that was a hefty 4.5 pound fish that went 23 1/2 inches long!

JJ got into the mix as well with a couple nice fish of his own.

This is a lake that just can't be matched by any other. It's size, scenery, and wonderful fishing make it one of the best trout fisheries in the country. Lucky for me it's right in my backyard!

Tough Decisions

Fishing Time: 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Weather: Cloudy, breezy, 80's
Water Temp: 70-73 degrees
Who Went: Phil, Me

My cousin Phil and I planned an evening trip to Jordanelle for some more smallie catching so I got the boat and everything ready to go. Then it happened! I got a phone call in the morning from my friend/Real Estate Agent, Dave. One of the homes we went and looked at that I really wanted was being pursued and we had to make a quick decision. Cari had still not seen the house so we had to get her approval before making an offer. With all this hoopla going on most fisherman would probably stay home. Not me! I met Phil as originally planned and told the wife if you like it, then get-er-done! Once fishing we immediately started getting hits and I landed the first one of the day while on the phone with Cari dealing with the house. After that the hits continued but the catching did not. We both had issues getting them into the boat. Phil finally started figuring it out and began putting a few in the boat including the nicest one of the trip at 17 inches and 2 pounds. He caught it in the nook by the dam.I caught a few here and there but missed 80 percent of my bites. Not sure if it was because of how small the fish were that I couldn't hook them or if it was because I was just stinking it up! Probably a little of both. We ended the day by catching a couple a piece off a rocky point then called it quits. I also ended it with a phone call from Dave saying that we are probably owners of a new house, and now residents of Riverton City. It was another beautiful night to be on the lake fishing, oh, and to buy a home.

Life is Good

Fishing Time: 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Weather: clear skies, 80's, afternoon breeze
Who Went: JJ, John, Me
It's July and the temperatures are consistently in the hundreds now and the valley lakes had no appeal when planning this weeks fishing trip. We wanted to head up in elevation to somewhere with mountain scenery and cooler temps. What better place than Strawberry Reservoir. We arrived at 7:30 a.m. to temperatures in the low 40's. It was a little cold but felt great compared to the 80 degree mornings in the valley. It was a gorgeous day with sunny skies and no wind. We headed into East Portal Bay to start the morning and immediately John found the first fish. It was one of about 6 fish we caught in this area before moving on to new water.

We headed over to the mouth of the narrows and by Rainbow Island. It was here that we had the most success all day. We were fishing in 60 feet of water and the fish were suspended anywhere from 25 to 55 feet. we each caught 5 plus fish from this area.

When it finally started to slow down we cruised across the lake to the island near Chicken Creek East, one of my most productive spots based on passed experience. Not even one fish was caught! This shows what I know. We didn't stay long and we found ourselves with the rest of the world at the back of Strawberry Bay. We figured with that many boats in the area it must be good. We caught a few fish here but it wasn't enough to fulfill my greed so we moved on. I decided to cruise back across the lake and back into the narrows cause JJ and John had never been in there before. It was absolutely gorgeous and that's where we spent most of the afternoon.

We found a nice looking shoreline with a deep drop off and submerged pine trees all along the bank. There were a lot of small chubs swimming around and I figured there had to be some cutthroats hanging around this chub buffet.

When we would find a school of chubs we would drop our jigs right below them and would usually pull out a cutthroat or two. We continued to look for chub schools along this steep shoreline and consistently landed cutthroat with this method.

We also saw a sight you don't see to often on Strawberry Reservoir and that was some recreational boaters. With the hot weather in the valley I can't really blame them.After our excursion in the narrows we headed back to our spot by Rainbow Island to see if the fish came back. They were there but not in the numbers they were in the morning. We spent an hour just drift fishing our jigs in a light breeze picking fish up here and there. I caught one that looked very different than any of the other cutthroats we had caught. I thought it was a kokanee at first but I think it was just a different looking cutthroat. It was really silver and had a blue back unlike most the cutts that have a dark black back and a lot of color and spots on their sides. It also had teeth unlike any cutthroat I have ever seen and no cutthroat markings. I'm still not positive on what species it is but after looking at the DWR handbook it sure looks a lot like a Bear Lake Cutthroat. The Cutthroat planted in Strawberry are the Bonneville Cutthroat. I don't know, but it was different looking!

We were starting to run out of time for the day so we ran back into East Portal Bay near the Marina where we started our morning. JJ took control of the leader board and took a 3 fish lead that I couldn't recover from. He took honors for fisherman of the day! This trip helped me to realize why Strawberry is one of my favorite lakes to fish and that I need to fish it more often. We caught a ton of fish with a few just over the slot limit, and it is beautiful up there with cooler temps and unbelievable scenery. Look forward to doing it again!

Smallmouth Heaven

Fishing Time: 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m

Weather: 90 degrees, windy

Water Temp: 68-70 degrees

Who Went: Phil, JJ, Dave, Me
The one lake in Utah that has always seemed to get the best of me is Jordanelle Reservoir. I have listened to story after story about how Jordanelle produces the biggest Smallmouth in the state along with some of the biggest Brown Trout. I have spent countless hours on this water only catching enough fish for a small fish fry. Don't get me wrong, I have had some okay days at the Nelle, but more times than not I have been humbled. Today was a different story! We didn't put any state records in the boat, but we did catch a lot of bass ranging anywhere from 3 to 16 inches. Phil had the hot hand for larger fish catching most of our fish over 12 inches.

I caught a lot of bass but only a few that passed the 12 inch mark. JJ did okay putting quite a few smaller bass in the boat as well, but only a couple over 12 inches.

Dave struggled today catching only four small bass, but did have the trips only trout with a pan sized rainbow caught on Phil's X-Rap that after catching a fish soon found a new home in the top of a tree. The wind blew constantly all evening with it only calming to a swift breeze by night fall. We lost about 50 dollars worth of tackle to the submerged trees, but I finally had a large quantity day at the Nelle. Total fish caught was around 50.

Avoiding the Masses

Fishing Time: 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Weather: Hot, cloudy, breezy, 100 degrees
Who Went: Me

It's Fourth of July weekend and the last place I wanted to be was out on the water with thousands of other boats. I went for a more secluded fishing hole and tried to get lost from the masses along the shoreline of the Jordan River. I located myself about a half mile north of the pump house at Inlet Park in Lehi. I loaded one pole with shrimp and carp meat for the kitties and put a white speckled jig on my other pole to see what else I could catch. The kitty fishing was fast and furious! I was landing mud cats left and right and it didn't leave much time to fish for anything else. A few channels got into the mix as well but didn't have much size.

When the catfish finally slowed down a little, it gave me a chance to throw a jig for a minute. I threw it into some thick brush along the rivers shoreline and pulled out this little Bluegill. I kept throwing the jig in hope of a possible Largemouth or a Walleye but it wasn't to be. I had a few more Bluegills hit but a 3 inch jig was to big and made it hard to set the hook on these tiny fish. I went back to catfishing and continued to catch mud cats with ease. around 11:00 the catfishing started to die and the temps were approaching 100 degrees so I started my journey back to the truck. On my way back I saw some surface action in some brush and it didn't look like carp. I tossed my jig in to find out and instantly hooked up with a white bass.
I let this one go and tossed in again and hooked up with another White Bass. I was throwing into really thick brush and I soon lossed my last two white speckled jigs. I replaced it with a black with blue sparkle jig. The bass wouldn't touch it! So with no more white jigs I called it a day. It was a great multi species day on the Jordan River and I achieved my goal of avoiding the Fourth of July masses.

Here Kitty Kitty

Fishing Time: 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Weather: Hot, clear skies, high 90's, got windy at night

Water Temp: 70-72 degrees

Who Went: JJ, Ed, Me

We went out to Utah Lake for what was to be an all night catfest, until the bugs changed our plans. We got there at 5:00 p.m. and launched out of Provo Boat Harbor, heading straight for Mud Lake. We fished quite a few areas in Mud Lake but couldn't find any kitty cats that were hungry enough to bite. So, we moved to where the Spanish Fork River comes into the lake and again the same luck there. I was not going to be denied today as I have had a rough time finding Channel Cats this year so we made the jaunt out to Bird Island where I usually have success. Bird Island was a little harder to find this year with the water so high there wasn't much of an island left. It's scary though cause you know there is an island just below the water.

We spent a half hour trying to find the right spot to fish until we found an area that had a lot of humps and dips. This seemed like the perfect structure for catfish to hide in so we threw anchor. I rigged one pole with weight and carp meat and sent it to the bottom and then one with a bobber and shrimp. Shortly after both poles were out I had my first hit on the carp meat. I set the hook and the ride began. I could tell it was a good fish and was excited when we landed this guy.

The Belly on him was huge and he weighed in at 7 pounds. Not more than 3 minutes after putting this one in the livewell I looked out and couldn't see my bobber. I looked down and my line was tight so I grabbed my pole and fish on. It was another good fight and this one was just under 7 pounds.

I rigged up another shrimp on my bobber and threw out in the same spot and within 30 seconds I caught another carbon copy of this one. Then it was JJ's turn, he had on a good Channel Cat, but unfortunately it decided to pull him into the rocks and snag him up breaking his line. The action was hot for a few minutes and then out of nowhere the wind kicked up and broke our anchor loose. We drifted out of our money hole and the fishing died. I tried to get us back to where we were but the wind wouldn't let us anchor there. It got a little crazy for a minute with the wind blowing not being able to anchor and the boat kept drifting into dangerously shallow water. It was just about dark and the wind was bad enough that I made an executive decision to head for the harbor as it is a pretty good clip from Bird Island to the Provo Boat Harbor. I thought we could just fish the dikes at the harbor all night and leave when we got tired. Bad Idea! Of course the wind died just as we got to the harbor and made me realize why wind is not such a bad thing. It keeps the bugs away! They were out in full force! It was to the point where you couldn't open your mouth without enjoying a bug dinner. We called it a night and got out of there. We didn't have a whole lot of success but the three I caught right in a row were all really nice fish.