Slow Fishing at South End of Utah Lake

Fishing Time: 8:30 am to 1:00 pm

Weather: Sunny, Warm, T-60s

Moon Phase:  88% Moon

Location: Utah Lake (Lincoln Boat Harbor)

Best Bait: Worm fished on the bottom

Who Went: Devin, Dayton, Dunc

A coworker invited me and my boys to fish with him at Utah Lake and told me he had a catfish honey hole.  We met him down near Lincoln Boat Harbor, but unfortunately it seemed the entire state wanted to fish Utah Lake the same day and all the shoreline spots were filled.  My coworker tried to battle the crowds, but my boys and I left and went back to the Lincoln Boat Harbor to get away from the crowds.

The fishing was stagnant, but I was able to land this little sunfish on a worm fished on the bottom, and  Dayton caught one white bass while casting a curly tail grub from the docks.

After an hour with no bites we hit the road but made a pit stop on the way at a small warm spring I just learned about in Saratoga Springs.  I’ve heard there are big largemouth bass in there, but it’s crystal clear and I never saw a bass.  However, it’s littered with little sunfish, so Devin was able to get off the skunk list.  Kind of a slow day of fishing, but it’s always good to get the boys out in nature.

Fishing Duo Kills it at Utah Lake

Fishing Time: 7:30 am to 1:00 pm

Weather: Sunny, Warm, T-60s

Moon Phase:  50% Moon

Location: Utah Lake (AF Boat Harbor)

Water Temp: 63 degrees

Best Bait: curly tail grub in any color (1/8 oz jig head)

Who Went: Devin, Dayton, Dunc

The boys are excited to fish this year and Utah Lake seems to be their favorite place.  We have had a lot of success there, so it makes sense why they continuously want to go back.  Today was no different, although it didn’t start off the way we hoped.  To start… we were the only boat in the parking lot.  This was probably because of COVID-19 and it wasn’t a weekend.

We launched at American Fork Boat Harbor and drove the boat over a glass surface to Lindon Boat Harbor.  We were hoping we could put a couple largemouth bass in the boat and the conditions seemed perfect.  We worked the entire harbor without a bite.  I could tell the boys were getting bored, so I asked them if they wanted to chase some white bass, and they of course said yes.

We motored over to the sewer outlet and were the only boat there.  It seemed like we were the only boat on all of Utah Lake.  I anchored in close to the outlet and the boys went to work.  They were catching white bass on almost every cast.  We had double ups, and fish flying in the boat from every angle.  The boys impressed me by pulling the hooks themselves unless they were hooked deep.  I just sat back and enjoyed the show. 

On one cast, Dayton’s rod doubled over, and the line started screaming.  I figured it must be a carp, but I just watched and let him do all the work himself.  It made my day to watch Dayton reel it in and Devin help net it.   The two are turning into quite the fishing duo.

We lost count of the white bass, and soon the boys had their fill, so we left.  You don’t get many perfect weather days like that with no other boats on the water.  Probably a trip I will never forget.

Why Do You Hate Me Flaming Gorge...

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

Weather: Partly Cloudy, Cold, Heavy breeze all morning

Moon Phase:  65% Moon

Location: Flaming Gorge (Utah Side)

Water Temp: 39 degrees

Best Bait: None

Who Went: Bobber John, Dunc

Last time I dragged my boat to Flaming Gorge in January it was minus 5 degrees, and my boat froze like a Popsicle.  We had to break through 25 yards of ice near the boat ramp to make it to open water, which destroyed my boat trailer in the process, and after a 4 hours of dealing with ice we were fishing by 11:00.  I swore, I would never return in January with the boat, but this weekend called for mild temps and my urge to try out my new fish finder on the big Lakers at the Gorge was just too much.

We stayed the night in Manila and were on the water by 6:00 am.  First light is around 7:00 am.  The wind was already up to a constant 10 mph and that made for a cold morning, but we immediately found fish and the new fish finder is amazing.  Can easily differentiate your bait and active fish with no interference, and the 9-inch screen rocks.   Very excited about the new setup.  

The fish we saw on the finder were active and showed a lot of promise to bite.  We tried all our known tactics throughout the morning, but the fish had lock jaw and we never got a bite.  Frustrated, wind burnt, and exhausted, we left the lake with no fish put in the boat.  We have had a tough run for Lakers at the Gorge, but something tells me that won’t stop us from going back.  The weather was so cold my camera only made it out of my pocket once to show the new fish finder and how active the fish were.

Slick Roads, Good Company, and a few Whitefish...

Fishing Time:  9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Weather:  Snow in the morning, breezy and cloudy late morning, T-30s
Moon Phase:  85% Moon
Best Bait: marabou jig, 1/8 oz (any color)
Who Went: Bobber John, Rick Everson, Dunc

We had so much fun last December up at Bear Lake chasing whitefish and cutthroat that we decided to do it again.  The morning we left Salt Lake City it was snowing, so we traded the boat for waders.  After a slow drive through snow packed roads we arrived to a cold and slightly breezy day at Bear Lake. 

There were a few boats on the water and a couple shore fisherman.  We geared up in warm clothes and waders and joined the masses.  On Bobbers first cast he reeled in the biggest whitefish I’ve ever seen.  Then he realized his waders were leaking and quit fishing for most the morning.  Rick and I stayed with it and eventually Rick was on the board with his first whitefish of the day. 

The boats were catching a few more than us, but it wasn’t fast and furious like last year’s trip.  I struggled with snags in the shallow rocky shoreline and couldn’t find the rhythm or zone.  I had a few hits, but never did catch a whitefish.  Rick was a bit hardier and explored some shoreline.  It payed off with a few more whitefish. 

It was a short trip, but the truth is we hadn’t seen each other in so long it was more about the drive and catching up with friends than it was braving the cold waters of Bear Lake in our waders.  The fact we put a few fish on shore was a bonus.  

Family Reunion at Uncle Harry's Ranch

Fishing Time: 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Weather: Calm wind, hot, clear skies, T-90s
Moon Phase: 95% Moon
Location: Uncle Harry's Ranch
Best Bait: worm underneath a slip bobber
Who Fished: Alex Covili, Dayton Duncan, Dunc

Every year in August we have a family reunion at my Great Uncle Harry’s Ranch.  He has passed on, but his family still owns over 300 acres near Woodland Hills, Utah.  They have a pond on their ranch that’s stocked with rainbows and its fun for the kids to catch a few while up there. 

This year my young cousin Alex (13), was in need to catch a fish for a merit badge in scouts.  His family is not known to be fishermen, but hoped I could help.  Challenge accepted.  Alex had to catch a fish by himself, clean it, cook it, and eat it.  I helped with the catching and cleaning, but left the cooking and eating to Alex and his mom.  It was exciting to see how happy he was to conquer the challenge.  Good job Alex!

My youngest son, Dayton joined in on the fun and caught a few of his own, including the biggest fish of the day with this chunky rainbow…

No Bug Spray Equals No Fun...

Fishing Time: 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Weather: Dark, hot, T-80s
Moon Phase: 5% Moon
Location: Golf Course
Best Baits: topwater spook, and Keitech Frog
Who Went: Bobber John, Dunc

Snuck out of the house with Bobber John for a couple hours to see if we could find a good topwater bite at the golf course.  The plan was going well until we forgot the bug spray.  They were so bad you couldn’t stop swatting yourself for one second.  It would have been funny to hear us from a distance in the middle of the night yelling, cursing, and swatting at the air.  The frustrating part is that we were catching fish!  Bobber John even caught a nice sunfish on a topwater spook! We couldn’t take it long though and were out of there within an hour.  Next time we will be a bit more prepared!

Where did all the Musky Go?

Fishing Time: 6:00 am to 1:00 pm
Weather: Mostly Sunny, T-90s
Moon Phase: 20% Moon
Location: Pineview Reservoir
Best Bait: Green pumpkin curly tailed grub on 1/4 oz jighead
Who Went: Bobber John, Dunc

An early morning opportunity at Pineview had us dreaming of a large musky in our net.  Conditions seemed perfect and we were one of only a few boats on the water at first light. 

We casted swimbaits, crankbaits, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwater all morning and didn’t even get a follow.  By late morning, Bobber John switched to a grub and put a couple decent smallmouth in the boat.  I continued casting, but never got a sniff.  Frustrating day to say the least!

Two Lakes in One Day

Fishing Time: East Canyon- 7:30 to 10:00, Pineview 11:00 to 2:00

Weather: East Canyon- cold, cloudy, T-30s, Pineview- warm, mostly sunny, T-60s

Moon Phase: 35% Moon

Location: East Canyon and Pineview Reservoir

Water Temp:  East Canyon – 60 degrees, Pineview - 65 degrees

Best Bait: Firetiger deep diving crankbait

Who Went: Bobber John, Dunc

Bobber John and I left the kids at home this trip and headed to some unfamiliar water.  East Canyon has changed a lot since I was a kid.  I remember it as a trout only fishery and my dad and I used to do well trolling up and down each shoreline for rainbows.  Since then, many more fish species have been introduced including smallmouth bass, crappie, and wiper.  I haven’t fished it much since the new species have been introduced.

The weather has continued to be filled with rain, clouds, and cold weather.  Today it didn’t rain, but dark overhead clouds and a cold front had the temps in the upper 30s when we arrived.  We fished some coves and rocky shorelines hoping for a smallmouth bite, but it never came.  

We tried fishing deeper water along the bottom with finesse baits, but still no bites.  Lastly, we turned to trolling and finally landed one rainbow trout.  

By 9:30 am the weather was still cold, and we started to have thoughts about going elsewhere.  By 10:00 am we were on the road towards Pineview Reservoir. 

We launched from Anderson cove and quickly slipped into the small bay to the east of the ramp.  This area has produced good numbers of crappie in the past.  We didn’t find the crappie, but did find a bunch of small perch willing to take a marabou under a slip bobber.  I tried my luck for musky using a firetiger crankbait, but had no luck.

We moved to Browning Point, but again no luck for musky or smallmouth, so we moved to the west side of the lake and fished the sunken brush near the marinas.  I kept throwing the crankbait and Bobber was casting a spinnerbait.  On one of Bobber’s casts he had a good musky follow it in to the boat.  The musky gave the spinnerbait an awkward kiss with its mouth closed and then headed for deeper water.  A figure 8 with the spinnerbait couldn’t lure him back. We continued down the shoreline and I started landing some decent smallmouth bass.  

The action stayed hot and Bobber soon switched over to a crankbait.  He finally had a taker and pulled this giant smallmouth into the boat…

We tried for more smallmouth back in the narrows, but the wind picked up, so we called it a day and headed home.  The musky follow and smallmouth bite made the move to Pineview worth it.  East Canyon just had that cold weather bite feel to it.  Glad we made the move and we will try East Canyon again when it’s not so cold.  Brrr!