LOAH
05-18-2008, 12:54 PM
Wow, what a great day! :D
The original plan was to gather up my family and try some new waters at a higher elevation than the popular spots that are getting hammered right now. I've got a mental list of different places that I've never visit, but would like to.
Potentially, 2 or more of those places could get crossed off that list today (Saturday, 5-16), so long as the sun has done its job on the ice conditions.
Well, like usual, the original plan got modified a little bit as soon as I tried to get my wife out of bed. :lol: Looks like I would do another exploratory solo trip (which is just fine).
So out the door I went, to Central Utah! The mountains between Fairview and Orangeville are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. That area really "speaks" to my soul. Almost the same way the High Uintas do.
Once I got to the top of Fairview Canyon, I was overtaken by emotion for some reason or another. I had to pull over and "just be" in the crisp mountain air, taking in my surroundings. It was so quiet and wonderful. Not another human around, just the cawing of a near by crow.
I took a couple of shots, from both sides, just to give an idea of what season it is up there.
It's the perfect time to take HWY 89. The hills are as green as could be. Spanish Fork Canyon, too.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2025.jpg
Now 180 degrees and here's the other side of the ridge:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2026.jpg
It wasn't very cold though. Just right, IMO.
After my little "Zen" moment, I got back in my car and continued down the road. I took some more photos to show where certain lakes are in the thaw.
Here's Huntington:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2027.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2028.jpg
Hmm, not quite. Next week, it will have some fishable water, for sure. It won't be totally open, but there will be room to cast.
Miller Flat Road:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2029.jpg
Just in case anyone was wondering.
Cleveland was still iced, except the main inlet had an area of open water around it and the other trib by the highway also had some open water. It even looked tempting, if I didn't have other plans.
Here's Electric on the South end:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2031.jpg
That ring of thin ice around the edges was pretty broad by the dam, but frozen nonetheless.
It was nice to see what those lakes look like. It won't be long before all that ice is gone.
Huntington Creek was raging. It was clear and placid for the first mile or so downstream from Electric Lake, then it started getting fast and murky. The runoff became more and more evident as I progressed down the canyon.
I tried to get to the places I've been scouting, but they were still snowed in. I knew it was a gamble that the road might be closed and/or the lakes might be frozen. Oh well. There are more places around. I tried another lake near by and was greeted by a closed gate about halfway there. :x Why must Memorial Day be the official day to open all the stupid gates in this State?
So now, I had some more modifications to my original plan. :lol: It wasn't a big deal since there's water all over that area, so I ended up taking a drive to Joe's Valley, pulling over in a few spots to give the majestic Straight Canyon Creek a try along the way.
This creek cleanses the spirit. I paid a visit a little while ago, but the water was full of that cotton type stuff from the trees and I couldn't get a cast retrieved without gumming up my lure. This time, the water was much better.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2040.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2045.jpg
Pretty wild flow right now.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2047.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2048.jpg
I didn't have any luck with the size 0 Blue Fox I was using. Sportsman's was out of my go-to #2 in brass, so I had to settle for what I already had. :( My tiny lure wouldn't sink in the heavy flow of water.
I had lost a lot of time to unexpected detours and impromptu stops to flick a lure, so now it was time to actually get some dedicated fishing in. I made it to Joe's Valley right before the breeze rolled in and lucked out on a couple of glassy water shots:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2052.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2054.jpg
Some of you may remember from recent posts of mine that I just broke my ultra light rod. Well, I went to Sportsman's and had a new Shimano UL picked out, but then I saw a discount bin full of rods. I ended up getting a $60.00 St.Croix for $40.00. It's a 6'6" Light. Feels great.
I hiked down to the point where the dam arm meets the main body of the lake and threw out a minnow with one rod.
First cast on my new St. Croix paired with a medium sized brass kastmaster brought me a scrappy little splake. They sure look nice from the top:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2061.jpg
Pretty soon, I picked up another little splake. This one had some better coloring than most of the muted tones that most of the JVR fish hold.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2064.jpg
They were really chomping on that kastmaster today. Another splake to hand:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2067.jpg
Looks like I wasn't this tiger's first hook up:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2069.jpg
Add a cutthroat to the mix and we've got a triple play for JVR!
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2072.jpg
I caught several more without moving from the spot I was at, but catching the same old 12 inch fish from Joe's can get a little monotonous. It was pretty fast action and it was fun, but it was time to go and get something worth eating.
I toyed with the idea of going to Millsite, but thought about how warm the day had become and figured that maybe the ring of thin ice off the dam at Electric Lake would have receded enough to fish. If not, I could just wrap around to Scofield for some fat, healthy, rainbows.
...Not before some more of the creek on the way down though. :wink:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2076.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2081.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2088.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2094.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2108.jpg
Looks like someone on the road crew thought this was cool. Lame. They couldn't do a smiley face or something? :roll:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2120.jpg
On the way back up to Electric, I couldn't help but pull over for some cool rock pics.
This one looks like it's melting:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2126.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2128.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2130.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2132.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2133.jpg
That canyon has the neatest geologic makeup. It's really amazing what wind, water, and time can do to a boulder
When I made it back up to Electric, my hunch was validated. Open water!
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2137.jpg
It didn't take long to score, but what a fight those cutts give! And they're so gorgeous! Vivid coloration and an aggressive fight made my day.
I caught quite a few, but only used 3 as examples:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2138.jpg
Check out the super bright slash marks:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2139.jpg
Not a bad cutt (same as both above):
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2140.jpg
Now THIS is a gorgeous fish!
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2141.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2143.jpg
And this one had an 8 inch salamander in it's gut!
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2144.jpg
It was really fun at Electric. The fish fought really hard and made the fast fishing very rewarding. It topped off my day perfectly.
It was getting kind of late and I try to get home by dusk when I leave my wife at home, otherwise she gets really worried.
The mountains keep calling me, but I must return to civilization:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2148.jpg
Even with my conscience nagging me to get home, I had to check on the north side of Electric.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2150.jpg
Yep, that's open water. Looks like pretty muddy access, but it looks perfect for a float tube. Anyone planning on visiting will need to hike through either mud or deep snow to get to the water since the road to the ramp still has 6 feet of snow on it.
Well it was a great day! I wish my wife and kid could've shared it with me, but when they come with me, our trips never seem to last very long. It's better that I got to explore on my own. I felt like a kid in a candy store.
Happy Fishing, Humans.
The original plan was to gather up my family and try some new waters at a higher elevation than the popular spots that are getting hammered right now. I've got a mental list of different places that I've never visit, but would like to.
Potentially, 2 or more of those places could get crossed off that list today (Saturday, 5-16), so long as the sun has done its job on the ice conditions.
Well, like usual, the original plan got modified a little bit as soon as I tried to get my wife out of bed. :lol: Looks like I would do another exploratory solo trip (which is just fine).
So out the door I went, to Central Utah! The mountains between Fairview and Orangeville are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. That area really "speaks" to my soul. Almost the same way the High Uintas do.
Once I got to the top of Fairview Canyon, I was overtaken by emotion for some reason or another. I had to pull over and "just be" in the crisp mountain air, taking in my surroundings. It was so quiet and wonderful. Not another human around, just the cawing of a near by crow.
I took a couple of shots, from both sides, just to give an idea of what season it is up there.
It's the perfect time to take HWY 89. The hills are as green as could be. Spanish Fork Canyon, too.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2025.jpg
Now 180 degrees and here's the other side of the ridge:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2026.jpg
It wasn't very cold though. Just right, IMO.
After my little "Zen" moment, I got back in my car and continued down the road. I took some more photos to show where certain lakes are in the thaw.
Here's Huntington:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2027.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2028.jpg
Hmm, not quite. Next week, it will have some fishable water, for sure. It won't be totally open, but there will be room to cast.
Miller Flat Road:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2029.jpg
Just in case anyone was wondering.
Cleveland was still iced, except the main inlet had an area of open water around it and the other trib by the highway also had some open water. It even looked tempting, if I didn't have other plans.
Here's Electric on the South end:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2031.jpg
That ring of thin ice around the edges was pretty broad by the dam, but frozen nonetheless.
It was nice to see what those lakes look like. It won't be long before all that ice is gone.
Huntington Creek was raging. It was clear and placid for the first mile or so downstream from Electric Lake, then it started getting fast and murky. The runoff became more and more evident as I progressed down the canyon.
I tried to get to the places I've been scouting, but they were still snowed in. I knew it was a gamble that the road might be closed and/or the lakes might be frozen. Oh well. There are more places around. I tried another lake near by and was greeted by a closed gate about halfway there. :x Why must Memorial Day be the official day to open all the stupid gates in this State?
So now, I had some more modifications to my original plan. :lol: It wasn't a big deal since there's water all over that area, so I ended up taking a drive to Joe's Valley, pulling over in a few spots to give the majestic Straight Canyon Creek a try along the way.
This creek cleanses the spirit. I paid a visit a little while ago, but the water was full of that cotton type stuff from the trees and I couldn't get a cast retrieved without gumming up my lure. This time, the water was much better.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2040.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2045.jpg
Pretty wild flow right now.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2047.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2048.jpg
I didn't have any luck with the size 0 Blue Fox I was using. Sportsman's was out of my go-to #2 in brass, so I had to settle for what I already had. :( My tiny lure wouldn't sink in the heavy flow of water.
I had lost a lot of time to unexpected detours and impromptu stops to flick a lure, so now it was time to actually get some dedicated fishing in. I made it to Joe's Valley right before the breeze rolled in and lucked out on a couple of glassy water shots:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2052.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2054.jpg
Some of you may remember from recent posts of mine that I just broke my ultra light rod. Well, I went to Sportsman's and had a new Shimano UL picked out, but then I saw a discount bin full of rods. I ended up getting a $60.00 St.Croix for $40.00. It's a 6'6" Light. Feels great.
I hiked down to the point where the dam arm meets the main body of the lake and threw out a minnow with one rod.
First cast on my new St. Croix paired with a medium sized brass kastmaster brought me a scrappy little splake. They sure look nice from the top:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2061.jpg
Pretty soon, I picked up another little splake. This one had some better coloring than most of the muted tones that most of the JVR fish hold.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2064.jpg
They were really chomping on that kastmaster today. Another splake to hand:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2067.jpg
Looks like I wasn't this tiger's first hook up:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2069.jpg
Add a cutthroat to the mix and we've got a triple play for JVR!
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2072.jpg
I caught several more without moving from the spot I was at, but catching the same old 12 inch fish from Joe's can get a little monotonous. It was pretty fast action and it was fun, but it was time to go and get something worth eating.
I toyed with the idea of going to Millsite, but thought about how warm the day had become and figured that maybe the ring of thin ice off the dam at Electric Lake would have receded enough to fish. If not, I could just wrap around to Scofield for some fat, healthy, rainbows.
...Not before some more of the creek on the way down though. :wink:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2076.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2081.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2088.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2094.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2108.jpg
Looks like someone on the road crew thought this was cool. Lame. They couldn't do a smiley face or something? :roll:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2120.jpg
On the way back up to Electric, I couldn't help but pull over for some cool rock pics.
This one looks like it's melting:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2126.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2128.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2130.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2132.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2133.jpg
That canyon has the neatest geologic makeup. It's really amazing what wind, water, and time can do to a boulder
When I made it back up to Electric, my hunch was validated. Open water!
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2137.jpg
It didn't take long to score, but what a fight those cutts give! And they're so gorgeous! Vivid coloration and an aggressive fight made my day.
I caught quite a few, but only used 3 as examples:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2138.jpg
Check out the super bright slash marks:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2139.jpg
Not a bad cutt (same as both above):
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2140.jpg
Now THIS is a gorgeous fish!
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2141.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2143.jpg
And this one had an 8 inch salamander in it's gut!
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2144.jpg
It was really fun at Electric. The fish fought really hard and made the fast fishing very rewarding. It topped off my day perfectly.
It was getting kind of late and I try to get home by dusk when I leave my wife at home, otherwise she gets really worried.
The mountains keep calling me, but I must return to civilization:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2148.jpg
Even with my conscience nagging me to get home, I had to check on the north side of Electric.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii272/justisaurusbucket/IMGP2150.jpg
Yep, that's open water. Looks like pretty muddy access, but it looks perfect for a float tube. Anyone planning on visiting will need to hike through either mud or deep snow to get to the water since the road to the ramp still has 6 feet of snow on it.
Well it was a great day! I wish my wife and kid could've shared it with me, but when they come with me, our trips never seem to last very long. It's better that I got to explore on my own. I felt like a kid in a candy store.
Happy Fishing, Humans.