Gold Fever...

[Deadeye008]

I've had these guys on my radar for a while but had started to believe they were just a mythical creature. I went up to the uintas with uintahiker (http://backcountrypost.com/forum/index.php?members/uintahiker.49/) and another buddy to try our luck at this elusive fish. It was a beautiful day up there. A little windy ay times but very nice overall. When we first arrived at the lake we made our way around the lake looking for that Golden spot and catching a few Brookies along the way. I was using my fly rod and had hooked up with 4 or 5 little Brookies in our jaunt around the small lake. On about my 6th or 7th fish I struck gold! I couldn't believe my eyes at first. It was a brilliant specimen. All colored up in it's spawning getup. I netted the fish and went to get my camera out when I realized I had left my camera in my backpack that I had dropped off over by all of our other gear! Crap! I made sure the fish was secure in the net and in sufficient water for it to breathe and took off running to get my backpack. When I returned to the fish with my camera I found all was well and proceeded to take a bunch of pictures. The fish was released and I finally started to feel my heart stop pounding from the adrenaline rush I had just experienced. Being still early in the day I thought I might have a chance at catching another but it was not to be. We ended up catching a bunch of very small Brookies the rest of the time and cooked a bunch up right on the lake shore. uintahiker (http://backcountrypost.com/forum/index.php?members/uintahiker.49/) showed me how to prepare and cook them in a way I had not tried before. They were delicious! Doesn't get much better than eating fresh caught, pan fried fish on the shore of a beautiful high alpine lake. Two of the fish we caught were what I am calling grayscale Brook Trout. I have never seen fish like them before. They were Brook Trout but without the color. Only blacks and whites. I have now caught every species/sub-species of trout in Utah. To top things off, my buddy and I stopped off on the Weber just as it was getting dark to try our luck. Within a few minutes I had on a nice fish. It ended up being a fat Brown of about 18". After that I put my rod away and figured my day couldn't get any better. A fitting end to a great day! Here are some pictures.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7356627882_b20cb2721e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7356627882/)
IMG_5567.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7356627882/) by Deadeye008 (http://www.flickr.com/people/14972385@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7078/7171407737_1801d8fff0_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7171407737/)
Grayscale Brookie (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7171407737/) by Deadeye008 (http://www.flickr.com/people/14972385@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7090/7171406513_4cbba12d9f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7171406513/)
Rare and Elusive Utah Golden Trout (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7171406513/) by Deadeye008 (http://www.flickr.com/people/14972385@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7356619348_3067560765_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7356619348/)
Rare Utah Golden Trout (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7356619348/) by Deadeye008 (http://www.flickr.com/people/14972385@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7075/7356631064_1070756a8b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7356631064/)
Weber fatty (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7356631064/) by Deadeye008 (http://www.flickr.com/people/14972385@N06/), on Flickr

[JONBOYLEMON]

What was the NEW method for cooking them.

PS, congrats on the Grand Slam of the fishing pallett for Utah!

[Deadeye008]

What was the NEW method for cooking them.

PS, congrats on the Grand Slam of the fishing pallett for Utah!

He filleted them like you fillet a salmon so just the meat is there, no skin or bones. Then cooked them in butter and garlic powder( it was either garlic powder or garlic salt). He said he usually coats them in bread crumbs or crackers but didn't have any there.

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[LOAH]

Dude, nice! Anyone else find gold?

Those "grayscale" brookies are just small females. The ladies tend to lack most traditional brookie coloring, typically only having purples, muted reds, and grays. The sterile brookies that are now being stocked at many lakes are usually female too, so they get big really fast, but don't sparkle the way a kyped male does.

Also, on your list of Utah species/sub species, have you caught a greenback in Utah or a Lahontan? The Lahontan is one that most people don't know about. There's a creek that was planted with them, long ago and they've remained in there, in small populations. I believe the section of creek they're in is isolated to an extent that they cannot spread out.

Same with the greenbacks. Those are on the LaSal range, south side, Beaver Creek.

[Deadeye008]

Dude, nice! Anyone else find gold?

Those "grayscale" brookies are just small females. The ladies tend to lack most traditional brookie coloring, typically only having purples, muted reds, and grays. The sterile brookies that are now being stocked at many lakes are usually female too, so they get big really fast, but don't sparkle the way a kyped male does.

Also, on your list of Utah species/sub species, have you caught a greenback in Utah or a Lahontan? The Lahontan is one that most people don't know about. There's a creek that was planted with them, long ago and they've remained in there, in small populations. I believe the section of creek they're in is isolated to an extent that they cannot spread out.

Same with the greenbacks. Those are on the LaSal range, south side, Beaver Creek.

Uintahiker had a couple of chances at one but missed both times. We saw one other fish that we positively identified as a Golden but it was spooked by the time we spotted it and wouldn't take anything. I have caught Lahontan Cutts. We used to deer hunt in the Pilot Peak area when I was growing up. I heard there is also a small isolated population of them in Spring Creek near Uintah, UT. As for the Greenbacks, I thought that there was still uncertainty about whether the population found in Beaver Creek is actually Greenbacks or the Colorado River strain of Cutthroats. I have not caught any of those fish in Beaver Creek.

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[UTJetdog]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7356619348_3067560765_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7356619348/)
Rare Utah Golden Trout (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7356619348/) by Deadeye008 (http://www.flickr.com/people/14972385@N06/), on Flickr


That is really kewl! Thanks for posting up.

[accadacca]

VERY cool man! Beautiful! :hail2thechief: