High Country

Though I don't like missing Sunday football, that was the only day I was able to fish this week. There was a lake in the Uintas that I wanted to fish with my Dad when he was in town, but we never made it there. In my book, that's called unfinished business.

Word on the stream was that some impressive tiger trout could be found there, plus some nice specimens of other species as well. It's not a lake that gets stocked too often, so I had my hopes up.

En route to the high country, a roadside ditch (sculpted stream) demanded my attention and I pulled over to drop a jig. Just as my curiosity was put to rest by a scrappy brown trout, a woman came out of her nearby home and started barking at me to leave "her kids' pets" alone.

Really?

Even though the ditch was outside of her fence line and running parallel to a busy road (100% legal for me to fish), I chose not to make it an ugly confrontation and calmly told her that I wasn't doing any harm and intended to release them after a quick photo. It also seemed necessary to let her know that I'm a bit strange and do this kind of thing, all over the state.

Her response was that she and her family had planted them in there and that they were hers. Aha! This is when I inquired if the DWR had been part of her stocking and she suddenly stopped caring that I was fishing this public resource that was close to her yard. Go figure.

No matter. The neighbors in the house next to hers really enjoyed watching me catch that fish where the ditch ran under the road.

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...z/tacos001.jpg

Continuing on my journey into the hills, another stop was warranted at some beaver ponds along Beaver Creek, just outside of Samak. After a couple of misses, I was able to bring in a little cutthroat before proceeding.

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...z/tacos002.jpg

While driving higher and higher, I noticed the Upper Provo River diminishing more and more. It was sad to see about 90% of the stream bed, bone dry. There