Autumn Action @ Strawberry (Group Trip)
Awhile back, scientificangler (Keoni) had sent out an invite to myself and two other members to meet up and fish Strawberry Reservoir from his boat. *This was something I had never done and I also had never actually met Keoni, even though we've spoken for about three years. *His brother, Keala and I have fished together a few times though.
The plan was to have everyone meet at the parking lot at the mouth of Provo Canyon at 4:00am to get an early start on the morning bite. *Everyone was on time and we were on the water by 5:15 in the dark.
Despite our early arrival, the fish hadn't become active yet. *We didn't get any action until the sun had risen.
Scott (dedicated1) was the first to score and had a couple others before anyone else. *They were in the slot and released before I could snap a pic.
Brandon (B-randon) got a pretty good one in the slot:
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Keoni with his first catch (Scott - background):
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Keoni's friend, Jordan, who showed up later on his tube. *Another slot cutt:
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My first catch of the day (slot):
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Keoni with a skinny one:
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Jordan got quite a few while kicking around, including a chubby rainbow that we was happy to take home. *Keoni followed suit with his own fat bow:
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Brandon with another slotty:
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The catching continued throughout our time on the Berry, but taking photos seemed less important due to the catches all being slot cutts between 19-21 inches. *We headed back to the dock to drop Scott off, who had some commitments to attend to. *It's sad to have to go while the catching is good. *
We motored out again and found another good school to anchor over. *More cutts came to hand and back to grow larger.
Finally, I got a break. *While tending to my minnow rod, I sat my jigging rod down, but noticed a strange bounce to the tip that couldn't be attributed to waves or any wakes from passing boaters. *Out of curiosity, I picked it up and it flexed downward for a throbbing fight to the surface.
It had inhaled my jig all the way into its gill rakes and was bleeding heavily, so I hoped it made the mark, which it appeared to before measurement. *Confirming this with the tape, it stretched out to 22.5 inches and I was relieved that first, I got a slot buster, and secondly, I didn't have to release a doomed fish.
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This would end up being the only one over the slot for the day, but we really did pretty well, overall. *Having the advantage of a boat on the Berry was great and I've never caught so many nice fish there in one outing. *Very fun!
After some more catching, we decided to get off the lake and do some stream fishing. *I knew a good one within our range and we spent about an hour working whatever holes we could find. *Having three guys on this small creek was interesting, but we made it work and politely took turns working the next hole up. *
We weren't expecting to catch anything with size, just some pretty cutthroat and maybe some browns and rainbows.
The first catch came on my Blue Fox from a really nice looking hole under a spill. *Gorgeous cutthroat!
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Immediately after my catch, Keoni tried his luck in the same hole with a black marabou jig he tied. *What a surprise to see this beautiful brown dart out from under some roots to snatch it up! *Great catch for this creek:
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Another look:
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Brandon got a cutthroat after we'd marched upstream a few stretches:
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Another look:
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The next cutt to hand was really nice looking. *Nothing beats catching good looking fish like these on tiny mountain streams!
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One more and we called it quits for the creek. *Brandon had somewhere to be and we'd had plenty of fun for the day.
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We got back to the mouth of Provo Canyon and bid each other farewell. *It was a really good trip and I enjoyed the company of some really good guys. *
With my house being just a short drive from our meeting place, and so much sunlight left for the day, I couldn't resist trying my luck on the raging Provo River. *
Just casting my spinners I got 5 browns, all within 100 feet of each other. *This was a good note to end the day on and I took my cue.
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What a day! *Thanks to Keoni for extending his invitation to me and thanks to Brandon and Scott for providing good company.
Happy Fishing, Humans.
