From Scofield to Huntington

[LOAH]

With the holiday weekend promising heavy traffic, I made plans to get the family up on Skyline Drive to hit some water that we've never seen. As the weekend crept closer and the weather forecasts seemed more credible, Skyline started looking worse and worse.

I couldn't decide where to go, but my wife had wanted to fish Scofield all year, so that's where we went.

Once we arrived, my wife chose to stay in the car with our sleeping boy until he woke. Meanwhile, I ran down to find some trout.

I had my tube in the car, but there was a pretty steady wind and the sky looked ominous. Shore fishing again, I suppose. :( My wife even gave me a "float pass" for an hour, but the opportunity never presented itself.

The fishing was pretty slow near the dam. I threw many different lures in all direction and I had a minnow soaking too. Nothing. Finally, I grabbed a fat little tiger (about 12") with a Jake's lure.

Eventually, my wife came down with James and threw out her worm/bubble rig. I continued to cast hardware and reel in crayfish with my minnows. Scofield gave us the shrug. The only fish caught was a small tiger that's still swimming.

Electric Lake would be our next destination. I knew the North end would be full of weeds and I seem to have my best luck from the dam, so after a nice drive along the energy loop, we arrived.

The water level is still high at Electric. It's only about 5 or 6 feet below the high water mark. My first cast with a Blue Fox got a good hit, but a miss. My second cast sent my only BF of that color (chrome/pink) out to the tower with a *pop* of my line.

My wife was still using the worm/bubble rig and after a long wait, hooked up with our only (and her first) fish from Electric:



Nothing huge, but it was a very welcome sight after our drought. We tried for another hour or so and the only action for us was when a fish picked up my minnow only to spit it out after only a few seconds.

Next stop, Cleveland Reservoir. Again, my wife waited in the car while I tested the water. Surprisingly, I got a quick hit from a black Blue Fox and reeled in a tiny planter rainbow. After that, nothing.

It's too bad that I don't have better luck at Cleveland since it's in such a pretty place. I'll have to keep after it.



We still had quite a bit of daylight left and Huntington was right up the road, so we off we went for some scrappy tigers.





We stayed right on the fringe of rainstorms all day, but never ended up getting rained on. At least luck was on our side in that regard.

Reports at Huntington were of slow fishing, but I was determined to get something going. It wasn't very long and I had a decent sized tiger from a worm. It was about the same size as Sonia's cutt from Electric (no pic).

Shortly thereafter, my krocodile lure picked up a bronzy tiger:



They always start coloring up pretty early at Huntington, I've noticed.

With dinner in the cooler and the sun getting closer to the horizon, we set off for home. En route, my wife finally got to witness the magic of being at the summit of the Energy Loop:





It seems like every time I take this route to go home, the view is always breathe taking. Forget the fish, just being there at that moment was reward enough.

Looking to the North, I could see that the rest of the drive would be somewhat less peaceful:



Despite the lack of fish in hand, it was still nice to get to the healing grounds again.

Happy Fishing, Humans.

[oldno7]

I always enjoy your TR's Thanks

[Reedus]

Loah,
If your a big fan of the Manti-Lasal, you need to get a touch farther south. Ever tried Duck Fork or Millers Flat? They always produce for me. Love to here the trip reports. Keep em coming

Just wondering: Have you ever fished Cove Lake? It's somewhat near Skyline.

I've had my eye on the area for awhile, but I don't know if my car would be able to hang. I'm curious as to how big the fish are, of course, and what the road is like.

Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

[LOAH]

My record at Miller Flat is 0/2.

My first time through, I only stopped for a moment and hat a couple spit the hook at me.

I'll have to get my tube on it someday.

Never fished Duck Fork, but I've done plenty in the Joe's Valley area. I think that area has hypnotic control over my fishing libido.

I can't get enough of it.

I may be headed South this weekend if all things turn out right.

PM sent.

[JP]

Lucky you staying dry Like that Tiger, we don't have those here

[Jaxx]

very nice TR as always. the wife doesn't look very happy for catching that fish, looks like a big one to me!

[Reedus]

Weird,
I think you asked about Cove Lake, but it posted under my name. Wasn't me.

At any rate, Cove Lake is awesome as far as scenery goes, but don't count on any fish of decent size if any at all. The lake is too shallow and winter kills every year. I think the Fish and Game restocks it, but I have been by there twice this year and didn't see so much as a ripple on the surface. You can get there with a CAREFULLY driven car, but it is rocky and some areas are rutted. Emerald Lake a little further south might be your ticket