Crazy Weekend

[LOAH]

On Sunday morning, I picked up my buddy Holdsworth and we deliberated on our destination for awhile before finally deciding upon the Energy Loop area. The "plan" was to hit a bunch of lakes and do a little exploring, maybe even as far as Joe's.

At the summit, it was surprising to see that so much of the snow pack is gone. This last heat wave really did a number on it. There's still a lot of snow, but nowhere near what I thought it would be. Much of the ground is green and the aspens just below the summit are starting to bud.

The only remaining snow is on northern facing hillsides:



Being the first lake along our path, Huntington was the first place we stopped. There was a patch of slushy ice chunks near the dam, but everything else was clear. We parked around mid-lake where a spot was available.

Getting out of the car, Holdsworth informed me that we had a flat tire. I'm not sure of the cause, but whatever it was, it let us get to the lake before going. Noting that we were within 100 feet of shore, I vowed to change the tire after a short round of casting.

Nice timing, I say.



Within only a few casts, Holdsworth hooked up with a good tiger that gave him a fun fight.



Despite the fast start, the action was pretty slow for the next couple of hours. Holdsworth got a couple of smaller ones, but I was still fishless after missing a minnow take. Eventually, I put a worm on the bottom and left the bale open while I tended to my flat. Upon my return, I found resistance on the other end.



It's not huge, but it's probably my largest from Huntington.

We stayed a short while longer before deciding to go and check the gate at Miller Flat road, which we found OPEN! Given our doughnut tire situation, we thought it best to keep the dirt road driving to a minimum and stayed somewhat near the highway.

We stopped to fish a creek for an hour or so and couldn't get anything due to the high volume of runoff. The water was flowing quickly and it was a solid brown color. Still, we pressed on, just to stretch our legs. The stream cut through some nice land and we enjoyed the walk.









Certainly an area I'd like to fish when the runoff is over.

Next on the list was Cleveland Reservoir. I'd never spent much time fishing it and had only caught small stocked rainbows in the past. Knowing that there are better fish than that, I thought it would be worth focusing a couple of hours to find some.

The lake was spilling over and it was nice to see Cleveland without the giant mud ring that usually surrounds it.



We hiked into a spot that wasn't full of people, casting here and there along the way. No luck on the way in, but on my third cast after reaching our spot, I had a healthy cutthroat connected to my trusty Blue Fox.



That was it for awhile until I got out the fly rod and moved around a bit. Soon enough, I got into a stubby chubby.



About five minutes later, I brought in a pretty little cutt.



Holdsworth wasn't having any luck, so he made his way down the shoreline, casting all the while. He caught a rainbow while he was out, but he was too far away for a pic.

Wrapping up our time at Cleveland, we set our sights on Electric Lake since it would just be terrible to omit when fishing the area.

I had forgotten about the reports of 5 dead elk along the dam, but was quickly reminded on the way to the water. They aren't smelling too fresh. Perhaps their presence was part of why we couldn't catch anything there. We fished for probably two hours before calling it quits at the dam.

Since our gear was already wet with E-lake water (invasive species scare), the only other fishing we could do would have to be at the north end or Electric. We figured we'd only try for a little while before going home.

Well let me just say that the long winter has left its mark on the highway and there are some really nasty potholes scattered about.

My visor was down because the sun's glare was pretty bad and when the road curved it was hitting me from the side. When I turned the visor to cover the window, I saw several potholes that had been hidden from view, just behind it.

My reaction was quick, but not nearly enough as I sped into the deep gap in the asphalt with none other than the doughnut. Perfect.





At that point, we were officially stranded. Luckily, a very nice and helpful lady pulled over, noticing the "What next" look on my face, leaning on my crippled Sentra. She offered the use of her cellular and I was surprised to find a good signal, just below the summit of the canyon.

The necessary calls were made and a rescue was underway. I have to give my most sincere gratitude to my stepfather, who didn't hesitate to drop everything in his busy life to get us out of there. Thanks Kevin (and my Mother too, who was surely expecting him to do something else on a Sunday evening).

So Holdsworth and I waited, as Kevin made his way to my in-laws' house in Spanish Fork to pick up a spare that would probably work, then cruise up to us.

The Sentra doesn't have a working stereo system, so it was just the two of us and the sounds of Nature up there. Being stuck is a bad deal, but considering where we were, I can't think of many places I'd rather be.

It's always a pleasure to watch the sun fade from the summit. If we hadn't been so "unlucky", we would've missed it entirely.



It only got better and better as the time slipped by.



Kevin showed up with a couple of tires, one of which was full size, and we were saddened to learn that neither of them fit. The lugs were just a titch too far apart on both. Rats.

Ultimately, we had to ditch the car and ride back with Kevin, which we were also grateful. It was a long day and we were really tired. Holdsworth agreed to go back with me the next day, with a new tire.

DAY 2:

I was quite fortunate (again) that my tire had road hazard coverage and got a new one, no sweat right after work on Monday. Holdsworth kept his promise and accompanied me to retrieve my poor Sentra. Thanks again Aaron.

It was nice to drive up Fairview Canyon for the 2nd day in a row. The trees are all green and lush right now. The view is splendid.



The creek looked pretty inviting, but all the gear was in the car and the water was looking kind of silty.



We both knew that it would be tough to keep ourselves from fishing, since there's a ton of water in the area. Somehow we managed though, and were granted another beautiful sunset at the top of the world.



I still say it was a good trip.

Happy Fishing, Humans.

[ibenick]

Great report! Beautiful Tiger in that first shot...

[accadacca]

Yeah, good lookin' Tiger.