Fishing Forum

Yesterday I hit Fish Creek for the first time since early last summer. I had taken Tomegun's advice on go natural, keep it simple as far as minnow selection. The thought ran through my head that I was almost on a Larry Dahlberg (Hunt for Big Fish) type quest as I drove up to Scofield. It really was a go big or go home day. I had no intention of tangling with any small fish today... All I wanted was big hog browns out of a smaller stream. Well, I got my wish plus a gorgeous wild Rainbow/Cutthroat cross. I was throwing 4 inch plastic minnows in a basic black/silver color. The back was actually a blueish black but I don't know that it mattered. I also had some Emerald Shiner/Rainbow colors that I threw for a few minutes but retired after getting no strikes or interest at all in them. The parking lot was pretty full when I got there so I figured I'd be wading through fly fishermen all day but I only bumped into a couple of them in the same area.... which was nice. The canyon wind blew all day and that cooled it off but when the sun shined down threw the clouds, it felt great. Anyway, started off chucking the minnow across to the far bank and doing the ol jerk, jerk pause back to my side of the river. That didn't produce a lot for me other than a couple taps for a bit and then it happened.... Key crescendo music..... [cool] I threw the lure into a section that I knew from past experience was an eddy area past a riffle and WHAM!!! I saw the big beauty roll on my bait almost as soon as it hit the water....after a few minutes of sliding down the bank and trying to convince the gorgeous brown that I was not going to take her out, I finally brought her to hand.... No tape on me but I'd guess darn close to 20 inches... a real beauty. I released her and kept fishing down the shore... again, a bit of a dead spell. I guess that happens when you use big baits for big fish... it definitely takes some patience.... But finally I wound up whacking a couple more hard fighting 15 inchers. When I got to the railroad bridge, I noticed some "locals" that were fishing the hole underneath it. This is probably highly hypocritical of me but for some reason my heart kinda sank when I saw the two really big browns floating belly up that they had on a yellow nylon rope they were using as a stringer.... [unsure] I know, I keep some bass and catfish so why feel bad right?? I can't explain or justify it either... Anyway, they had an older gentleman with them that I stopped to talk to and since I had my digital camera, I let him have some instant gratification (fish pictures) from my experiences that morning. Anyway, I kept on fishing down the bank past them but had no strikes until I came to a spot where the river narrows into its first set of rapids. I was kind of halfheartedly chucking the four inch lure across the river when it came to life and took off on me. No, not really... it was actually a 16/17 inch rainbow/cutt that gave me a good fight before submitting. Got some good pics. It must have been a good hook set, since it drew a little blood but I was worried I got the eye of the fish... found out it was just the roof of the mouth. Anyway, fished down and missed another good rainbow in the bottom of the riffle section. I stopped under the cover of a few little pine trees to eat some lunch and then kept fishing. I fished down to the first series of pools and foul hooked my only small fish of the day...went about twelve inches. On the next cast, I solidly hooked a nice big brown that had bright strawberry spots and a brilliant yellow body and fins. The best part of that was that there were fly fishermen waiting to fish that pool. []. They were really nice guys though and were the only two I bumped into all day. I kept fishing down and found another river bend pool that looked good. I hooked up AT LEAST six times with fish and lost them. It had to be the hook.... I know I hooked them as well as I could because I'd feel the fish thump or see them roll with the bait in their mouth. And then, POP, the lure would come spitting right back at me... SO frustrating. Anyway, I changed out the hook for a new one, moved down to another canal like stretch and finished out my day sticking about six or seven big healthy brownies that ran from probably 15-18 inches... I saw lots of ducks, and even had a couple golden eagles come screeching over me with one little potgut animal in their claws. That was really cool. Didn't see any deer or elk but I got out there kind of late and left a little early. It was a good day though with probably 14 fish landed on the day, and all of them except the little foul hooked brown were big, heavy brown or rainbow trout. It wasn't a huge numbers day but the go big or go home philosophy definitely made for some memorable fish. Here's some pics of the day... enjoy.


















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[cool] Nice fishing story and nice looking fish!! Way to go bro!!
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thanx for the sweet post and the great pics. looks like ya nailed em. i guess i ought to give utah lake a break, or give myself a break and go jerk on some troutskies. slowest spring ever on the mud puddle.
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Also, wanted to add.... there was TONS of trash. Soda Bottles, Beer bottles, beer cans, candy wrappers, tons of food stuff. If you take stuff there, for hells sakes, take that stuff home with you. Course, you probably have no business STREAM FISHING while you're tanked up with beer but whatever works I guess. Next time I think I'll take a bag and just fill it with stuff to pack out... such a joke.

Also, the ice is off the lake on the North end about halfway down to the Boat Ramp and on the bay by the dam, almost all the ice is off of that little arm. The rest of the lake, from what I could see, still has a thin layer of ice.
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Well now, good job.[] I hope it doesn't ruin yuh for Wed. Brings to mind, how did the waders work? Are they fixed? Do I need to bring my oldies for back up? I guess if the fish don't keep you busy, Sparky will. I just hope you got that trout thing out of your system![laugh][laugh][laugh] You don't happen to have a spare long pole do yuh? I'm planning on taking the fly rod as back up but it's pretty hard to control with a fishy on in that area. Anyways, I'm bringing the "stuff" with a surprise, heh, heh. See yuh.
Leaky

Sorry about the trash. Had the same problem up at Deer Creek, packed out as much as I could put in a grocery bag--which I also found on the shore--along with a good 30 or 40 yards of miscellaneous fishing line.
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I forgot to comment on your fish! Those are some really healthy looking fish. Not many of them in the Provo so far. That brown is table book quality. What kind of minnow is that that you were using?
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Real nice looking fish!!!!
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I do have a spare long rod... spinning right?? The waders worked well except that in my seal around the boot, I have a pinhole somewhere and that stinks because in the boot, they're hard to find.... But it was just a tiny amount that got in... so I need to reseal them tonight so they can cure tomorrow. About the minnow, I prefer not to say because its been a point of controversy for some people... telling me I'm using bait and that I can't fish my plastics below the railroad bridge. I got the ok from a CO up there at Scofield to do what I do and so I just put "I used plastic minnows" in my reports rather than who makes them and that. I will tell you that I've found very little difference from one brand name to another. I've used Flukes, "Power" minnows, Bass Assassins, Sluggos, and a couple other makes down there and they all catch trout. The fish are keying on the "dead minnow" look I think more than anything. They are killer on smallies and Largemouth too. They're one of my favorite lures in RockCliff at Jordanelle and I've caught nice bows and smallies on them fishing at the river mouth. Leaky, I look forward to your surprise.... I hope we get some Tilapia to cook up for dinner that night... I think this gave me my trout fix for the next little while... it was an awesome day... good memories for me anyway.
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Nice catches! I have never been to Fish Creek, and curious where it is at?
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Its the creek running out of the dam at the East end of Scofield... A lot of fly fishermen visit the river because it has some nice long runs, some good riffle/pool sections and there are usually some sort of bug hatches going on... the brown trout are usually pretty willing participants as well. [cool] As you can see, there are some nice browns in there for the catching. I just catch em, take a picture and let em go... I burned myself out on eating trout quite a while ago...
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Thanks for all the info on the minnows. I may give that a try on the lower provo. Where I usually go is one of the bait-allowed stretches anyway and I would have to think that something similar would work. If you don't mind my asking, how did you rig the minnow? Looks like you had a split shot in front of it, but how about the hook? Size, rigging style, etc?
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Since those were bigger minnows, 4 inch as opposed to the 3 inch that I normally use, I used a #1 Gamakatsu drop shot hook. With the smaller baits, I'll use a #2 or #4 hook. I push the point into the nose and then poke the hook out of the back of the bait. Its not weedless but it helps with the hookups. Normally your hookup will be a no doubter. You'll feel the tap, tap, tap and then they'll just take off with it. When you set the hook, they absolutely wig out so you know immediately whether you have a rock or a fish. [cool] Once you get the feel of it, its an easy thing to master... its all about knowing what you're feeling on the other end. I did have a split shot in front.... depends on the type of water.... For more rapid, riffle type of water, I'll move the shot down to a couple inches in front of the bait to reduce line twist. If its slower canal like situations, I'll move it out to about 3 or four inches. On lakes, like Strawberry (fishing weedlines), or Jordanelle, I'll put the shot about six inches in front of the bait. You'll love it I think.... good luck out there.
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I think I found the minnows you were using. They really look good, I can't wait to get out there and give them a try.
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