03-16-2008, 05:19 PM
Ah, what a relief to see some open water again! It was great to actually cast and retrieve on still water after the stubborn winter.
Early in the week, Orvis1 sent out a big pm to his friends list looking for others to join him on a trolling excursion to Piute Reservoir. Rapalahunter, Weekend Warrior, and myself were quick to respond and grab a spot on the boat.
The plans were made and we decided that today (Sat 3-15) was the day. Orvis1 was to meet up with Weekend Warrior and give him a ride and I was to pick up rapalahunter at 4:00am.
Well, many of you may have heard of my notorious alarm clock gremlins and they just wanted me to know that they're alive and well (The clock? Not for long ). They must have come out of the woodwork somewhere between 11:00pm the previous night and 2:00 this morning because I have witnesses that watched me set the alarm for 2:30am (long drive...leave early). For some reason, it never sounded and I was awakened at 4:07am by my wife just 2 minutes prior to receiving rapalahunters call.
So I bypassed the whole coffee/breakfast/shower thing and was at his door at 4:30 and we were off!
Lucky for us, I had been studying the route all week long and had it down pat in my head; I-15 south to jct w/ I-70 east to jct w/ HWY 89 south. Not too hard, right?
Well, after reaching Richfield and stopping at the gas station wondering where the junction was (since the signs said we were already on 89/70), we realized that we'd passed the exit about 10 miles ago.
Finally on 89 south, we wound our way through the craggy canyons and saw a lot of deer. One herd was very large and while we were looking on, a small group of them dashed across the road.
I slammed on my brakes and left an impressive skid mark down the highway to avoid hitting the death-wish deer, but still barely pegged one of them across the rear hooves at the last 5 mph of my deceleration. It wasn't fazed and kept bouncing its way into the herd.
Needless to say our adrenaline was pumping pretty hard by now. We were grateful that a potential disaster was averted.
Eventually, we made it to the lake about an hour later than originally planned (pickup 30 min late and detour through Richfield) to see the boat already on the water. We were just glad they didn't wait around for us.
My fault, completely. Sorry for the lag, guys.
They came over to the shore and picked us up reporting early success! They've got some pics that I'm sure they'll post later. One of the early fish was a serious toad.
Once we were all on board, the rods started bending for some healthy rainbows.
The whole reservoir was open water except for one patch of ice near the dam that got blown around all day.
Gorgeous place. I forsee some near-future summer campouts.
As you can see, the north end has some pretty nice cliffs by the dam and they wrap around to the east, as well.
We continued to troll and pick up a fish here and there.
The fish were all "keeper" size so far, but there was only one problem:
I hadn't caught anything yet. My new LuckyCraft didn't pick up any hits and I couldn't score with the pop gear either. What gives?
I was out of my element. We decided to beach on the far side and try the old minnow routine on the sweet looking cliffs. No dice.
Mark another off for rapalahunter with this awesome brown:
A little closer:
It's always nice to see a brown come from a lake of any kind.
He and Weekend Warrior took a jaunt and explored the surrounding area finding a nice bay that was hidden from the steady breeze. Weekend Warrior had a taker pretty quickly on some PB.
Orvis1 and I sat around on the rocks trying different methods, but couldn't get anything going from the eastern cliffs. Once rapalahunter and Weekend Warrior returned with reports of activity where they were, I decided I wanted to try it out too.
Rapala and Orvis went back out on the water for some more trolling and WW and I went for a hike to find the fish.
Once we arrived at the bay, I lobbed out a minnow and a worm under a bubble (the old stand-by when catching is slow). WW missed a couple of PB bites and I finally got my first action for the day:
Well hey there, fella! Aren't you a nice, chewed up brown?
Great coloring and speckle pattern, but those fins were hashed! Not a bad brownie at 19". I was pretty surprised to see 2 browns from the same lake on the same trip. Kind of a rarity for me.
So I shed the fishing funk and as soon as I was done handling the brown, my line started pulling out from my minnow rod (score!). I hefty rainbow was the ticket this time.
I didn't want to "have to" keep any more by using harmful bait tactics, so I tied on a brand new Kastmaster and started launching that out as far as the eye can see (those things really fly!). A few adjustments in my retrieval and I had 3 more feisty bows within minutes, one of them providing us with a dazzling show of aerial acrobatics.
It was good to get back to what I'm more comfortable with (shore fishing...
eh?) and actually hook up with some nice fishies.
Meanwhile on the boat:
Orvis1 and rapalahunter were still catching fish:
Orvis1 pulled in the catch of the day:
Oh, that was smallest catch of the day.
Back to the cliffs:
WW and I were satisfied with our hike and placed ourselves atop the "fishless" cliffs to get the attention of the boat. The boat came by, but the wind had blown the ice right into our area and we had to do some fancy downclimbing to get to a makeshift boarding zone that would have to do.
We got back on the boat for another chance at trolling.
Orvis1 hooked into a couple of cuties. Hey! No
!
And then WW finally landed a fish on his Xrap that he'd lost a few on earlier. This would be the last fish of the day:
Pack'em up and move'em out! Just a shameless plug for Orvis1's sweet-mobile:
The 30% change of precipitation we were told by the forecast had now turned to 100% chance of precipitation with a slight chance of death on the drive home.
There were so many gorgeous places we drove through to get home, but if we were ever going to make it in a timely manner, we couldn't afford to pull over to take pics of everything. I really wish we had more hours in the day!
Wow, what a day!!! We had a great time at a great place to be and I can't wait to get back there when it's a little warmer.
Thanks Orvis1, for setting up a great day full of belly laughs and chubby fish!
Happy Fishing, Humans.
The only thing he didn't tell you about was me and weekend warriors co-fish we caught. I hooked it on the spoon bagan to real it in when the boat started doing circles (rusty) so I handed the rod to weekend warrior and he fished the job on a beautiful 22" bow:
The thing that was so impressive besides the ice monster being gone was all of the fish were soo fat and healthy! The fishing was pretty steady all day long until the blizzard hit us, and I now know that a blizzard will kill the fishing mojo. We started hooking up on a UV squid and poped two chunky fish right before the blizzard hit then it is like someone hit a lightswitch and it turned right off. Raplahunter had the mojo working early in the day trolling:
Then we stopped for some lunch and shore fishing with the minnows. After about 1/2 hour of no action and watching my boat just sit there not being properly utilized we headed back out on the water!
Weekend warrior got into the action with his x-rap finally holding on to a fish, he had missed several others on it. It naturally gave us an opening for the rest of him to give him crap until he finally landed one!
It was sure great to get out on soft water even though it was colder than most ice fishing trips I have been one, but in my own element more fish made it into my hands. One last parting fish porn for you to enjoy!
Thanks again to weekend warrior, Loah, and rapala hunter for such and enjoyable day on the water we need to do that again! I can't wait for the warm weather and being able to troll and flyfish in shorts again! CMON SPRING!
Edit for whatever reason the pics didn' show up so here are a few of them....
[#ff0000]EDIT: The pics did not show up "Inline" because they are too large. Maximum pixel width 450. Please do not copy and paste from a photobucket or another website.[/#ff0000]
[signature]
Early in the week, Orvis1 sent out a big pm to his friends list looking for others to join him on a trolling excursion to Piute Reservoir. Rapalahunter, Weekend Warrior, and myself were quick to respond and grab a spot on the boat.
The plans were made and we decided that today (Sat 3-15) was the day. Orvis1 was to meet up with Weekend Warrior and give him a ride and I was to pick up rapalahunter at 4:00am.
Well, many of you may have heard of my notorious alarm clock gremlins and they just wanted me to know that they're alive and well (The clock? Not for long ). They must have come out of the woodwork somewhere between 11:00pm the previous night and 2:00 this morning because I have witnesses that watched me set the alarm for 2:30am (long drive...leave early). For some reason, it never sounded and I was awakened at 4:07am by my wife just 2 minutes prior to receiving rapalahunters call.
So I bypassed the whole coffee/breakfast/shower thing and was at his door at 4:30 and we were off!
Lucky for us, I had been studying the route all week long and had it down pat in my head; I-15 south to jct w/ I-70 east to jct w/ HWY 89 south. Not too hard, right?
Well, after reaching Richfield and stopping at the gas station wondering where the junction was (since the signs said we were already on 89/70), we realized that we'd passed the exit about 10 miles ago.
Finally on 89 south, we wound our way through the craggy canyons and saw a lot of deer. One herd was very large and while we were looking on, a small group of them dashed across the road.
I slammed on my brakes and left an impressive skid mark down the highway to avoid hitting the death-wish deer, but still barely pegged one of them across the rear hooves at the last 5 mph of my deceleration. It wasn't fazed and kept bouncing its way into the herd.
Needless to say our adrenaline was pumping pretty hard by now. We were grateful that a potential disaster was averted.
Eventually, we made it to the lake about an hour later than originally planned (pickup 30 min late and detour through Richfield) to see the boat already on the water. We were just glad they didn't wait around for us.
My fault, completely. Sorry for the lag, guys.
They came over to the shore and picked us up reporting early success! They've got some pics that I'm sure they'll post later. One of the early fish was a serious toad.
Once we were all on board, the rods started bending for some healthy rainbows.
The whole reservoir was open water except for one patch of ice near the dam that got blown around all day.
Gorgeous place. I forsee some near-future summer campouts.
As you can see, the north end has some pretty nice cliffs by the dam and they wrap around to the east, as well.
We continued to troll and pick up a fish here and there.
The fish were all "keeper" size so far, but there was only one problem:
I hadn't caught anything yet. My new LuckyCraft didn't pick up any hits and I couldn't score with the pop gear either. What gives?
I was out of my element. We decided to beach on the far side and try the old minnow routine on the sweet looking cliffs. No dice.
Mark another off for rapalahunter with this awesome brown:
A little closer:
It's always nice to see a brown come from a lake of any kind.
He and Weekend Warrior took a jaunt and explored the surrounding area finding a nice bay that was hidden from the steady breeze. Weekend Warrior had a taker pretty quickly on some PB.
Orvis1 and I sat around on the rocks trying different methods, but couldn't get anything going from the eastern cliffs. Once rapalahunter and Weekend Warrior returned with reports of activity where they were, I decided I wanted to try it out too.
Rapala and Orvis went back out on the water for some more trolling and WW and I went for a hike to find the fish.
Once we arrived at the bay, I lobbed out a minnow and a worm under a bubble (the old stand-by when catching is slow). WW missed a couple of PB bites and I finally got my first action for the day:
Well hey there, fella! Aren't you a nice, chewed up brown?
Great coloring and speckle pattern, but those fins were hashed! Not a bad brownie at 19". I was pretty surprised to see 2 browns from the same lake on the same trip. Kind of a rarity for me.
So I shed the fishing funk and as soon as I was done handling the brown, my line started pulling out from my minnow rod (score!). I hefty rainbow was the ticket this time.
I didn't want to "have to" keep any more by using harmful bait tactics, so I tied on a brand new Kastmaster and started launching that out as far as the eye can see (those things really fly!). A few adjustments in my retrieval and I had 3 more feisty bows within minutes, one of them providing us with a dazzling show of aerial acrobatics.
It was good to get back to what I'm more comfortable with (shore fishing...
eh?) and actually hook up with some nice fishies. Meanwhile on the boat:
Orvis1 and rapalahunter were still catching fish:
Orvis1 pulled in the catch of the day:
Oh, that was smallest catch of the day.
Back to the cliffs:
WW and I were satisfied with our hike and placed ourselves atop the "fishless" cliffs to get the attention of the boat. The boat came by, but the wind had blown the ice right into our area and we had to do some fancy downclimbing to get to a makeshift boarding zone that would have to do.
We got back on the boat for another chance at trolling.
Orvis1 hooked into a couple of cuties. Hey! No
! And then WW finally landed a fish on his Xrap that he'd lost a few on earlier. This would be the last fish of the day:
Pack'em up and move'em out! Just a shameless plug for Orvis1's sweet-mobile:
The 30% change of precipitation we were told by the forecast had now turned to 100% chance of precipitation with a slight chance of death on the drive home.
There were so many gorgeous places we drove through to get home, but if we were ever going to make it in a timely manner, we couldn't afford to pull over to take pics of everything. I really wish we had more hours in the day!
Wow, what a day!!! We had a great time at a great place to be and I can't wait to get back there when it's a little warmer.
Thanks Orvis1, for setting up a great day full of belly laughs and chubby fish!
Happy Fishing, Humans.
The only thing he didn't tell you about was me and weekend warriors co-fish we caught. I hooked it on the spoon bagan to real it in when the boat started doing circles (rusty) so I handed the rod to weekend warrior and he fished the job on a beautiful 22" bow:
The thing that was so impressive besides the ice monster being gone was all of the fish were soo fat and healthy! The fishing was pretty steady all day long until the blizzard hit us, and I now know that a blizzard will kill the fishing mojo. We started hooking up on a UV squid and poped two chunky fish right before the blizzard hit then it is like someone hit a lightswitch and it turned right off. Raplahunter had the mojo working early in the day trolling:
Then we stopped for some lunch and shore fishing with the minnows. After about 1/2 hour of no action and watching my boat just sit there not being properly utilized we headed back out on the water!
Weekend warrior got into the action with his x-rap finally holding on to a fish, he had missed several others on it. It naturally gave us an opening for the rest of him to give him crap until he finally landed one!
It was sure great to get out on soft water even though it was colder than most ice fishing trips I have been one, but in my own element more fish made it into my hands. One last parting fish porn for you to enjoy!
Thanks again to weekend warrior, Loah, and rapala hunter for such and enjoyable day on the water we need to do that again! I can't wait for the warm weather and being able to troll and flyfish in shorts again! CMON SPRING!
Edit for whatever reason the pics didn' show up so here are a few of them....
[#ff0000]EDIT: The pics did not show up "Inline" because they are too large. Maximum pixel width 450. Please do not copy and paste from a photobucket or another website.[/#ff0000]
[signature]
] Beautiful place and big healthy fish. Sure did feel good to see and fish on open water. Did much better at Otter Creek. Had the perfect Ice Off experience. 2 limits in less than a hour but thats another story, had never been there either. I got pics from both trips and will post them tonight maybe if i get some time. Also stopped at Yuba on the way home, had never laid eyes on it before. Boy i got a busy summer ahead of me. [crazy] Too many lakes not enough time. What a great problem to have!
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