06-03-2009, 05:05 PM
Yesterday I had a chance to hit the Uintas. I don't want to hot-spot the small lake I ended up at was so I will be general in my description.
We tried to get to some of the lakes in the Trial Lake area (from Kamas) but there is still too much snow to get access. Because of a big snow bank in the road that goes to the Crystal Lake Trailhead we could not get past the Trial Lake dam. So all the lakes in that direction were out. I did get out of the car and go look at Trail lake itself. It was still 80% frozen. There is a little fishable water near the dam, but it is pretty shallow there. Just for curiousity we drove up to Teapot, Lilly and Lost. Teapot was mostly ice covered, with a few small patches of open water. Lilly Lake was covered with very rotten ice, and not fishable. Lost Lake was about 40% ice-free. The open area was near the road. I did see a few circles where fish jumped. Because of this I would assume that most of the lakes in that area still need some time to thaw even if you are willing to hike in over the snow. I did not drive up the road any further than Lost Lake so I can't report on the road over Bald Mtn Pass.
We ended up at a lower elevation lake. The fishing was good once we figured them out. A night crawler about ten feet from shore was the best menu item for brookies in the 9-11 inch range. It did not rain but is was foggy the whole time we were there. Most of the time we could not see the other side of the small lake. The water was like glass so with the fog the sky blended into the water right down to your feet. It was like your bobber mystically hung in the air some where in front of you. It was really strange and disorienting but very cool.
I could not believe how many deer we saw along the way. We even saw some elk along the highway, 2 different groups of three and one other near the lake we were at. It is pretty rare to see the elk along the road like that. At least I never have.
All in all a fantastic day. But, the Uintas still need a little more time for most of the lakes to open up. The lower camp grounds are open but the ones around Trial will take a while still. The rivers and streams are FULL and fast, so be careful with the kids.
[signature]
We tried to get to some of the lakes in the Trial Lake area (from Kamas) but there is still too much snow to get access. Because of a big snow bank in the road that goes to the Crystal Lake Trailhead we could not get past the Trial Lake dam. So all the lakes in that direction were out. I did get out of the car and go look at Trail lake itself. It was still 80% frozen. There is a little fishable water near the dam, but it is pretty shallow there. Just for curiousity we drove up to Teapot, Lilly and Lost. Teapot was mostly ice covered, with a few small patches of open water. Lilly Lake was covered with very rotten ice, and not fishable. Lost Lake was about 40% ice-free. The open area was near the road. I did see a few circles where fish jumped. Because of this I would assume that most of the lakes in that area still need some time to thaw even if you are willing to hike in over the snow. I did not drive up the road any further than Lost Lake so I can't report on the road over Bald Mtn Pass.
We ended up at a lower elevation lake. The fishing was good once we figured them out. A night crawler about ten feet from shore was the best menu item for brookies in the 9-11 inch range. It did not rain but is was foggy the whole time we were there. Most of the time we could not see the other side of the small lake. The water was like glass so with the fog the sky blended into the water right down to your feet. It was like your bobber mystically hung in the air some where in front of you. It was really strange and disorienting but very cool.
I could not believe how many deer we saw along the way. We even saw some elk along the highway, 2 different groups of three and one other near the lake we were at. It is pretty rare to see the elk along the road like that. At least I never have.
All in all a fantastic day. But, the Uintas still need a little more time for most of the lakes to open up. The lower camp grounds are open but the ones around Trial will take a while still. The rivers and streams are FULL and fast, so be careful with the kids.
[signature]
]