We went fishing Sat. afternoon at Lamont. It was beautiful! The weather was great, the sun was shining, it was warm, the water was 70 degrees, and the fish were biting. It was just about a perfect afternoon. We got there at about 5 pm and didn't leave until about 9:30. It was hard to tell the fish to quit biting so that we could go.
The trout were about 12 inches (planters), the bass were from 9 to 11 inches, and the blue gill were on the smaller side, but it sure was fun, and had a tasty ending for the bluegill.
This is the way that I help my hubby to recuperate - take him fishing -the best medicine in the world! (7 broken ribs - motorcycle) Of course he turned just as I was taking the picture of him catching a fish.
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There were a number of other people out enjoying the day on the bank and in some boats.
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I also caught four crappie which I released.
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The planters were fun, I hope that many of them will still be there in the fall when they have grown up some.
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The prelude to a tasty dinner:
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Even better, I got a picture of what I think is a painted turtle. They are native to northern Idaho and have been seen in recent years in Boise area and in St Anthony. If this isn't a release by some pet owner, then it is a pretty amazing and rare sighting. Its shell was at least 8 to 10 inches long.
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Hey these pictures worked.
I have a turtle and they look a lot alike. I would like to know if it got there naturaly or dumped. Our family love turtles. Ron
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great picture of the turtle. i would guesse its probly natural. i have seen them in a few locations in the preston area. we have a family pond that they just showed up in one year. there numbers seem to fluxuate we had as many as 11 one year and as few as 2 the next. we have also caught them out of the bear river while catfishing.
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Great information on the turtle. I would prefer it being native, rather than a lonely lost pet.
The only thing I could find about them in Idaho said that they were native to the north part of Idaho. If they are common in the area, maybe they consider the Bear River area as Utah!!!?
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Glad to see more and more crappie turning up in there. I hope they become established in Lamont.
Also cool to see the turtle. I grew up in New England where painted turtles were abundant. It's good to see them out west. I actually saw a bunch on the Provo River down near Utah Lake, so maybe they're distributed even further south than they're supposed to be.
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Yeah, I would like to see the crappie really take off in Lamont. It would be great to have another place to fish for them. That is the primary reason that I released all of the ones I caught. Plus they were only about 8 inches!
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Hey, we just missed each other. I would have really liked to meet you. My kids and I fished Lamont on Friday evening from 4-7 PM and then again on Sat. from 7:30-11 AM.
Sounds like you did similiar to what we did. We caught a ton of stocker rainbows. I didn't count the bass but I caught plenty of 8-11" I got one that was 13" but really skinny.
I was actually impressed with the size of the bluegill. Especially as compared to those in Johnson. I usually judge a bluegill to be an eater if they are the size of my hand or bigger. I got plenty of "handers." I released all mine as I had things to do on Sat evening and knew I wouldn't have time to fillet them. I fished every pocket and nook on the brushy shore lines so I may have put down many of the big guys before you came. Sorry about that.[
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Also caught one crappie and let it go so there will hopefully be more of them in the future. It was agressive I caught it on a 3 1/2" curly tail grub.
Were the powerboats there when you came? On Friday evening they were water skiing and the wake was making me sea sick.
Windriver
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Dang, that would have been fun to meet your family.
I think that by the afternoon on Saturday a lot of the local boaters went to the demolition derby in town. There were a couple of small fishing boats, one nice bass boat, and a jet skier. The jet skier was the only one making a wake most of the time. We really lucked out.
Most of the fish were small, but it was sure great to see the temperatures up and the fish biting. The waters should continue to improve.
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When did crappie get into Lamont? F&G didnt plant any there from what I see on their website. I agree its great to see another locaiton, but if we know when they got in there, might help determine age class and what spawning might take place. Is anyone getting more than just one or two here and there?
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They have been in there for a few years. They come from the canal that feeds it which comes from Glendale. I have caught a few here and there and there numbers and size are growing. Can't wait until they grow.
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You sure on the canal from Glenndale, I dont think it goes there. It goes into Foster then its not high enough to get to Lamont. The canal that feeds Lamont does come out of the same creek except way up a lot higher so I guess they could get there, but its very remote that way especially with the canal going dry so long during the year. Check out goggle earth where the Lamont canal is at.
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I caught 4 crappie in 5 hours while targeting bluegill. They were all about the same size - about 8 inches. I personally think that they were bucket bio. It is possible that they swam up the creek from Glendale to the diversion where the canal to Lamont starts, but I don't know what screens or dams may be there. More likely that someone helped them out.
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I only caught one last year, but it sounds like their population is growing. I just wish the bass would get bigger in there. A 12" fish is pretty exciting at Lamont.
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Most of the bass I got were 11 inches. Twelve would have been a whopper. They were fun anyway. I wonder if they are stunted or just over harvested. Anyone know?
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I do enjoy fishing Lamont with light tackle. It's fast action and it's not as noisy as Glendale. As for the bass size, I'm leaning toward stunted. Both times I fished it last year I caught around 50 bass, and none of them broke 12". Most were right around 10 or 11". It seems like they're everywhere, just not in any size. However, it could just be that I'm not fishing the right spots or techniques for the bigger fish. I know of other places in the area that are known for lots of small bass, but after working on them I've found lots of nicer fish. Maybe Lamont is one of these places too.
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