I am headed up to the Uintas this weekend to Granddaddy basin, but I just found out I will have to come out a day early, but was hoping to run up and day hike into Wilder, Wyman, and Packard lake. (3 small likes along the Highline trail. I have been along this trail dozens of times but usually keep going to Naturalist, or further up the Highline. Does anyone have any info on these lakes?
Thanks,
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They're all close to the same elevation as Trial lake, so they should be fishable. All 3 have Brook Trout in them. Wilder is the smaller of the 3 lakes. I've never fished them so I can't say which would be the best to fish.
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Also, those lakes aren't necessarily right off the Highline Trail like Scudder is. You still have a mile or two to go once you leave the main trail.
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We fished them last fall and had the best luck at the first lake you come to. I can't remember if thats Wyman or Wilder. It's full of small brookies. The fish in the other lakes are a little bigger, but nothing to shout about, just typical Uinta brookies. It is a pretty area with good camping.
Hope that helps.
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Its been years since I've been to those lakes. Wilder is the first one from Highline trailhead, and can winterkill, but if not can be better action. Packard is a favorite, is deep and the outlet flows out to a beautiful waterfall above the Duchesne River. It can produce 12 inch Brookies, good for the Uintas. But there is a lot of great fishing in the Grandaddy Basin. Let us know how it goes.
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Just got home and the fishing was pretty much what you guys said. Wilder was the fastest and we caught a bunch of 8'-10' Brookies. My wife actually brought 2 in before I even had my rod ready. She was doing well on spinners and I was practicing dry's on my fly pole.
I also caught a couple fish in the tiny creek flowing out of Wilder on an ant pattern and they will definately go down as the fish caught on the smallest body of water I have ever fished. All in all it was a beautiful day up there, especially since we were the only people at the lakes, hopefully that will be the case tomorrow at Fehr, Shepard, and Hoover.
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I am real interested in hearing how well you do in the Murdock Basin lakes.
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That's another nice little chain of lakes. I usually fish Shepard once a year or so and do well for brookies and some rainbows 10"-12". I have never done any good on Fehr, but I know some one who did well at Feher last fall, with at least one larger fish. I have only caught a few fish in Hoover, but I have hardly fished it. I will be interested in how it goes.
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Well got up there for a bit today, and did okay. Caught a couple Brookies at Fehr but it was pretty slow. Did better at Shepard though. Most in the 8-10' range but did get a couple that were pushing 12'. Didn't make it up to Hoover, maybe another time.
I have been hiking these areas for years, but haven't really fished em much since I was a kid, having a good time doing it though. Do you guys know which lakes have decent populations of Grayling? I would like to add another species in.
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Fish, Round, and Sand out of Holliday Park have good populations of grayling. I have never fished them myself.
There are some other interesting grayling lakes in the Uintas, but they probably require an overnight backpacking trip.
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Overnight hikes work perfectly. I am actually planning on going out in for a weekend in a few weeks. Any suggestions would be great.
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Carolyn Lake just off the Highline Trail near Pigeon Milk Spring is loaded with grayling. When I was there most the fish were smaller but with a small white-ish fly you could get one on every cast (fly-and_bubble).
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Some of the other lakes are small and sensitive. So I will have to let you do some research on your own.[cool]
Thats half the fun right?
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Fair enough, That is probably true. I actually plan on doing quite a bit of exploring this summer, specifically to trailless lakes up there.
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I think you will be well rewarded for your off trail efforts.
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[font "Verdana"][#ff0000]whisper... Allen ...
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Whisper.....lake somewhat close to Allen.......
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Last weekend I took my own advice and did a little prospecting for Grayling. I was surprised to find a lake that was unkown to me with nice fish in it.
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My goodness!! Those Grayling are Gigantic!!! Nice work Bill.
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