05-15-2018, 05:06 PM
After many years of commercial fishing together, I finally got to take my father out fishing on Deer Creek yesterday morning. He lives in Homer, Alaska and has been down here in Utah for the last 3 months after my mother passed away. Finally got him to go fishing today.
We launched around 9 am at the state park and only saw 2 other empty trailers in the parking lot. We started trolling as soon as we cleared the white buoys and went along the shore of the big hill. The water was about 57 degrees and there was just a light breeze.
Only had one light hit along the shore, but no hook up.
We rounded the corner into Rainbow bay and made a turn to port when we neared the buoys and headed to the point for another turn. Not to far from the point we got our first hook up. A nice fat 16 inch reanbow that gave a good fight and even a couple jumps into the water. I forgot my landing net but it was hooked well and so I just lined him in. Dang, he broke the tail hook of my favorite black/silver 7cm flicker shad!. Oh well.
I put on a custom painted willow leaf and a banana sinker to get down to 12-16 feet (I stopped using lead line a couple years ago and just use banana sinkers with a snubber to long line).
Made the 2nd turn and 15 minutes later got the 2nd hook up on the willow leaf trolling spoon. Another nice fat rainbow.
Made the third turn and changed another pole to a spoon with a rainbow pattern. By this time it was about 10:30. Nothing. The bite seemed to stop, so we headed over to the other side where we saw some surface action. Rigged up a nice fly and split shot to troll the surface. Saw a dozen or so surface jumps of fish feeding on a hatch. Nothing, so back to the other side and back down the hill towards the launch ramp to end the day.
Not to far from the launch got the 3rd and last hook up of the day. Another nice fat Rainbow. Got 3-4 just from him. Hooked him up on a home made crank bait in a brown trout pattern. (that lure has caught at least a dozen trout on DC)
Trout went home for lunch where it fed me and Dad and my son. Great to have a tasty fish lunch for the first of the season.
It was great to have Dad along. He reminisced about the 40s and 50s when he was a youngster and they fished on DC and Strawberry. They used to fish from the shore for yellow perch along Rainbow Bay where they would have races to catch 10 then 20 and then 50.
In those days the he said they would catch fish which often weigh 3-4-5 pounds. Big ole fat Rainbows. His friend caught a huge Brown in Charleston bay by the bridge. 36 inches or something like that.
At 77 my dad is still planning on drift fishing for salmon on Cook Inlet this year with a couple. He is sure a fisherman at heart.
Thanks, Dad..
[signature]
We launched around 9 am at the state park and only saw 2 other empty trailers in the parking lot. We started trolling as soon as we cleared the white buoys and went along the shore of the big hill. The water was about 57 degrees and there was just a light breeze.
Only had one light hit along the shore, but no hook up.
We rounded the corner into Rainbow bay and made a turn to port when we neared the buoys and headed to the point for another turn. Not to far from the point we got our first hook up. A nice fat 16 inch reanbow that gave a good fight and even a couple jumps into the water. I forgot my landing net but it was hooked well and so I just lined him in. Dang, he broke the tail hook of my favorite black/silver 7cm flicker shad!. Oh well.
I put on a custom painted willow leaf and a banana sinker to get down to 12-16 feet (I stopped using lead line a couple years ago and just use banana sinkers with a snubber to long line).
Made the 2nd turn and 15 minutes later got the 2nd hook up on the willow leaf trolling spoon. Another nice fat rainbow.
Made the third turn and changed another pole to a spoon with a rainbow pattern. By this time it was about 10:30. Nothing. The bite seemed to stop, so we headed over to the other side where we saw some surface action. Rigged up a nice fly and split shot to troll the surface. Saw a dozen or so surface jumps of fish feeding on a hatch. Nothing, so back to the other side and back down the hill towards the launch ramp to end the day.
Not to far from the launch got the 3rd and last hook up of the day. Another nice fat Rainbow. Got 3-4 just from him. Hooked him up on a home made crank bait in a brown trout pattern. (that lure has caught at least a dozen trout on DC)
Trout went home for lunch where it fed me and Dad and my son. Great to have a tasty fish lunch for the first of the season.
It was great to have Dad along. He reminisced about the 40s and 50s when he was a youngster and they fished on DC and Strawberry. They used to fish from the shore for yellow perch along Rainbow Bay where they would have races to catch 10 then 20 and then 50.
In those days the he said they would catch fish which often weigh 3-4-5 pounds. Big ole fat Rainbows. His friend caught a huge Brown in Charleston bay by the bridge. 36 inches or something like that.
At 77 my dad is still planning on drift fishing for salmon on Cook Inlet this year with a couple. He is sure a fisherman at heart.
Thanks, Dad..
[signature]