Payson Canyon fishing report 6/26/19

[catchinon]

I took my youngest son and his wife fishing up Payson Canyon on Wednesday. We first went to McClellan Lake hoping to get some brookies. We tried worms and PowerBait under bobbers and garnered a couple of tentative nibbles but really had no action. When we were about to leave, an older man and two young adults came along and told us that they had gotten a few from Big East Lake and had tried the third little lake with no success, though they usually did well there. Before we could get gone the gentleman landed a fish from the spot we had been fishing for an hour! They were using a typical bottom rig with PowerBait. We had thought the weeds would have made that impossible but that shows what we know.

I thought we would do better at Maple Lake so we went there and paid our $9 parking fee (grrrrr). The lake was quite low and had a lot of logs and debris blown in to the dam area where we wanted to fish in the deeper water. We even had to dodge a derelict boy-scout raft that kept blowing around in the changing breezes. We did better there. We were getting occasional bites when we could get our casts out far enough and our bait deep enough. Eventually I caught a planter but neither of the others could get one to shore. Again I was hoping for a brook, but no. We finally had enough and headed home, thinking we would go back out later, but we were all pooped out and never made it. We made a plan to go to Lincoln Beach in the morning to try for cats and white bass. See another post for that trip.
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[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the report Craig, any idea why Maple Lake is so low? Seems to me, with all the snow we received this past Winter all lakes should pretty much fill this year[:/].
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[catchinon]

It's pretty much a pothole with no fresh water stream entering it. It fills from the the little snow water from the hill above it. I don't know if there are any springs that feed it but even if there are the geology is such that there wouldn't be much flow from them either.
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[Kent]

There is a substantial spring that feeds Maple Lake. If it was low there has to be another reason other than lack of water running into it.
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[Boatloadakids]

Agree with Kent on this one. There has always been a good flow of water running into Maple Lake. The dam was built to store the water for irrigation purposes. The spring should be flowing strong, especially this year. Years past I have taken some 4-5 pound bows from that little lake.
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[catchinon]

It's a mystery to me. I've fished it a number of times so I can tell it is really low. I know you both have lived many years near there and have a good knowledge base. Do you suppose it could have anything to do with the fire?
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[Boatloadakids]

Maybe they are releasing a heavy flow of water from the dam in anticipation of heavier runoff to come later? It is possible the fire has diverted the flow from the spring away from Maple, too. Dunno.
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[fish_fanatic]

Sounds like you still had a good time Craig. July 12th I am getting a group together for Deer Creek hope you can make it? It sounds like Pat will make it.
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[catchinon]

Thanks, I saw that. I don't have a tube but might get my little boat going.
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