I AM COMPLETE

[LOAH]

Sorry for the late report, but I spent so much time fishing that I didn't have time to post!

I'm not sure if I can fit everything I did into one report, but I fit it all into one day, so here goes:

My plan was to fish all day on Father's Day. The only problem was that my son had a bad tummy on Saturday night and I was afforded absolutely NO sleep by the time I was supposed to start getting ready. Being the type of guy I am, I couldn't let a little speed bump like that prevent me from seeing it through, so in went the coffee and I was gone at 5:00am.

My goal was to get into a lake or two that I had tried to access over the past month, but my previous attempts had always been thwarted by the lingering snow from this year's big winter. It didn't really matter when I got there, but I just wanted to check them out.

I heard that the cutts at Electric Lake were getting colored up for the spawn and I wanted to see that, so the North inlet was my first stop. Sadly, I couldn't trick any into biting for me. I saw a few jumping, but they weren't interested in my offerings.

Driving back toward HWY 31, I thought I'd stop in at Boulger and Beaver Dam Reservoirs. I'd never fished either and just needed to satisfy my curiosity.

Boulger was very murky, but I got a couple to strike the LC pointer. Typical planters, but still hit hard and fun to catch.

Beaver Dam was clear and there was plenty of surface action. I pulled in a couple of rainbows and noticed a bunch of albinos hanging around my area. I'd never caught an albino, so I threw all sorts of stuff at them. They gave chase for most lures, but wouldn't take. I even whipped some flies at them, but nothing there either. Finally, I tied on the proven #2 Brass Blue Fox and picked up my first albino:



Cross another off the list. Here's Beaver Dam Reservoir:



I stayed and caught a few more fish, basically at will with the BF, and then decided to start moving closer to the main destination.

It was nice to see that most of the snow at the summit of Fairview Canyon had melted since my last visit.





It was hard to keep driving past Huntington, but I managed and turned off onto Miller Flat Road, which was open and 99.99% dry. I love this road. It saves me a lot of time and it keeps me in the scenic country rather than driving through a couple of towns to get to Joe's Valley.

I didn't expect to try Miller Flat Reservoir, but it was so full and pretty that I couldn't resist pulling over a couple of times on my way past.

I didn't hit it hard, just flipped the BF around a bit, but I got a good hit from a following rainbow that I missed and then I had a decent tiger on for a couple of seconds before it shook the hook. Best guess would be 15 inches on the tiger. That's all the action I got there. The water was clear, but there was a lot of flotsam along the shoreline and adrift. I've never seen it so high! The water is all the way up past the grass. Plenty of submerged dandelions, still in bloom. It's a nice lake. I'll be back for sure.



I couldn't help but check on Potter's Ponds while I was passing by, so I pulled in to flip the spinner around for a minute and take in the scenery.







Pretty place (minus the powerlines by the 2nd pond). The first pond was kind of murky with zero surface action, but I provoked a couple of small bows to come to hand. The second pond had better looking water, but I couldn't get anything to bite there, nor did I see any.

Well, I'd been out for 7 hours now and still hadn't done what I'd set out to do, so it was time to hit the road and not allow myself any more distractions.

The drive from Potter's Ponds to Lower Joe's Valley is very pleasing to the eyes and soul. Even though I'd told myself "no more stops", I had to stop and take in the beauty.



Looks like a great place to have a picnic and take a nap.



Hard to keep one's eye on the road when traveling through God's country *tear*.

Okay! Back to my mission!

I made it to the spot on the road where a 300ft long drift had blocked passage just 3 weeks before and was grateful to keep driving this time rather than turn around again. I was so relieved that I let out an audible "WOOT". I continued through the meadows and trees until I reached a beautiful small mountain lake.



I love how all the water in the area has that soft emerald hue. It didn't take long to pull in the small fish with my Blue Fox. I wanted to get an idea of their typical size before throwing any bait at them. I'd rather let the little ones go. Here's one:



Most of the tigers that I saw were about that size, but the rainbows were a bit bigger. The fishing was so hot that I decided to give the fly rod another go. I'm glad I did. I started to "get it" and really got a decent rhythm going with my casting. It didn't take long and I had my first catch with my fly rod!



Hallelujah! Shortly thereafter, number two:





It was great to finally get that monkey off my back!

With that hurdle cleared, I went back to flipping the Blue Fox. The wind had picked up anyway.

So that was the "plan A" spot from weeks past and I still hadn't seen the "plan B" spot. Off I went and, again, was baffled by the profound beauty to be seen along the way.





This tree looked like it was flagging me down to take a picture, so I obliged.



A couple more pretty meadow shots:





So after a cautious, bumpy ride down the rutted, rocky dirt road, I made it to plan B.



Nice looking place. I got right to it with the blue fox and had plenty of small followers, but wasn't getting very many connections. I did manage my first brookie of the year though:



Pretty little guy. I tried to find his bigger brother, but he evaded me. I was surprised to see this guy on my line a little later:



The fish were everywhere, but they weren't liking the blue fox as much as I was, so I switched to something I could launch a little further. As soon as I started throwing the Jake's lure, it was fish on, fish on, fish on!

Some examples:





And then this pretty fella:



So far, I had only held on to that last albino I photoed. I thought about keeping that nice tiger, but decided to let it swim. There was another lake "close by".

I'd read stocking information on another lake that was somewhat close and was interested to see how big the fish would be. It required a 1 mile hike through the forest, so I donned my "No Bears Allowed" sign:



I could see a bunch of fish in a tiny brook that originated somewhere off the trail, so I took a moment to see if I could bring any in for closer inspection. I picked up a gorgeous little wild bow (notice how small the stream was):



The trail was an old ATV trail that had been blocked and restricted to hikers or equestrian only, so that increased my hopes of minimal pressure on the fish that awaited me.

It was a great little hike with much to gawk at along the way.



I noticed another small stream off to the side and had to investigate as it pooled up in an ancient, silted-in beaver pond.







The pond dropped off about 10 feet or so on the other side of the barrier, so it had to be old to silt in that much (although landslides are somewhat frequent in the area).

Sadly, there were no fish in this water. There were too many barriers along the stream to allow passage from one place to the next.

After getting back on the trail and following for some time, despite the deceptive signs with arrows pointing the wrong way, I found my lake.



"That's it?", I wondered. After making my way around it looking for any signs of life beside the croaking of frogs, I realized that 1) there were no fish there and 2) Even if there were, fishing for them would be nearly impossible with the impenetrable vegetation that plagued nearly every inch of this lake. Besides that, the deepest part of the lake was MAYBE 3 feet. MAYBE.

I couldn't help but wonder where the fish were. The stocking reports showed an annual regimen of tigers and bows, but with the water being so shallow, there's no way anything could survive winter...Especially the one we just had. I couldn't find any dead fish either.

Very strange.

Oh well. It was good to remember what a nice hike feels like and I saw some great scenery while I was at it, not to mention 3 huge elk that I came within 50 feet of.

I head back toward my car with intentions of leaving for a chance at adding cutthroat to my list of trout caught today. It was to kiss this beautiful area goodbye, but I'm sure I'll be back.



On my way down the rough road, I encountered something that you upland gamers might enjoy:



Sorry for the grainy pic, but that's as close as it let me get with it zoomed in.

I got back on the main path and was back by the turn-off to the Joe's Valley boat ramp at 7:00. I didn't want to miss any fishing time in the sunlight at Electric, so I screamed up Miller Flat road and made that distance in 34 minutes. I didn't even run anyone off the road!

That little car can rally!

Once I got to the dam at Electric I picked up a couple of keeper size cutts with my kastmaster and missed a really good one that got off right by my feet.

Here's what the more unfortunate cutties looked like:



The sun dipped down behind the mountains and I needed to get going. I hadn't slept since Friday night and I had to work the following day (today).

I still couldn't resist a quick try for a tiger out of Huntington though, as the light faded. No dice, time to go.

The retreating light had left a nice signature on the horizon as I crested the canyon, once more.



I saw a whole bunch of deer on the way down and was glad none of them had a death wish. I picked up my wife at her mother's house in Spanish Fork at 10:45 and made it home safely as sleep deprivation made shadows twitch and dance across my windshield.

So to make a long story short, I made the most of a 17+ hour fishing day visiting 9 different lakes, catching a ton of fish all day, taking a nice scenic hike, and driving like a maniac. There were only two places that I tried to visit (I forgot to mention...maybe on purpose ), but either gates were still locked or I'd need a 4WD vehicle to get to. Other than that, the roads were dry and solid (mostly) and the fishing was hot.

I'm left with a feeling of gratitude and humility, that I could have the opportunity to wander such a beautiful world. I am complete.
[signature]

[trout_slayer]

Un-Freakin'-believeable Report!!!!!!!! And GREAT photo's. I tell you what, I would give my.........right big toe to do what you just did, MAN OH MAN!!! Doing it again sometime in the future? Count me in, I am good for some gas money or I will drive, whatever!!!!

TS
[signature]

[Kent]

Wow, if we still had the Post of the Week contest going you would win it hands down. Thanks for letting us share your wonderful adventure and making it come alive with your great pictures and stories.
[signature]

[aceman698]

That was an awsome report and beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing i hope i get a day like that
[signature]

[lavaman]

Fantastic! We are all jealous, I know I am. That's how a fishing trip should be IMO...lots of fish and lots of scenery.

What a super post.
[signature]

[LordoftheFlies]

Nice report man. I remember you from the other, now defunct, site. As always your reports are very thorough with pics. Welcome! Oh, by the way, nice screen name.[]
[signature]

[doggonefishin]

Thanks for a great report! Fantastic pictures and writing! They remind me of a more carefree time in my life when I used to do trips like that. (well, almost like that, not as ambitious) I even have fished several of those spots and they bring back lots of good memories.
Thanks again.
[signature]

[fsh4fun05]

Now that sounds like a good time. I wanted to go fishing on Fathers Day but I had to finish the flooring in my house. Ya, I finished but after reading your report I might have been better off fishing. Thanks for the pics, I like the tree waving you down.
[signature]

[mactuna]

Great report, beautiful fish.
[signature]

[line_dangler]

I can't take anymore torture![frown] That is some spectacular country you got to explore. I always like fishing small mountain places for small fish.

Is anyone else having trouble seeing the last few pics, you know gettin ghte red x box icons?
[signature]

[LOAH]

I'm embarrassed, but I have to admit that the grassy, fishless lake that I hiked to was not the one I was aiming for.

Turns out, I hiked a mile past my target and went to a lake that has never been planted.

Looks like I'll have to find some time to get back up there in a few weeks. More new waters to fish in the meantime, though.[]
[signature]

[lunkerhunter2]

You are causing quite a stir on this board with this post! Seem that you are in the running for the all-time best post on the UT board. Great post and pics![]
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

Awesome report dude and I thought your last one was good. You really need to summit this to one of those on-line magazines, they might just turn you into a writer[].
[signature]

[riverdog]

Great report to get one psyched for summer fishing. Probable had solitude most of the trip . Reminds me why I hope to never move from the West.
[signature]

[RILEYFISH]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to put all of that into such a great post. Yes, I am jealous! Brings back memories of fishing with my grandparents in Wyoming.

Look forward to your next Bonanza like that ! Thanks LOAH. Yes you are complete!
[signature]

[Nica]

Very nice post...thank you very much for sharing. What a marathon, 17 hour day fishing 9 lakes, that's crazy fishing.
[signature]