2020 - Not So Bad

[LOAH]

Almost all accounts of 2020, from all directions considered 2020 to be the worst year ever.

I went fishing and had a great time.

First trip of the year came a little late and I didn't wet a line until March, at Otter Creek Reservoir with brookieguy1. Our first stop at the lake didn't materialize into any fish, but I still managed to leave my net there, which was never seen again.

Nice work. Pay those fishing taxes early for good luck, right? Right?

Anyhow, we made our way around to the state park and ended up doing pretty well, working the shoreline around the big knob. Several sturdy rainbows met me briefly and were on their way. Most were around this size.



One was quite nice, but I didn't get great photos of it, due to the awkward position I had to get in to catch it and my lack of a net. Regardless, it was a fun day and it felt great to cast into open water and wrap my hand around some thick trout.

Next trip was to a local stream called Soldier Creek, where I caught a few small browns and cutthroat from some beaver ponds with my fly rod.





Joe's Valley hosted me for a morning and I had something really big on the line for a couple of minutes before it broke me off. I only saw a large silvery flash underwater, so I'm not 100% sure what species it may have been.

A couple of smaller cutthroat were landed and then I made my way home, making sure to stop at the creek for a bit.



My next trip is the one that finally broke the Rodeo's back. A southbound trip to meet up with brookieguy1 and his friend for some big brookies.









Here's Dave with a fine round specimen:





It was a pretty good day. Many fish were caught. I made it there and back, but a trip to the shop let me know that much of my front end would need to be repaired and the cost was a bit much for my Rodeo. 

With 238k miles, 3 doors that no longer worked, banged up exterior, and many smaller issues, it just wasn't worth the money to fix up. My family hated riding in it at that point and it was time to let it go.

It served as a fishing shed for the next year before I sold it off last summer. Still ran though. Not bad for less than $2000. It lasted 11 years and 120k miles of my abuse. Well done, Rodeo. Well done.

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The next trip was a 2 mile stomp in the Uintas with BG1 for a day of spanking smaller brookies. By Uinta standards, they weren't small, but they weren't exactly what we'd hoped for either.

Regardless, it was lights out fast action and we had a good time.



Derpy brook:





Dozens of fish, about this size:



It was a day of really good fishing.

Another week was spent checking up on an old favorite area that used to give up some nice fish. It was a stormy day and I found myself in a heavy hailstorm while catching smallish brookies and a few small tigers.

After I'd had enough of the easy catching, I made my exit, rewarded for my stormy stay by a beautiful rainbow.

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My next trip was really good. BG1 drove and we floated a fun lake with some decent fish in it. Both of us caught quite a few brookies and we each caught a golden trout of 15.5", which was the goal.















Now that was a great day. I'd like to go back this year and check on them.

My next trip was a family camp out near Potters Ponds. We had a really nice campsite and saw plenty of wildlife throughout our stay. We even had a cow moose within 40 feet of us at one point.

That was when the comet was visible too, and we enjoyed a great dark sky for stargazing. That was really fun and everyone enjoyed themselves.





The fishing was okay for planters, but we just needed to get out.

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The following trip was a float at an easily accessible, though hardly noticed lake in the Uintas for some decent sized brookies. 







The lake was mostly shallow and I was only able to find fish in one spot. I was glad to have brought my tube. It was a good day.





BG1 invited me for another float trip to a fun water and we enjoyed some great fishing for brookies and cutthroat.







Good times.

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My next journey was a solo trip where I found a few small cutthroat and one pretty nice one.



Then it was time again for the Uintas, this time with Yonni, for those of you who remember him by that name. We had a good time chasing tigers and we saw a couple of moose as well!





A solo Strawberry float was my next target and I caught a few slot sized cutthroat and several bright red kokanee, which were all over where I was floating. They were unavoidable, but put up a good fight.



Back to floating for brookies and cutthroat with Dave.



Thick.

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Loving those fish.



We had so much fun that we went back for more.







I even did well from shore after I'd packed my tube up and waiting for Dave to finish up.





This one was a beast.



But Dave got honors on the beastliest fish of the day.



Crazy looking brookie!



2020 wasn't many peoples' favorite year, but I certainly didn't hate it. Myself and my family stayed healthy and never had to deal with a lot of the inconveniences that others did and I'm quite grateful for that.

It was a great year on the water and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Happy Fishing, Humans!

[dubob]

Dude - you need a good hobby and a photography class.

[ARICH7]

Good stuff! Beautiful fish and beautiful scenery.

[joshomaru]

Congrats on the amazing looking golden! Awesome size!
Man, I love your pics and narratives. Thanks for sharing them.
I will press "F" to salute your fallen Rodeo.
Hope you can get your plates on your new adventure vehicle.

[SkunkedAgain]

You're posts though few are by far my favs... such a beautiful collection of images and the fish are totally all dream worthy way to go and keep showing us that that kind of fish are possible... Thanks so much for posting...and when will the 2021 addition be out? Hope I don't miss it... Thanks Jeff

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Hey, how do you get your posts to show pictures that size? That is how a forum should show photos, makes for such a fun read... I'd love to be able to let pictures tell the story as much as words... very well done... J

[sliverslinger]

One heck of a year! Thanks for sharing!

[LOAH]

Hey, how do you get your posts to show pictures that size?  That is how a forum should show photos, makes for such a fun read... I'd love to be able to let pictures tell the story as much as words... very well done... J

Thanks! 2021 is in the works. Should be ready sometime today, or possibly Monday, depending on how today goes.

To get the images to show like that, I compile them into a folder, resize all of them to 600px wide, then upload to an image hosting site (I currently use Imgur), then copy/paste the IMG code to the message body, where I want it to show up.

[SkunkedAgain]

Sweet on both accounts, guess that takes alot longer to do the photos that way, but sure makes some great posts, thanks for taking the time to do that, it really makes them fun to check out... i need to get a new computer so I can try to do a better job, somehow posting what the phone has doesn't turn out too well... Thanks for the info on how to do it right... Later Jeff

[BearLakeFishGuy]

So, whatever happened to your buddy, Cogsworth, Wentworth, or something like that?

[LOAH]

So, whatever happened to your buddy, Cogsworth, Wentworth, or something like that?

Ah, Holdsworth. Best friend for 17 years.

I hope he's doing well. I'd prefer not to get into it too deeply, but let's just say that politics can get ugly and that I was not the one who chose to stop talking.

It's been three years. By now, I hoped there would have been some dialogue. I've reached out to no response every year.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Mildog]

Loah
Great post and pictures! Sorry about your buddy choosing to “cut” you off. Pretty shallow person that can’t handle a differing opinion and willing to lose a friend over it, by their choice. My guess is you are better off. I have many friends with varying viewpoints and positions we enjoy some spirited debate but never take it to far to disrupt a friendship.
Keep up the good posts and enjoy true friends along the way!