Lake Blanche Adventure!

[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

After being stopped by rotten ice earlier this year on the backcountry skis, we needed to get back up there and fish Lake Blanche and it's sisters.....Lake Lillian and Florance once and for all.

While getting ready for the days adventure at the parking lot we ran into the 1st wildlife of the day.....a beautiful Macaw!
This bird could not wait to get on TDT's shoulder.


This bird wanted a taste of the hair and a chance to be with his idle...I could have sworn that the bird mummbled, "hey guys I got feathers, not fins, please don't eat me".


I am sure he was thinking, "who is that bozo with the camera".


He felt quite comfortable with TDT


Yes that is another bird in the background....what a cool exprience to run into the owners and their even cooler friends!


But of course we had to part ways and get on with the days adventure......which always starts with a sign.


In this adventure there were 2 signs.


Despite the green appearence it was a desert on this climb....HOT and DRY!


Eventually the trail opened up.....it took quite some time.....we ran into 3 different groups that said they follow our posts, and thanked us for doing what we do....each one started by sayin the same thing...."hey are you guys the TyeDyeTwins?"


The locals put up a special fish report on the trees.


Not all the hiking was trail!


After hours of hiking we were finally close!


At last we reached Lake Blanche!



And we started getting some fish on the flies.




The action died off a bit so we decided to head to Lake Lillian and Florence.


TDT searching for life...only ended up getting 2 Brookies out of this one.


And a great reflection of the Sundial.


At Florence we only saw boils in the dead center of the lake, and the Cyotes were going nuts on the opposite side of the lake....Could not have been CyoteSpinner....too far south.

So back to blanche we went and cooked up our 1st shore lunch of 8 high mountain Brookies!


And it could not have been a more scenic dinner table!


Some hikers were pointing at the sunset so we started packin up.


As we left we got one last face to face view with the Sundail and Lake Blanche


It was a long trail back down....and we knew that a mile or 2 would be in the dark.


Headlamps on and Bear Spray in hand we were ready for some late night moose, bear and cougar action....and all we ran into was a family of what we like to call.......mountain 8 pieces.......and no they did not want to get on TDT's shoulder for pictures.


We got a total of 13 Brook Trout up there....that's right a staggering 13....8 of which were caught by TDT....gonna be awhile till we go back.......like as in the next time we go....it is gonna be all iced up.
[signature]

[fish_fear_me2]

Looks like you guys got that shore lunch part down. Cant get fish any fresher than that. Great pics thanks for sharing.
[signature]

[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

Yep, the shore lunch was expirmented 1st at home a few times before taken out in the field......and I don't know if it was because we hiked all day with nothing to eat....or it was that mountain air...but boy were those Brookies good!
[signature]

[Jazzperch1]

nice pretty brookies there, i have never heard of that lake but cool to know.[]
[signature]

[fish_fear_me2]

Im sure a combination of hungry guys, mountain air and the freshes fish you can eat. On back pack trips I would man the pans and my brother in law would catch fish. He would toss one to me I would clean it and have it in the pan in 5 minutes, makes some great eats.
[signature]

[TyeDyeTwins]

Just so everyone knows here is what we were using.......

I used a prince nymph, and a flying black ant as a dry fly. My twin used a nymphacator tung and a white dun as a dry fly. I also got 1 fish and lost another on a worm under a bobber. I tried a blue fox gold spinner in #1 and didn't even get a bite. For some reason I tied bad knots because I lost 3 dries to fish hitting them. On 5x tippet? Yep operator error!

At Florance I got mine on the gold blue fox spinner. In fact I had a lot of bites too.

[quote Jazzperch1]nice pretty brookies there, i have never heard of that lake but cool to know.[][/quote]

Really? Oh man that lake has made covers of a few books on hiking/touring the wasatch range. It is a truly worthy place of that.

Now Blanche was the best fishing with Florance being 2nd best. Lillian is just so shallow that all the fish were rising WAY out in the middle.

The hike to these lakes is about 3.5 miles one way and a few thousand vertical feet. Start at the S Curves of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Evil Tye Dye has made the trek from Alta in the summer by hiking to mt. superior and scrammbling down the rocks to Blanche but honestly that is just for those who love punishment!
[signature]

[STEVEF39]

Nice was talking to one of my co workers who just hikes and he was telling me about this lake, was wondering if you could fish it, how was the hike up thinking about doing it in a couplle of weeks.
[signature]

[CoyoteSpinner]

very picturesque picturing ya done there fellers. Those Mnt reflections are wicked. Water clarity must be good - can even see the rocky bottom in some.

Now - I'd be thinnin that Macaw was was looking for a place to bed down and lay some eggs! [blush] Just gotta watch out if you have earings, or piercings - birds like shiny stuff! [cool]
So these folks "walk" their birds? Wish they could train my dog some manners!

And - ahem - Coyotes [#002850]GOING [/#002850]crazy?!
Don't you know - they all done passed THAT sign loooong ago!

So how long a hike were you looking at - full length, one direction? Is that 'not trail' section your own shortcutting, or about whats there is there?

Folks ever use an airhorn to distract/deter your trail friends? I've known plenty of campers to clank a few pans to ward off curious bears and such. Nothing like sleeping out under the stars to "feel" the ground shake as a Bear wallows by to check out your hung food.

So - do tell - what was the magic recipe for shore lunch? Don't see the onions, peppers, garlic, and mushrooms in the pan. (KISS approach perhaps?)

[Jmaze]

It's been 10 years. But that little lake in the middle always had the big fish in it. The mornings and evenings were the best on dries. A fish every cast. Sun dial is a beautiful peak. There used to be he odd pika or 2 up there barking away.
[signature]

[Bscuderi]

I would rank them Lillian the. Florence then Blanche but I wasn't fly fishing. Every time I go I start at Lillian and work up don't neglect the creeks between the lakes! The brookies are small but willing and beautiful. And the views are among the best the wasatch can give!
[signature]

[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

[quote STEVEF39]Nice was talking to one of my co workers who just hikes and he was telling me about this lake, was wondering if you could fish it, how was the hike up thinking about doing it in a couplle of weeks.[/quote]

In a couple weeks you might just get lucky enough to see the fall colors in full swing. There were a few trees at the lake that were starting to turn already! As for how the trail is......it is over 3 miles, and is steep, flat, steep, flat, steep, flat, pretty much all the way up to the lake. Sometimes however it is better to let the pictures do the talking....these were taken 2 years ago on 2 trips (September 22 and October 2nd).


















[signature]

[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

[quote CoyoteSpinner]

So how long a hike were you looking at - full length, one direction?
[#ff0000]Over 3 miles one way....and very steep.[/#ff0000]
[#ff0000][/#ff0000]
Is that 'not trail' section your own shortcutting, or about whats there is there?
[#ff0000]That is a section trail actually...it is the only section with a small scramble.[/#ff0000]

So - do tell - what was the magic recipe for shore lunch?
[#ff0000]The magic recipie.......just flour, canola oil, lawry's seasoning salt, and brook trout. Very simple and EXTREMLY TASTY!!!!![/#ff0000]

[/quote]
[signature]

[troutcreek]

Thanks for the report and nice pics, like always! Changed your mind on Red Pine, eh?
[signature]

[TyeDyeTwins]

[quote troutcreek]Thanks for the report and nice pics, like always! Changed your mind on Red Pine, eh?[/quote]

Well I never know what lake or stream I am gonna hit until the line hits the water! We will hit Red Pine soon. Oh yeah and Pittsburg and Upper Bells is on the to do list this fall as well. I really wanted to hit Hardy but the alpine fire might have closed that trail off for a while.

Same thing happens while backcountry skiing too BTW. I never know what line I am going to ski until I have dropped in!
[signature]

[troutcreek]

PM sent on Hardy and Bells
[signature]

[kochanut]

great pics as usual, looks like your shore lunch treated you well.
[signature]

[RonPaulFan]

Wow! Great pictures as always! They captivated me. What a deal! I was going to see a movie, but instead I'm at a restaurant now eating shrimp and steak while admiring the beauty of nature in your excellent photographs. This is better than a movie and I didn't even need to pay admission.

I'm getting closer to buying a camera as described in my 09/23/12 11:47 PM post here:
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...ra;#772828

Then I'll take photographs of fish and lure interactions underwater. I'm not sure about my assumptions of Wi-Fi capabilities and the noted equipment might not do what I want. Would Wi-Fi let me see pictures live on my tablet? Any ideas or camera and equipment suggestions for my uses that I described at the link above?

Ronald
[signature]