02-19-2013, 07:42 PM
I usually don't like to fish on weekends and holidays due to the crowds on the ice. However, Starvation is a big reservoir with plenty of room for folks to spread out and not be on top of each other. My son had the day off from work and it gave us a rare opportunity to share some quality time on the pond. My friend Will's son, Damien, also had a day off so we made it into a father/son outing.
We met Wyoguy at the Indian Bay State Park access because it has plenty of room right at the edge of the ice and it doesn't pose the problems associated with parking over at the ramp below Camperworld. The trip is shorter from Camperworld but on busy days there isn't much room to park or turn a trailer around down at the water's edge.
Last Tuesday we had a run-in with the somewhat over-zealous campground host at Camperworld. We parked at the top of the boat ramp access because all the parking was taken down at the lake. The area at the top of the hill has posting indicating private property belonging to Camperworld. We parked outside the posted area and went out on ATVs from there. When we returned in the afternoon we found a tractor parked right in front of Will's truck and attached ATV trailer. The tractor prevent us from pulling forward in the area outside of the posting flagging rope. Will had to back up and pull forward many times to back onto the road. During our exit the campground host came out and confronted us and said we were on Camperworld property. I got out and spoke with the gentlemen and directed his attention to the posting he made on a utility pole and he had placed a rope with orange flagging between posts on the corner of what appeared to be the Camperworld property. He told me the private ground extended beyond the posting. I told him I was a retired DWR law enforcement officer and that I had over 30 years of experience dealing with trespassing enforcement. I told him that if his property did extend beyond the posting all he could do was to inform us and ask us to leave. I asked him to show me exactly where the Camperworld property extended outside of his posting. He made a vague wide sweep with his arm which didn't tell me anything. He declined to be more specific. I suggested we could summon a Sheriff's Deputy or the Starvation State Park Ranger in charge who is Alan Spencer. He didn't appear eager to have anyone come to the scene.
I suggested he post all of the Camperworld property in the correct manner prescribed by law before he confronts anyone else.
When we arrived at our fishing spot 1.6 miles from Indian Bay as the crow and the ATVs fly, we found a party of three fishermen at the location. It turned out they were friends and follow retired DWR personnel from the Vernal area. We started fishing about 100 yards from the other folks and immediately had some action from the Starvation Steelhead. The trout were coming through at about 12 to 20 feet so we all had our second line suspended at that depth. My son and I ended the day with 6 nice rainbows and 19 perch which averaged just over 9 inches with the longest being 11.25".
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/DadandAlanatStarvation021813_zps0997e846.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...1813_zps0997e846.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/IMG_4737_zps69cecc63.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...4737_zps69cecc63.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/WillandDamienDraughon021813_zpse4d1191e.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...1813_zpse4d1191e.jpg[/url]
Most of the others did about the same and we just didn't see the perch in numbers we've found the last three weeks. I think the perch are nearing their spawn and the pregnant females don't have much room in their bellies for food. We could see many perch on our depth finders but they didn't bite well until late in the afternoon. We actually had active perch hitting our lines as we got to our agreed on departure time of 5:30 p.m..
I'm hoping to make another trip to Starvation on Friday with some friends if the weather forecasts holds. It seems Friday could be between storms which could give us a decent day to hit the perch again. I have some upcoming medical issues to deal with and I may not be able to get out fishing for a few weeks. I expect you folks to keep the reports coming so I'll have something to read while I wait around at the U medical center.
The ice where we were fishing was a consistent 18" thick and there is a small amount of snow on most of the surface. There are a few wind-blown areas with slick ice that require careful walking if you don't have your ice grippers on. We met a father and young son from Lehi yesterday and since I had extra perch chowder and smoked Starvation Steelhead, we invited them for lunch with us. Scott and Quinn seemed to enjoy the chowder and the group made quick work of three quarts of the brew. Scott told me he has recently found the BigFish
Tackle website but said he hasn't joined. I urged him to register so he could post and join the crowd. We may see Scott on these very pages soon, I hope he does jump in and offer his comments.
The trout we caught were mostly 17 to 19 inches and fat. I can't think of another place right now where you can get such nice fish and not have to worry about a restricted harvest or slot limit. The action is fast enough to keep the kids interested. I know it's a long drive from the Wasatch Front, but at least the air is clean. Have fun and be safe!
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/PerchStarvation02122013_zpsce396333.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...2013_zpsce396333.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/IMG_4734_zps8b50fea4.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...4734_zps8b50fea4.jpg[/url]
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We met Wyoguy at the Indian Bay State Park access because it has plenty of room right at the edge of the ice and it doesn't pose the problems associated with parking over at the ramp below Camperworld. The trip is shorter from Camperworld but on busy days there isn't much room to park or turn a trailer around down at the water's edge.
Last Tuesday we had a run-in with the somewhat over-zealous campground host at Camperworld. We parked at the top of the boat ramp access because all the parking was taken down at the lake. The area at the top of the hill has posting indicating private property belonging to Camperworld. We parked outside the posted area and went out on ATVs from there. When we returned in the afternoon we found a tractor parked right in front of Will's truck and attached ATV trailer. The tractor prevent us from pulling forward in the area outside of the posting flagging rope. Will had to back up and pull forward many times to back onto the road. During our exit the campground host came out and confronted us and said we were on Camperworld property. I got out and spoke with the gentlemen and directed his attention to the posting he made on a utility pole and he had placed a rope with orange flagging between posts on the corner of what appeared to be the Camperworld property. He told me the private ground extended beyond the posting. I told him I was a retired DWR law enforcement officer and that I had over 30 years of experience dealing with trespassing enforcement. I told him that if his property did extend beyond the posting all he could do was to inform us and ask us to leave. I asked him to show me exactly where the Camperworld property extended outside of his posting. He made a vague wide sweep with his arm which didn't tell me anything. He declined to be more specific. I suggested we could summon a Sheriff's Deputy or the Starvation State Park Ranger in charge who is Alan Spencer. He didn't appear eager to have anyone come to the scene.
I suggested he post all of the Camperworld property in the correct manner prescribed by law before he confronts anyone else.
When we arrived at our fishing spot 1.6 miles from Indian Bay as the crow and the ATVs fly, we found a party of three fishermen at the location. It turned out they were friends and follow retired DWR personnel from the Vernal area. We started fishing about 100 yards from the other folks and immediately had some action from the Starvation Steelhead. The trout were coming through at about 12 to 20 feet so we all had our second line suspended at that depth. My son and I ended the day with 6 nice rainbows and 19 perch which averaged just over 9 inches with the longest being 11.25".
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/DadandAlanatStarvation021813_zps0997e846.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...1813_zps0997e846.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/IMG_4737_zps69cecc63.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...4737_zps69cecc63.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/WillandDamienDraughon021813_zpse4d1191e.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...1813_zpse4d1191e.jpg[/url]
Most of the others did about the same and we just didn't see the perch in numbers we've found the last three weeks. I think the perch are nearing their spawn and the pregnant females don't have much room in their bellies for food. We could see many perch on our depth finders but they didn't bite well until late in the afternoon. We actually had active perch hitting our lines as we got to our agreed on departure time of 5:30 p.m..
I'm hoping to make another trip to Starvation on Friday with some friends if the weather forecasts holds. It seems Friday could be between storms which could give us a decent day to hit the perch again. I have some upcoming medical issues to deal with and I may not be able to get out fishing for a few weeks. I expect you folks to keep the reports coming so I'll have something to read while I wait around at the U medical center.
The ice where we were fishing was a consistent 18" thick and there is a small amount of snow on most of the surface. There are a few wind-blown areas with slick ice that require careful walking if you don't have your ice grippers on. We met a father and young son from Lehi yesterday and since I had extra perch chowder and smoked Starvation Steelhead, we invited them for lunch with us. Scott and Quinn seemed to enjoy the chowder and the group made quick work of three quarts of the brew. Scott told me he has recently found the BigFish
Tackle website but said he hasn't joined. I urged him to register so he could post and join the crowd. We may see Scott on these very pages soon, I hope he does jump in and offer his comments.
The trout we caught were mostly 17 to 19 inches and fat. I can't think of another place right now where you can get such nice fish and not have to worry about a restricted harvest or slot limit. The action is fast enough to keep the kids interested. I know it's a long drive from the Wasatch Front, but at least the air is clean. Have fun and be safe!
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/PerchStarvation02122013_zpsce396333.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...2013_zpsce396333.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc127/topwater52/IMG_4734_zps8b50fea4.jpg"]http://i212.photobucket.com/...4734_zps8b50fea4.jpg[/url]
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