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[#0000FF]I had planned to go Monday but got postponed. Decided to try going up Provo Canyon to save some wear and tear on the vehicle...instead of Parleys. Nice. Provo Canyon is one lane each way. The annual cone storage project is under way.
Ditto for Daniels Canyon. Resurfacing. Got showered with rocks every time a truck went by in the other lane. Got some new windshield dings. Wunnerful. Also got stopped for about 30 minutes coming back down later. Love summertime projects.
Launched in calm water at Bunny Gulch about 7 am. Air temp 65 and water temp up to 68 main lake. Air warmed up to 90 and water to 72 when I got off the lake at noon.
Water temps have risen and levels have fallen about 2 feet since my last visit about 10 days ago. Seems to have affected the fish. Didn't see much at all on sonar...in all the usual good spots. There were some junior sized trout swirling on the surface but I was after perch and/or walleye. Caught some trout anyhooters. Silly slimers.
Bottom bounced with jigs, tossed cranks, dragged spinners. Couldn't find any concentrations of fish and it was hard to coax bites out of the ones I saw on my TV screen. Upraised middle fins.
I did get to play with a few smallies...up to about 13 or 14 inches. And I did get one dink perch and two seegar wallies...no pics. One trout I kept was about 17 inches and the other right at 19 inches. Fun fun. Also lost a humongo 'bow. Saw some fish on the bottom in 40' and thought they might be walleyes. Dropped a worm-tipped jig down and BENDO. Hard fight...staying deep. Thought it might be a big smallie or a brown. But after it spun my tube around about 3 times I could see it was a big shiny Starvation Steelhead. Estimated about 24 inches and maybe 5 or 6 pounds. But once it got close to the surface it went airborne, did a triple flip and gave me my jig back. Well fought noble fishy.
Only one boat came back inside the gulch today. It fished one spot for a few minutes and then went back out. No other tubers or tooners. There were several trailers and a motor home occupying some of the prime camping spots but didn't see many people around them. Probably holding for the holiday weekend. Wouldn't wanna be there for that.
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Interesting that the fish aren't where they are supposed to be. I guess the heat messed them up as well.[crazy]
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[#0000FF]This has been a weird year. Water temps stayed low much longer than usual...and the fishing was slower to get started. Then, just when the water warmed up to the mid 60's...and the fish started turning on...the temps kept going up and the water level started dropping fast. The normal response from fish when that kinda thing happens is to go deeper and wait to see what happens next.
The fish are ALWAYS somewhere. And there are ALWAYS active fish somewhere. Sometimes it just takes more searching and experimenting to find the fish and find a pattern that works. When your mobility is limited by fishing from a float tube you don't always get it right.
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I agree it has been a wierd year. Now that I have inherited a new toy I will be able to cover a little bit more water to find the fish. [sly]
I have noticed that I have caught more trout this year than in years past. A little wierd for me as well.[:p]
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[#0000FF]There is a major population of trout in Starvation these days. And the perch almost seem to have disappeared. There were reports of big perch dieoffs earlier in the year. Now nobody seems to be catching any numbers. A few here and there but not the huge schools as in the past.
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Looks like the perch cycle continues.[crazy] hopefully they were able to spawn this year, if not its going to be a tough one until they do.
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The drive up and down Provo/Daniels today was brutal. If you launched at Starvy at 7AM, we must have been very close on the drive up as we were dumping in Strawberry at 6:30.
We also pulled away from the Berry at 12:30...
And sat for a nice long wait between to oil tanker trucks on the way down at the one lane restriction area.
Fortunately I didn't pick up any windshield alterations... but I consider myself lucky on that score.
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[#0000FF]I don't think I can remember a year in recent times when there has not been some kind of project along either or both Provo Canyon or Daniels Canyon.
I am also seeing a lot more oil tankers and other truck traffic along Hwy 40 this year...coming and going...in both directions. They usually keep up good speed but when they are loaded they bog down traffic and create other hazards to folks in pickups and passenger cars.
I got my windshield "decorations" while going up Daniels in the morning. Without the traffic slowdowns of the work crew those trucks were blowing down the road...and throwing up lots of pea gravel. Had two of them shower me with that stuff from the road resurfacing.
There are passing lanes in Daniels Canyon but it would sure be better if they could ultimately make it a divided highway with at least two lanes on either side. Make the oil companies pay for it since they are using the roads so much...and causing most of the road damage. They need another excuse to raise the price of oil.
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It's only going to get worse. All the refinarys are trying to double their production. They say by late 2014 if you drew a line across US40, and watched there would be two crude trucks every min passing by.
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"They say by late 2014 if you drew a line across US40, and watched there would be two crude trucks every min passing by."
[#0000FF]SLOWLY
There are trips I make on Hwy 40 that seem like it is bumper to bumper trucks. Two trucks a minute would be an improvement.
Probably keeps you guys busier.
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[#502800] Between the crude trucks, construction, and 0 perch, at Starvy, and the beaver cleanup at Williard, the warmwater fisheries are taking a hit.[/#502800]
[#502800]I don't imagine they will open Williard until the state has milked every nickel out of Chevron they can get.[/#502800]
[#502800]It gives them more justification to raise petrol prices again.[/#502800]
[#502800]Where is a guy to go?[/#502800]
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I heard there was some great fishing for Muskies at Lee Kay![crazy]
The Northern Pike are still there.
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Sorry to hijack, but I'm headed to Starvation for the first time tonight. Any tips? I'll have a small boat and a couple of days to explore. But having some hints on spots to hit would help me and my father in law a lot.
Also, I'll be coming from the Ogden area. Is the best route still to go to Provo and head east? I am in the military and haven't lived here long, so I'm not familiar with other routes.
Thanks for any info you can provide!
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[#0000FF]Don't sweat the "hijack". Definitely related. A couple of better routes to Starvy from Ogden. First is 84 to Morgan and Wyoming. Keep on 80 toward Park City. Then get on 40 to Heber City...and follow it all the way to Starvation. Second option is to follow I-15 south to I-80 to Cheyenne. Up Parley's Canyon to Park City. Take the Heber-Vernal turnoff on Hwy 40 and stay on 40 to Starvation.
Those routes will help you bypass the construction in Provo Canyon...and will be faster. You will still have to deal with the road resurfacing in Daniels Canyon unless they finish first. Ha.
Attaching some maps. Several spots to launch a small boat. The best "real" ramp is at the main state park. But if your boat is small enough you can launch at Rabbit Gulch or Indian Bay...from opposite ends of old Hwy 40 where it goes down into the lake. There is also limited launching possible at Knight Hollow and Juniper point...depending on water levels and your boat, trailer and towing vehicle.
If I were to go back up next week I would probably hit Indian Bay area. Lots of deeper water next to points and shelves. More options. But I always seem to keep coming back to Rabbit Gulch. It is usually pretty tuber friendly. Small boats too.
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[quote Fishrmn]I heard there was some great fishing for Muskies at Lee Kay![crazy]
The Northern Pike are still there.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Nice work blabber fingers. That was gonna be my own private honey hole. Now you done gone and ruint it. Guess I'll have to drive all the way to Yuba now. Probably less competition...but I don't know.[/#0000FF]
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They're not doing the work in Daniels Canyon today so shouldn't be any delays. Just watch out for the trucks kicking up rocks.
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Hey TD, have you ever taken hwy 35 through kamas over to Duschene? Just wondering how that road is...Thanks
Fishon
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[#0000FF]Nope. But I know a few folks that have had to take that road when 40 was closed for some reason or other. Consensus is that it is not a way to shorten the trip or save time.
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It is a pretty ride up over wolf creek but with the road as twisty and winding as it is you won't really save any time depending on the size of the boat that you are towing.
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Live to hunt----- Hunt to live.
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