2 Days in the Uintas

[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

Fall in the Uintas is known as one of the best times of the year for the Utah Fisherman's annual pilgramidge.....the trees, bushes and fish are at their best colors of the year and the flying pests are non exsistant. Having 4 days off to fish......then 7 days on of work....I just had to spend 2 of the 4 days in the High Uintas.

THURSDAY (Hayden Loop)

Left the SLC Valley at 11am. Driving through Park City some delays were encountered due to a lack of fall color scenery this year.


Once in the Uintas the delays continued...




Once at the trailhead for the climb the trail distances were discovered.


Lake Washington (start point) looked like a puddle compared to its normal levels.


At a mile in I came across Tail Lake.


1.5 miles in I was at Shadow Lake.


At the end of the trail, 2.5 miles in, I was at Haystack Lake...tricked a small brookie into biting the fly, and my bass like hook set sent him to outer space....he is likely still in orbit. Tricked 2 others into biting but they got off.


Hiked back to Shadow and hooked into 2 Tiger Trout and 6 Brook Trout.





At Tail Lake the boils were everywhere but there were NO takers of the dry fly.


Camped that night near the highway amongst the bon-fire and stars. The air temp was a warm 36F (not including the lovely wind chill)

FRIDAY (Ibantik Lake Loop)

Started at Trial Lake and would end up going well beyond "The Notch", which is the pass in the background.


1st stop was Wall Lake, where I purifed water and moved on....after taking a few pics of course.


Next body of water on the trail was Hope Lake.....which dispite a boil....looked pretty hopeless.


At "The Notch" I got a look into the drainage I would soon be decending.....as well as the lovely Lake Lovenia.


There were also some Billy Goats taking a mid day nap in the cliffs.


While hiking down the drainage I encountered some Deer up close and even some Bear Tracks! After what seemed like an unusual amount of downhill I finally hit Ibantik Lake.



And even scored a few Brook Trout.


Paranoid of the possible Bear I backcountry ruffed it off trail to save time on the way back up and out. Stopped at Lovenia Lake for a reflection shot and some fishing....never got a fish...a perfect way to waste 40min of my life that I will never get back.


The Billy Goats were done with their nap when I reached the pass.


Decided to hit the nearby Twin Lakes on the way down.

Lower Twin


Upper Twin


At the Lower I got the smallest Tiger Trout of my life.


Decided to walk straight down to Wall Lake off trail to save some time.


Purified more water and tried getting some boils to take my dry fly...and both hookups I competely missed!


Got a reflection shot at the dam and hiked out.


Reaching Trial Lake by dark.


Dispite the great scenery and decent fishing....that was likely the last trip to the Uintas of the year.
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[lovetofish]

Great pictures, I wish I had your energy. I love the Unitas.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

You sure paint a purdy picture with your adventures. I wonder why they don't call those tiger trout Leopard trout - seem more spots that stripes. Very pretty fish.
Shame to have to purify even high mountain lake. But better than iodine I'm sure! Sounds like a nice way to wrap up your summer ventures, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Do you have wader? No tube or tune I take it. I used to take an inflatable kayak (more a canoe) up to mountain lakes. Nice to be able to get out from shore a bit.

Is it time to get out the ice gear already?!

[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

[quote CoyoteSpinner]You sure paint a purdy picture with your adventures. I wonder why they don't call those tiger trout Leopard trout - seem more spots that stripes. Very pretty fish.
Shame to have to purify even high mountain lake. But better than iodine I'm sure! Sounds like a nice way to wrap up your summer ventures, but I'll believe it when I see it.
[#ff0000]It is highly unlikely I will revisit the Uintas again this summer/fall.....however there is a good chance that it will snow on Monday...so I guess there just could be an "early" start to the "winter adventures"[][/#ff0000]

Do you have wader? No tube or tune I take it. I used to take an inflatable kayak (more a canoe) up to mountain lakes. Nice to be able to get out from shore a bit.
[#ff0000]I do have waders.....took them the 1st day. The float tube, inflation device, fins, ect.....were more weight than I wanted to take. There were a couple of situations where it would have been handy....especially Wall Lake.[/#ff0000]


Is it time to get out the ice gear already?
[#ff0000]Already stared at it in the garage a few times this week........can't wait till it starts! [/#ff0000]
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[FishingLunatic]

Your posts of the uintahs make me so . Long story short, my parents are getting a divorce so no one in my family has been up to going fishing and my friends hate fishing and I don't wanna drive up there for just the day if its by myself. I literally only went up 1 time this year.....It's so beatiful and fun up there. Kind of like u seemed to, at times I would get off track of fishing just to enjoy the beaty and look at gorgeous stuff up there. The lake I miss the most is whitney reservoir. Have u ever gone up to that 1?
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[kandersonSLC]

Great shots. I always enjoy reading about your adventures.
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[rctalbot]

Man, great pictures and write-up!
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[one8sevenn]

Did you see any deer or elk?
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[fish_fear_me2]

As usual beautiful pics and great story. I love that area up by the notch. As stated this is a fantastic time to be in the mountains. Did you hit Ibantik by any chance?
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[TyeDyeTwins]

[quote fish_fear_me2]As usual beautiful pics and great story. I love that area up by the notch. As stated this is a fantastic time to be in the mountains. Did you hit Ibantik by any chance?[/quote]

He did.........look at pixs # 19, 20, 21 and 22.
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[EvilTyeDyeTwin]

[quote one8sevenn]Did you see any deer or elk?[/quote]

Saw plenty of Deer on the Highway and 1 near Lovenia Lake. The one at Lovenia was literially just feet from me when I turned the corner.
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