02-03-2024, 05:39 PM
I’m always amazed at how my energy level is lifted for several days after a fishing trip. It just never gets old.
Video Link: [color=var(--ytcp-call-to-action)]https://youtu.be/i-nhorTRbTk[/color]
After the boatsicle trip to Strawberry in late November I put the winter cover on the boat expecting it to remain there until late February or early March. I watched the harbor cams and saw the harbors freeze at Utah Lake as expected. Then about 2 weeks ago I realized that Deer Creek hadn’t frozen. I mentioned it to Jon and he said let’s go! Life got in the way for another week and then things came together on the 27th.
We talked about spending part of the trip getting a bonus trout run for the smoker and then hunting for perch and eye’s, but the day before we headed out my son texted me and said his 2 young brothers in law had heard we were going fishing and wanted to come along. I said sure, as long as they know what they are getting into. “The forecast is for 15 degrees overnight and we are somewhat crazy fishermen. We won’t quit and come home because someone gets cold. We would love to take you guys, as long as you understand.”
Well, they were game and we got on the lake about 10:30 A.M. after a few setbacks getting the boat ready. We launched at the main marina and started trout fishing. Since we had two novices with us, we bagged the perch and eyes knowing it would lead to lots of lost tackle and frustration for all.
We put in 6 lines, 2 with crankbaits, one with pop gear, one with a dodger and 2 with light weights and bright colored spin n glos (SnG). All were tipped with crawler pieces. Trolling speed was 0.8 to 1.2 mph, the water was 35 degrees and the air got well over 40.
About halfway down to the dam one of the SnG rods got hit and Kelonu got a nice rainbow almost 19”. His biggest fish ever! Nice start, but a little slow.
![[Image: Kealas-Best.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/mPZKFVpw/Kealas-Best.jpg)
An hour later Keala got foot long rainbow, and a lot of ribbing from his younger brother! We visited with another boat that had just returned from the upper end of the lake and they said it was slow. The bank tanglers also said it was pretty slow. The third fish came about 45 minutes later and was in the middle at 15 inches. Another boat came down from the upper end apparently not finding much up there.
I was glad we at least got the newbies a fish, but almost 4 hours in and only 3 fish was just too slow. We pulled the rods and headed up lake. It was the best move of the trip.
Within 5 minutes we got one on a brass flutter leach I had put on in place of a crankbait and then another on an SnG, and we were finally seeing fish on the finder. 20 minutes later we got 2 more. All were 14-16 inches. 4 in 30 minutes compared to 3 in 4 hours felt great so we doubled back and got 3 more, one of them at 17 inches. For the next 2 hours we just went back and forth over a half mile stretch and had fish on much of the time. At one point we had 3 on at once and Jon hollered: “Pandemonium!”
What a change and what a great time for the newbies! We ended up boating about 25 trout and releasing over a third of those. We caught 4 fish 17 to 19 inches and about that many 12 to 14. The rest of them were 14-16 inches, just right for the smoker. Fortunately, the two biggest fish were caught by the brothers and that competition was declared a tie!
![[Image: Keala-18-plus.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/R6mY4RtK/Keala-18-plus.jpg)
We had just finished our microwaved chicken pot pies when dusk came and we pulled the lines. I wanted to get back closer to the ramp before it got really dark. We had decided to spend a little while prospecting for eye’s before we headed for home. It only took 30 minutes to realize 3 things: we were indeed losing a lot of tackle, it was really hard to re-tie in the cold and dark, and it was getting really COLD!
What a great day though, with the clear skies, mild temps for late January, hardly a hint of wind and lots of trout that wanted to play.
Video Link: [color=var(--ytcp-call-to-action)]https://youtu.be/i-nhorTRbTk[/color]
After the boatsicle trip to Strawberry in late November I put the winter cover on the boat expecting it to remain there until late February or early March. I watched the harbor cams and saw the harbors freeze at Utah Lake as expected. Then about 2 weeks ago I realized that Deer Creek hadn’t frozen. I mentioned it to Jon and he said let’s go! Life got in the way for another week and then things came together on the 27th.
We talked about spending part of the trip getting a bonus trout run for the smoker and then hunting for perch and eye’s, but the day before we headed out my son texted me and said his 2 young brothers in law had heard we were going fishing and wanted to come along. I said sure, as long as they know what they are getting into. “The forecast is for 15 degrees overnight and we are somewhat crazy fishermen. We won’t quit and come home because someone gets cold. We would love to take you guys, as long as you understand.”
Well, they were game and we got on the lake about 10:30 A.M. after a few setbacks getting the boat ready. We launched at the main marina and started trout fishing. Since we had two novices with us, we bagged the perch and eyes knowing it would lead to lots of lost tackle and frustration for all.
We put in 6 lines, 2 with crankbaits, one with pop gear, one with a dodger and 2 with light weights and bright colored spin n glos (SnG). All were tipped with crawler pieces. Trolling speed was 0.8 to 1.2 mph, the water was 35 degrees and the air got well over 40.
About halfway down to the dam one of the SnG rods got hit and Kelonu got a nice rainbow almost 19”. His biggest fish ever! Nice start, but a little slow.
An hour later Keala got foot long rainbow, and a lot of ribbing from his younger brother! We visited with another boat that had just returned from the upper end of the lake and they said it was slow. The bank tanglers also said it was pretty slow. The third fish came about 45 minutes later and was in the middle at 15 inches. Another boat came down from the upper end apparently not finding much up there.
I was glad we at least got the newbies a fish, but almost 4 hours in and only 3 fish was just too slow. We pulled the rods and headed up lake. It was the best move of the trip.
Within 5 minutes we got one on a brass flutter leach I had put on in place of a crankbait and then another on an SnG, and we were finally seeing fish on the finder. 20 minutes later we got 2 more. All were 14-16 inches. 4 in 30 minutes compared to 3 in 4 hours felt great so we doubled back and got 3 more, one of them at 17 inches. For the next 2 hours we just went back and forth over a half mile stretch and had fish on much of the time. At one point we had 3 on at once and Jon hollered: “Pandemonium!”
What a change and what a great time for the newbies! We ended up boating about 25 trout and releasing over a third of those. We caught 4 fish 17 to 19 inches and about that many 12 to 14. The rest of them were 14-16 inches, just right for the smoker. Fortunately, the two biggest fish were caught by the brothers and that competition was declared a tie!
We had just finished our microwaved chicken pot pies when dusk came and we pulled the lines. I wanted to get back closer to the ramp before it got really dark. We had decided to spend a little while prospecting for eye’s before we headed for home. It only took 30 minutes to realize 3 things: we were indeed losing a lot of tackle, it was really hard to re-tie in the cold and dark, and it was getting really COLD!
What a great day though, with the clear skies, mild temps for late January, hardly a hint of wind and lots of trout that wanted to play.