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Anybody ever been to Hoop Lake or the surrounding area?
I'm planning on taking the scouts up there for scout camp in June. I would also like to check the area out for elk hunting and fishing. I would appreciate any info on good spots to camp, fish, and maybe see some elk.
Thanks,
Matt
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Bigfoot lives there! [:p]
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I have been there several times over the years, nothing special about the fishing, other than it can be hard from shore. The normal small spinner gear for trolling and if they are fishing from shore, a bubble and fly seems to work the best in the morning and evening. I have seen elk on the shoreline in the early morning and evening hours, so you might be in luck there[  ]. There is a camp ground there but I would be very careful with the scouts going too far into the back woods because it is very thick and they could get lost very easy there. If you go to the East you will run into Spirit lake, there are several lakes with in walking distance from there that have artic grayling in them, Dagget lake comes to mind but there are others. To the West are a lot of smaller streams and very few lakes until you come to Meeks Cabin res. Again be careful with the scouts in this area also because it is very thick vegetation. The whole area is very nice with a lot of back roads that you can take from Bear river service, by the Mirror lake highway all the way to Brownie lake near the main road that goes to flaming gorge dam. When the kids were young we spent many weekend exploring that entire area, I also hunted the area for many years. Let me know if you have any more questions.
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Actually there are quite a few nice little lakes, and two rivers between Hoops and Meeks Cabin (Meeks Cabin is in Wyoming by the way).
Just south of Mountain View there is the Smith's Fork River, and State Line Res. On the same road as SL Res, there is Bridger Lake, Marsh Lake, and China Lake. Then you also have Quarter Corner, and the Henry's Fork that are about 10 miles east of the Smiths Fork.
If you were to go up to the Meeks Cabin area the only lake in the Utah side would be Lyman Lake, unless you went over the top of Elizabeth Ridge and into Bear River Service country.
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Matt, here is some reports from a few years ago when I was into the Fishing Report thing.
Henry's Fork
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=351821;#351821"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=351821;#351821[/url]
Hoops Lake (Reply to another Post)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=346948;#346948"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=346948;#346948[/url]
Smith's Fork in June
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=344096;#344096"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=344096;#344096[/url]
Smith Fork in October
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=367027;#367027"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=367027;#367027[/url]
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Thanks everybody [ ]
I was thinking about Spirit Lake, but I figured there would be alot more people there than at Hoop. I don't like big crowds, and big crowds don't like scouts [sly]. I want to find a nice little secluded spot where I can glass the mountains from camp, do a little fishing, and just relax. the scouts need to have plenty to do to keep them occupied. Is this a good spot for that or should I change my plans? How much further is spirit or a "Better Spot"?
Thanks,
Matt
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Matt when i was a scout master i took my scouts to broadhead meadows. had a great time up there.
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Never heard of it, where is it?
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murdock basin turn off.
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Murdock basin is 20 miles, plus or minus a few miles above Kamas on the mirror lake highway. It is a nice area and easy to get to, I'm not sure about the catching though[:/]. Also if your idea is to see some elk, that might not be the place to go, there are a few moose in the area though. Your hoop lake area is a good one if your idea is to get away from others. Were you planning on camping where you drive to or were you planning on hiking to get to a camp spot?
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We were planning on camping next to the lake unless it's packed with campers. If so, we may go 4 wheelin to find a spot [ ]
I don't want to ruin other campers vacations with a bunch of little horrors running around.
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The area by Murdock basin that Jason was talking about does not have any developed camping and you camp where ever you can find a spot. If you go to Hoop lake you can camp in the camp ground and was rarely full when I was there one june, july might be different[:/]. There are spots nearby that you could camp that are near the water if you don't want to stay in the camp ground. One thing you might want to consider is to call ahead. On years like this one when there is a lot of snow in the mountains, especially on the north slope it is possible that there is still snow at Hoop lake. The forest service has a camp ground host there when it opens so I'm sure you could contact the FS, just to make sure it is open.
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The campground is scheduled to open June 15th, and we are going on the 24th. It should be fine by then, and hopefully not many people.
Which way do you go to get to Hoop Lake? The best way I can see is this one, but I have been told different.
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If I remember correctly the road in from Burntfork, is the way we came in. It was a little shorter and a better road, although both roads will get you there. As I said before, there are a lot of roads in that areas. It could be that whoever told you about the road in from lonetree was thinking it was a better marked road and that is true but as long as you are watching and have a good map of the area the other road in from burntfork is just as good.
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The best road in is the one you have marked in red on your map. The turn off is after you pass the old store in Lonetree and you come around the bend. If you go to burnt fork you have gone to far. There isn't any access in at burntfork. That area is all private ranches and you can't reach forest service property. Another area you might look at is china meadows. We used to have scout camp there years ago. There are several lakes in the area. I think you might have a little more privacy there than camping right at a lake like bridger or marsh. Those lakes are still close. gshorthair
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Cool!
I'm heading up there tomorrow to check it all out and maybe toss a line in a couple little streams. I'll make sure to take a bunch of pics and stuff of the area for future reference.
Thanks to all [cool]
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