________________________________________

4/27/14

Springtime Update (Channel Cats, Tiger Trout, and Big Brookies)

It's long overdue that I share what I've been doing for the past few weeks. Though I haven't posted lately, I've been fishing about 5 days per week to some extent.

Lunch breaks are always fun, whether I head south (warm water species) or north (Provo River). I get skunked a lot on lunch break, but most 20 minute spurts on the Provo provide a couple of dinks to pass the time. Occasionally, I nab a decent specimen.

 photo Easter2014001_zps5af030ec.jpg

My warm water spot is much more hit or miss. I haven't spent as much time there lately, although the other day, I finally landed a good sized channel catfish.

 photo Easter2014022_zps400633c6.jpg

My previous personal best was only 9 or 10 inches. Not very impressive. This one was really fun to catch, especially on lunch break.

A good lunch break can do wonders for bad day at work...or a good one.

On Easter Sunday, I thought I'd try fishing a big tiger trout spot I've done well at, which happened to be on the same day I fished it the first time. 4-20-07 was my first visit, and that went very well.

 photo Easter2014004_zpsc64b746c.jpg

The 2014 redux was much less impressive.

11 hours were spent on that mission. I walked around the entire lake (it's not small) and never got any action until I had made a complete circuit around the lake, from the first spot I fished from. Go figure.

 photo Easter2014005_zpsd41350f6.jpg

A 19" Tiger Trout found my minnow after such a grueling wait. My history at the lake would cause me to feel some level of disappointment for a catch of the day under the 20" mark. Likewise, spending 11hrs at a body of water with absolutely NOTHING happening would normally be disappointing.

Regardless, I still enjoyed getting out and visiting that crazy lake again. Plus, I even saw the Easter Bunny!

 photo Easter2014013_zps6262d0bc.jpg

This week, my fishing libido required something a bit more productive and rewarding. Given the time of year, it would likely involve a lot of work, but that's alright. I'll work for big brookies.

There was a degree of anxiety about this trip, since I was unable to find my GPS unit, leading up to Saturday. Having my normal access point to the lake snowed in, it was necessary to use a different trail head I had heard about.

Detailed notes were taken about the route from the maps and I was confident that I would find my happy place, once again.

The hike was actually somewhat difficult with a fully inflated tube on my back and a backpack across my chest. My notes instructed me to stay left on a series of clearings that would lead me to the promised land. Those clearings were filled with knee-deep snow, so it was actually easier to bushwhack through the naked aspens along the edges.

Somewhat quickly, I found the lake and was greeted by a pretty good snow storm. It didn't take long and I had my first catch, a 3lb 4oz brookie:

 photo Brookies001_zpse0038634.jpg

Big brookie.

Shortly after, a small cutthroat came to hand. There were a few of these that I met today, but all were about this size:

 photo Brookies005_zps9ab5836b.jpg

On occasion, a nice brookie would introduce themself.

 photo Brookies007_zps92da4c1f.jpg

 photo Brookies010_zpsefd28460.jpg

And this one probably outweighed my first one:

 photo Brookies015_zpsa61abc55.jpg

I was really glad to have made the trip. The weather was awful, but that doesn't really matter to me when I'm doing something I love. There were a couple of times when the storm let up, but most of the day was spent getting snowed on. It was actually really peaceful. The only person around for miles.

 photo Brookies020_zpsadf32cea.jpg

The hike back to the car got interesting with a lot of snow flying around, but I eventually found my way back to the clearings. What a day!

Happy Fishing, Humans.

 photo Brookies019_zps1a615b2a.jpg

9 comments:

  1. U Ciebie jeszcze pada śnieg ? :O Niesamowite ! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Moja wędrówka rozpoczęła się na blisko 2750 metrów. Tu, w stanie Utah, mamy śnieg w wysokich górach w lecie.

      Dzięki za czytanie!

      Delete
  2. Great lookin brookies! You definitely worked for them

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. While following my tracks back, there were many times where I thought, "What was I thinking, going through this?"

      It was much harder coming back, for some reason. Maybe the snow was softer. I was really post-holing through a couple of areas.

      Delete
  3. Another excellent post Justin. You consistently catch some of the most beautiful trout I've seen anywhere!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for continuing to check on me! I'm lucky to have such beautiful fish available in public water.

      Delete
  4. Justin
    Always enjoy your outings, and from the looks of this post I can see you have been landing some nice trout and that catfish is an added bonus; really amazed at the size and quality of those trout. thanks for shaing

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have always known you to catch some beautiful fish, the Tigers are my favorite. But, come on man, those Brookies are out of this world. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

Like it? Hate it? Drop a line.

Some Background...

WHY FISH?

Why not go jogging, hit the gym, start a garden or whatever it is that normal humans do? What's so fascinating about these slimy little creatures that live in the water?

Fishing is a bit more to me than a hobby or a sport. It's an essential part of life that helps me connect with the Earth in ways similar to the long-practiced traditions of mankind. Wherever man has had a water source, there has been fishing.

It's only natural.

Happy Fishing, Humans.