Early Openings and Nice Tiger Trout

Ahh, casting into open water again!  This winter has been rather mild and the ice season for many lakes was shorter than usual.  My family and I went to try out the soft water on Saturday and brought some big minnows along.

We did a better job than usual of leaving early and, as a result, were the first to arrive at "our spot".  Along the way, we saw a good sized herd of elk from the road.

Zooming in a bit, we can see the bulls:

Getting us rigged up, I got Sonia's ready first and she made the first cast of the day.  As I was tying on my hook, she had already gotten a take and line was jumping from her reel, bale open.  She timed her hookset well and I started rolling in HD:

What a pig!  A great catch for Mrs. LOAH, her biggest fish to date.

As awesome as that fish was, it was the only noteworthy catch of the day.  A small tiger trout finally saved me from a skunk, but I had to put a lot of work in before that happened.

The heavy, sustained wind made doing anything difficult.  It almost pushed me into the drink a few times!

Despite the slow fishing, it was a treat to cast again, the weather was pretty nice (minus the wind), and my wife caught a new personal record.  It was a great day for all of us.

Happy Fishing, Humans.

Provo Canyon

The weather on Sunday morning was pretty bad when I woke up.  The fishing bug was still squirming though and I knew it would take me somewhere.

But where?  The snowflakes were falling in clusters, stacking up quickly on the roads. 

My tentative plan was to drill some holes at Deer Creek, although I still paused at the end of my cul-de-sac for a few last minute flip-flops.  Safe new ice at Deer Creek won the toss and I turned left.

Headed toward the canyon, a flashing HWY sign read "4 X 4 or CHAINS REQUIRED".  There are a couple of spots up there that can be pretty bad when it's slick, so I didn't want to take my chances in the Sentra.

Parking at Canyon View Park near the mouth of the canyon, the Provo River would be my host for the day.

Starting just below the Murdock Diversion, I fished that immediate area for a couple of hours, missing many bites and only landing 2 smaller browns.

One of them was kind of pretty though and I took the opportunity to test my new camera (AW100) on a fish for the first time.

(Anxious to see what 16mp looked like, I cropped that pic later and got a look at the detail.)

It was also the first time I had thrown a Mepps in years.  For some reason, I never caught very many fish on them in the past, but I've gotten a little handier with spinners since then.  It was fun to try it again.

After I had my fill of the Murdock stretch, it was time to explore upstream.  The next few hours were enjoyed earning a bite here and there.  Most were smaller, but a few were actually worth a picture.

Check out the coals on this guy:

Another healthy sample:

The Mepps was doing its job and the river was loaded with large rocks to cast behind.  The flow was also suitable for wading.  A lot of fish gave chase, and some were brave enough to strike.

One hole really caught my eye, but I knew it would be hard to hit.  Wading to within 10 feet of it, I gently tossed the Mepps forward, dropping right where I hoped it would and within a half-second of turning the reel, it got blasted.

The fact that a fish was there wasn't surprising, but the instant attack and subsequent battle really got my blood pumping.  This fish hit hard and went straight into the current, taking drag about thirty feet downstream.

It wasn't huge, but it was a pretty nice brown for that part of the canyon and my biggest for the day.  What a fighter too!  Right after that pic, she managed to get away from me, Mepps and all.

My intentions were to let her go anyway, but I at least wanted the lure back (C&R day).  She was definitely over 18", but I didn't tape her.

All in a good day's fun though.  Thanks to the early storm (it cleared up pretty well), the river was mine for the taking and I only saw two three other people, walking the trail.

Without the Mepps, I dug through my boxes and found my last gold Blue Fox, my usual go-to.  Like usual, it also got some attention and a couple more fish were caught between some misses and follows.

The past few times I fished the river, I really wasn't "feeling it" the way I should have and never really got my fix.  This time was better though.  It felt good to just keep wading upstream until the light was dim.  It was a peaceful day on a quiet river.

Happy Fishing, Humans.