Had A Hunch

A few fishing buddies and I have wondered about a little lake that we attempted to find last year. Our attempt wasn't very serious, just a stop between destinations, and we weren't exactly sure which bumpy road to take.

In summary, we didn't find it and didn't want to spend too much time or energy looking for a question mark. Our other spot was a confirmed winner, so we abandoned our search.

Since then, I've burned the route into my memory a thousand times and have wanted to give it another try. This weekend seemed perfect for that, so off to the Uintas I went for the third straight week.

You just can't get enough of a good thing sometimes.

The drive was relatively short, but very bumpy and it took awhile to get into the area. The road my buddies and I had taken last year turned out to be the right one, although the extra side road we wanted to find was actually closed.

The hike still wasn't very far and I even threw my tube on my back for my first float of the year. Overlooking a great canyon at its rim, I knew the scenery would be incredible.

I was right!





What a beautiful lake!





It didn't appear to be as deep as it looked on the map, but it still looked as though it could support some fish. After watching the water for signs of life that I never saw, I decided to give it a shot anyway.

It turns out, the water was crystal clear and I could see the bottom all over the lake. My synopsis is that it doesn't hold any fish.

To me, it seemed more like a snow melt lake than something spring fed. There was no noticeable inflow or outflow. There weren't very many bugs in the water or under the rocks, and not even salamanders.

It was still a really neat experience and totally worth the short hike though. Getting out on the tube in such a setting was quite nice anyway.



Its location also required a few shots from the rim of the canyon.





The wildflowers are out in force.



It was really too bad that the lake wasn't fishy because there was a perfect potential campsite close by.





Marvelous country.



With that curiosity finally satisfied, I could spend the rest of the day in another spot, catching some fat little brookies.





I caught about a dozen of them, all about that size.

They weren't huge, but they really packed a punch! Each time I got a hit, I was tricked into thinking I had something much bigger on the line. There were actually two pretty nice ones that somehow shook off my fly rod.

Not usually a place I've seen many people, it was a bit surprising to watch several groups come and go throughout my stay at that lake. The only people fishing were trying from shore and they all got skunked.

That lake has a particular method of attack and it's pretty hard to fish from shore.

Once the sun started tickling the treetops, it occurred to me that the day was coming to an end and it was time to take the nasty road back, this time with the sun shining right in my face for a good amount of it.

As usual, passing through such country is full of spectacle. Here's a great little log jam on a gentle stream that begged me to stop and snap some shots of.







The day was very refreshing and it was great to both get the Rodeo back into 4L and to get my tube wet again. Checking out the first lake was actually the highlight of my day, despite it not having any fish.

I'm glad I went.

Happy Fishing, Humans.