Dark to Daylight to Dark, wash, rinse, repeat

Started by rbphoto, October 11, 2019, 14:13:17 PM

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rbphoto

Got an invite from fishing buddy to hang with him, his Dad, and his brother's father-in-law for some fishing action in the Salt Lake City/Provo/Heber/Park City area.  Free lodging, free ground transportation, frequent flier miles to get there. 

Our fishing trips typically start being planned and looking something like this:

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Got permission from the spousal unit, booked the flight, and flew out last Thursday (the 3rd).

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Fishing buddy is a recovering Mormom who loves the culture that pokes fun at all things Mormon out there. Started with last call at the airport bar.

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Mormon's don't seem to drink a lot of coffee, but they will drink the hell out of diet coke . . . coffee was the morning ritual followed by a trip for early breakfast at our de facto guide's house.  This would be a pattern to be repeated Saturday & Monday.

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Fishing buddy's dad had four vertebrae fused and hasn't fished in 18 months.  This trip was intended to break that chain and get him on fish.  We got him setup at a little stream-fed park pond near the creek and the fishing began.

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Fishing buddy dropped me off for a few hours of solo fishing while he hung with his Dad.

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Water was cold.

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Except for the foliage, this was like fishing any blueline in the Southeast.  Tight with a lot of overhang.  Willing fish, but my rod was about 2' too long to take advantage of the larger fish in this stream.  It was hard to get a good bow & arrow cast into some of the pockets and fish spooked about every three steps for the next 3 hrs!  The wind was blowing but the fish were plentiful.  Caught a bunch and missed as many.  Nothing but browns in this stream, and they all looked about like this.

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Utah has good beer selections, but nobody had good stuff in cans at 8am on a Friday morning!

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The afternoon was a trip up the canyon to experience some larger water.

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Got to hang with a cool Brittany for the ride.

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Sent my wife that pic and told her I wanted one.  No response. I consider that tacit approval.

Bigger water produced.

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Fishing buddy's Dad was wiped out after a long day of hanging out with us and needed a little muscle relaxation.  Since he used to be a Catholic altar boy and got caught stealing communion wine, we found something that would help him relax a little better with his Diet Coke.

Drink local!

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I found this for the old retail price and couldn't pass it up.  Came home wrapped in two pairs of wool socks and stuff inside all sorts of safe packaging.

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Passed on a few others and got fussed at by some of my bourbon-loving friends.  Will come prepared to mule bottles next time.

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Saturday started the same way as Friday, but without Dad.  He stayed home to rest in anticipation of a lake day either Sunday or Monday.

We went urban drinking, um, fishing.

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Fishing buddy caught a 17" whitefish, which the de facto guide kept to give a a local widow.

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I quit counting fish at this point. My biggest fish of the trip, every bit of 18" and fought like it was much larger.  I have caught a lot of fish, and I have caught big fish, but never before have I caught so many big fish in a single day.  5+ minute fights, on the reel were normal.

There are bigger fish in the river, but 14-16" were common.

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The afternoon saw us heading up the canyon again.  There is so much water to fish, I can't begin to imagine how long it would take to get to it all.

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Fishing was so hot, I just kept the phone in my pocket and fished.  And caught. 

Evening twilight pic on the way home is the best I could do.

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Sunday was just me & fishing buddy.  We went by Western Rivers for a quick wader repair and some intel before heading to the upper section of the Middle Provo, which produced the first rainbow of the trip.

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Much bigger water.  I stood in one spot and caught 8 fish in about 20 minutes on the same fly.  I tied on a streamer and caught 3 more in the same place.  Fishing buddy came by it an hour later and caught 6 more, then I went back and caught two more.  He fished a Euro rig the entire trip.  I fished traditional tight line nymphs and streamers and neither of us feel like we outfished the other.

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Sunday was lake day.  His Dad has been fishing Strawberry Reservoir for 25+ years.  He loves to catch cutthroat and Kokanee salmon.  The salmon were in full breeding regalia, but about 20' deep. We could see them, but they were just red shadows in the deep.

The Aspen are just a week or so from being in full fall color, but still pretty.

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Strawberry is a very large, very clear reservoir.  We could see cutthroat 15-18' deep in crystal water, but could not get them to take any of our offerings.



His Dad on the other hand, slayed 'em on shad raps.

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We got a little more canyon fishing in late that afternoon.  Again, I didn't think to take pics.  Just having too much fun catching fish.

Monday dawned and we were up early to get in a few more hours of fishing before having to pack, cover the boat, clean out the truck and be at the airport by 3pm.

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This guy is a retired ornithology and ecology professor who spent two days scouting out perfect spots for us to catch fish.  He did awesome.  I'm hoping to fish with him again and hoping I can talk him into coming to Ohio with us one spring to fish for steelhead.

But he has to bring the dog.

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We got off the river at 1pm, jetted to the house and made it to the airport in time for a beer.

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The cold and wind blew in the day after we left, so we feel as though we Protestants got a good laugh at the Mormons, leaving them to deal with the winter.

So long, Utah.  Look forward to next time!

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Raymond

"maybe procrastination is another word for fishing..." ben
"Just butchered my first silk kitty...." Wooly Bugger  January 26, 2018, 12:41:27 PM
You can't land an otter on 7x. Now I know - Dougfish

Big J


Dee-Vo


Onslow

Love the waterfall/grotto pic. Points earned for not going to woke & weedy Colorado to spend your money. 

 bd;0  'c;


Yallerhammer

Wow, what a trip! Great report, thank you for posting it! Makes me realize again how much I need to get out west sometime before I'm staring up at a tombstone.
Women want me, doughbellies fear me. - Little Debbie Prostaff

driver

Wtf am I doing here in the southeast?

Hellagood time. Catching fish is just a perk to the scenery.


itieuglyflies

Wow,awesome trip and report.....perhaps next time you can find something to drink!

Devinsdad

Great damn report and photos ... thanks for the share

Woolly Bugger

ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

hcrum87hc

Very nice!  Getting out west to fish is on my to do list in the next 5-10 years once the kids get a little older and not as much of a handful on the wife.
Jeremiah 17:7

driver

Quote from: hcrum87hc on October 13, 2019, 20:48:37 PMVery nice!  Getting out west to fish is on my to do list in the next 5-10 years once the kids get a little older and not as much of a handful on the wife.

Take em with you. That's what I do.

Al

Very nice - love the photography but then had expected that coming from you.  bd;0  'c;  bd;0  'c;  bd;0  'c;

Dougfish

Dang. That's one of the handful of states I have not touched.
May have to add that one to the to do list.
Thanks for taking us there, brother.  -0-
Glad you got that opportunity.
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

Onslow

West is a big place.  5 trips minimum.

Trip 1 w/kid: North Rim GC, Mesa Verde, Arches, Bryce, Zion.
https://goo.gl/maps/fci41W3hmmxi62JX9  One must drive through here near sunset
https://goo.gl/maps/mRpPyN1u7x2U2hfV9  One should also drive 128 along the river.  This scenic byway is breathtaking.  You can also stop, and fish the Colorado if not too high for largemouth and smallies.  Need 10 days to really.  Grand Canyon area is very pricey, and the South Rim is gay.  Kaibab

Trip 2 w/kid, some fishing: Fly into Albuquerque, stop by the Pueblo cultural center, explore NM volcanoes, chill with the Pueblo tribes, fish the Rio, head to the San Juans in CO for more fishing. There are many lakes near the divide in the Conejos and Rio headwaters.  Seapage lake used to have 15 inch brookies, and bows up to 10 pounds.  Ghost lake is also good.  There are a couple lakes above Rock lake that are chock full of good brookies.  Some of the lower lakes in the area have good cutties.  Go to the Rocky Mt. National Park, and hike the high escarpments that are off the charts.  Fly home from Denver.

Trip 3: Fly into Omaha, and drive the Oregon trail to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Coordinate a pheasant hunt near Scotts Bluff, then hit the wilderness when the aspens. Custer Gallatin is awesome.  If doing a 10 day to 2 weeks, a Yellowstone trip should be next on the list.  Too may streams in Yellowstone.  Forest and Glade creeks look interesting to me.  On the way out, camp out on the divide in Shoshone NF with a view of the Grand Teton. Find some cows to camp among so you won't be grizzly snack, and enjoy a million dollar sunrise.

Trip 4: Fly into St. Louis, and then drive through the Flint Hills of Kansas.  Kansas has the coolest little towns off the beaten path.  As of 1993, there was a town that still had dirt roads and town square.  Folks parked in the middle of the road in front of the greasy spoon. From there pick up the Lewis and Clark trail route to the headwaters of the Missouri.  Time to go fishing. Fly out of Montana back home.

Trip 5: Crescent City Cali.  Hit the coastal redwood parks, and then fish for seasonal steelhead.  Coastal hwy driving!

rbphoto

Quote from: Onslow on October 14, 2019, 20:27:28 PMWest is a big place.  5 trips minimum.

Trip 1 w/kid: North Rim GC, Mesa Verde, Arches, Bryce, Zion.
https://goo.gl/maps/fci41W3hmmxi62JX9  One must drive through here near sunset
https://goo.gl/maps/mRpPyN1u7x2U2hfV9  One should also drive 128 along the river.  This scenic byway is breathtaking.  You can also stop, and fish the Colorado if not too high for largemouth and smallies.  Need 10 days to really.  Grand Canyon area is very pricey, and the South Rim is gay.  Kaibab

Trip 2 w/kid, some fishing: Fly into Albuquerque, stop by the Pueblo cultural center, explore NM volcanoes, chill with the Pueblo tribes, fish the Rio, head to the San Juans in CO for more fishing. There are many lakes near the divide in the Conejos and Rio headwaters.  Seapage lake used to have 15 inch brookies, and bows up to 10 pounds.  Ghost lake is also good.  There are a couple lakes above Rock lake that are chock full of good brookies.  Some of the lower lakes in the area have good cutties.  Go to the Rocky Mt. National Park, and hike the high escarpments that are off the charts.  Fly home from Denver.

Trip 3: Fly into Omaha, and drive the Oregon trail to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Coordinate a pheasant hunt near Scotts Bluff, then hit the wilderness when the aspens. Custer Gallatin is awesome.  If doing a 10 day to 2 weeks, a Yellowstone trip should be next on the list.  Too may streams in Yellowstone.  Forest and Glade creeks look interesting to me.  On the way out, camp out on the divide in Shoshone NF with a view of the Grand Teton. Find some cows to camp among so you won't be grizzly snack, and enjoy a million dollar sunrise.

Trip 4: Fly into St. Louis, and then drive through the Flint Hills of Kansas.  Kansas has the coolest little towns off the beaten path.  As of 1993, there was a town that still had dirt roads and town square.  Folks parked in the middle of the road in front of the greasy spoon. From there pick up the Lewis and Clark trail route to the headwaters of the Missouri.  Time to go fishing. Fly out of Montana back home.

Trip 5: Crescent City Cali.  Hit the coastal redwood parks, and then fish for seasonal steelhead.  Coastal hwy driving!

 'c;

I think exploring the West will take an entire 'nuther lifetime.  There are so many places I want to go.  I will never have enough time to do everything on my list.

I do plan to go pheasant hunting in S Dakota at least once.  Our guide from this trip has written or co-written a few books about bird hunting in the Dakotas . . .

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I hope to continue to pick his brain and maybe spend a week out there with him in the future.  Not this year, but hopefully over the next couple.

Just need a dog!
"maybe procrastination is another word for fishing..." ben
"Just butchered my first silk kitty...." Wooly Bugger  January 26, 2018, 12:41:27 PM
You can't land an otter on 7x. Now I know - Dougfish