Evening at Deer Creek

Tonight Parker and I went to DC and fished for about 5 hours.  We were trolling JOD's, rainbow, and 2 tone cowbells, I was also running dodgers of all colors.  DSP was a no show, so we went to the SoG and finally started getting hits and catching some nice bows.  I had 3 hit so hard and fast they broke off my hook and leader.  Parker landed a very nice brown trout.
The evening was a well needed break for the both of us.  It had been a couple weeks due to work schedules that we got to go out on the pond.  We ran the SoG for the remainder of the evening and continued to pull in numbers of bows most of which returned and Mr. Brown unharmed to fight again.  We had to keep 4 that swallowed the hook.  We gave the fillets to Rogan for dinner.  Parker definitely caught the most and the prize catch with the brown trout.  He was catching the majority of them on on rainbow blades.  We were running 3 colors out on 18# lead core giving us approximately 30-35 ft. of depth.  The water wasn't balmy only 64* tonight but there were plenty of recreation boaters out tonight.  Made for some nice saddle bronc'ing in the in the boat....lol.  We in running water depths between 40 ft. and 60 ft. the fish were suspended at between 30 and 40 feet in depth.  We had quite a few Long Distance Releases tonight still trying to muscle them in to fast, but one in particular was a great hit and release.  Before Parker could get his hands on the pole it hit hard and came flying out of the water about 4 feet.  Nice sized rainbow, great action and fun night! At the island it was the most consistent with hits.  Good luck, leave us a comment.

Stinking Springs

This morning came early at 4:30 am, but when you are headed to Soldier Creek Reservoir looking for Kokanee you need to be on the water early.  We made it to the ramp by 6:30 am and on the water.  We started trolling right off the dock.  There were two fly fishers on the dock running leach pattern and catching nice cutthroat trout.  You could see them big gliding torpedoes, all over the dock area.  We put out JOD's, rainbow pop gear and I ran a prismatic green with green squid trailing.  The JOD's got hit immediately but it was a short hit, the story of the day.  We continued on and kept getting hits on the JOD's so I changed Bob's rig to a prism flasher and he started getting a few hits as well.  Bob was the first to land a fish and what a nice fish to start with.  Bob landed a nice 2.5 lb Kokanee, his first ever.  It was beautiful.  Jimmy got the next one to the boat a nice 24" cutthroat with great coloring.  We released it after a couple pics, no we did not release the kokanee it made its way to the smoker.

We fished in that area for another half hour but got pushed out by other fishers seeing us land a couple they swept in.  We went to the dam side of the reservoir and started trolling again and within seconds Jimmy was getting hits.  Bob started getting a few as well.  They were still short striking and not getting real good sets.  They did manage to boat 6 more rainbow trout and we kept 3 of them fearing they would die if we released them anyways.  Probably wouldn't have hurt there were a number of osprey and golden eagles on the lake.  We managed to see beaver and deer as well.  We made it off the lake by noon, we had a family party to go to so we couldn't stay as long as we wanted.  Okay though the wind had kicked up was pushing us around.  I didn't get a hit a all day I was running light gear and dodgers all day all different combinations of colors and bait.  It was fun getting the big kokanee and cutthroat to the boat.

See the video here Stinking Springs

Flaming Gorge with "The Fish Teaser"

Friday afternoon we left for Manila, a small town on the edge of Flaming Gorge.  It sits just inside the Utah border from Wyoming, a short 3 hour drive from home.  Jimmy and Rogan were with me on this trip Parker had to work at his new position.  We stopped for a quick bite to eat at a local burger joint in Orem.  We also stopped in Evanston and picked up supplies and our Wyoming tags for Flaming Gorge.  After a short stop we were back on the road.  Pulling into Manila around 9:30 pm we made it to our motel.  set up camp for the night, after working on mistymtnadventures.com for a short time we called it a night and crashed.

5 am came quick and we were on the road to the Lucerne marina in and out of Wyoming to get there it was only 10 minutes down the road to meet Capt'n Monty at the dock.  We met up with Monty and "The Fish Teaser" a beautiful 24 ft Thunder Jet boat with 400 h.p. in the hull.  When Monty puts the lever down it will sit you back in the air ride captain chairs.  We were moving into Wyoming by 6:15 am and looking for Kokanee Salmon.

We stopped and Monty set us up for the day with 4 poles, running a couple different dodgers on each pole and wedding rings trailing.  Monty ties his own lures and showed us how to make them.  We were in fish within just a few minutes of our first troll, Rogan took the lead on this one and had it at the boat just before it popped off, kind of the story of the day, long distance releases.  Another came on line and Jimmy took this one, he got it to the boat and Monty scooped it with his net.
We had fish hitting all morning, we had wind all morning, by noon we were tired of the wind.  We fished in Wyoming the entire time and found schools of Kokanee in the area, as usual as we started netting more fish more boats came into our line, one even cut us off our track completely.  We got over it and caught a nice 4 lb Kokanee right in front of them.....LOL!  I was quite happy with pulling this big guy in.  We all caught fish and released a few from the net, not LDR's.  Capt'n Monty was on it today.

As I mentioned earlier we were tired of the wind by noon so we found a cove out of the wind and ate lunch.  This is when Monty showed how to tie the lures he uses, when not using Christenson's Lake Shore Tackle.  Monty took time to show and teach us how to tie the not for each lure and to set up a double hook system.  He explained to us the reason why he used each part and color for each and when to use them.  Yep had the video camera right there and I was so enthralled in the presentation I forgot to catch the lesson on video...DOH!  I guess you will have to book your own trip with Captain Monty Thurgood and Fish Teaser to learn.

After a good lunch and lesson we went for it only to find 4-5 foot swells on the main body.  We went back toward Luceren and went into Red Canyon, along the way we watched another boat lose their trolling motor off the back of the boat, they hit one of the big swells and the motor flew off the back and into the lake, Monty explained there hundreds of casualties like that in the lake.  We made it into the canyon and the fish finder was not seeing anything.  We searched for about an hour and found nothing.  We called it a day about 2:30 pm as well as did most of the fishers on the water it was rough and I was glad we were on the Fish Teaser, it handled the big water very well under the well qualified Guide Captain Monty.

This trip is a yearly sojourn for us now, hopefully nest year Parker will be through with school and be able to join us.  We had a great day and caught a lot of fish before noon, Capt'n Monty knows where they are and how to find them.

Dead Horse Point State Park

Dan and I had never been to Dead Horse Point so on our way home we took a little detour into the park to check it out.  I must say the rise into the park is nice, we were there on a week day and the traffic was not bad plenty of parking as well.  It is a state park so without a state pass it is $10 to enter the park, I have a state pass.  As you climb to the plateau on the way in go through the ages of rocks and the top out on the plateau and begin to see the beginnings of the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River flows down to Lake Powell.  You can drive further down the road and enter Canyonlands National Park, but time did not permit it this time around, another return trip agenda.  We got to the entrance and was waved through and we passed by the visitors center and wondered how many people stop there and think that is it, when in reality the point is another .75 miles around the corner.  We pulled into the parking lot, again plenty of spaces.  We walked around took pictures and marveled at the beauty and vastness of the scene.  We felt out of place however being the only people there at the time that spoke English as our first language.  Great to see America is still a destination for many countries.  After looking around and going out on one of the only points you can still access without a barrier on it, we loaded up and got out of range of the no-seeums, and other biting bugs, yes you need bug spray.  We stopped at the visitor center and I bought a few things, one present for my Dad for father’s day.  It was a great side trip and we wondered what were the first visitors thinking when they saw this place.  We headed back to the highway and for home.  The road home was long, our destination seemed forever away.  We did stop in Helper at the Balance Rock Eatery and Pub for lunch.  Cool old building been there since 1906, had an antique workable pool table and lots of antique furniture.  The upper loft was filled with pictures.  Good food and the rock chips grow on you.  This trip has been a great adventure, get out and see the country folks there many hidden treasures.

San Rafael Swell with Danny

Went on a road trip with Dan T. today and he had never been to the San Rafael Swell - The Wedge.  We were headed to Monticello to play a round of golf at the Hideout Golf Club.  When he said he had never been there I felt it an obligation to enlighten him on the beauty of Utah.  We traveled south out Price to Castle Dale and took the Green River cutoff road to the trail head of the Wedge Rd and turned south.  I so enjoy the reactions of people when we drive up on the Wedge.  They are always awe struck that there is such a sight so close to home.  Within 2 hours you can be overlooking the Wedge and the Little Grand Canyon of Utah.  

From there we went into Buckhorn Wash and traveled to the Buckhorn Wash Pictograph rock art panel.  Dan had not ever seen any of this.  I will admit today was good, there was cloud cover and the panel was showing parts I had not seen before.  Still very faded but some of the drawings were showing through the years of fading and weathering.  

We continued on down the wash and met up with the San Rafael River Bridge.  The original still standing, but not passable, Dan was again awe struck at the beauty of the area.  We ventured along the wash road and came to I-70.  I was not done showing him other parts of the north end of the swell.  We went from there over to the Head of Sinbad and Dutchman's Arch.  

These two areas are in full view of I-70 on the north side of the freeway.  We wondered how many people per day passed by there never knowing what they were missing.  We spent a little time at Dutchman's stretching our legs and relaxing before getting back on the trail.  We headed back to the freeway and went to Green River UT.  

Along the way we passed a trucker that had broken down, his engine blew-up.  He was walking down the road and we watched as car after car just drove by him as he walked, so we stopped and asked if we could help.  He said he was, "just going to walk to the next exit and get some food and drinks."  We explained the next exit, 3 miles away, was an access exit to Lake Powell and no amenities were there and the next available store was 15 miles away, could we give you a ride.  He said, "No, that he needed to stay and wait for the tow truck, but did we have anything to drink or eat?"  We had a half full water bottle and Dan had a 3/4 full diet drink which he gladly accepted and turned around and walked back toward his truck.  

We made it to Green River where we stopped for lunch at the "Tamarisk Restaurant" right on the Green River, great view and good food!  After lunch we headed for Monticello and golf.  The Hideout Golf Club is a small place in Monticello but a great course.  Tight and laid right into the foot hills of the Blue Mountains just west of Monticello.  The course is a ball eating machine for those of us with wicked slices, calling it golf when I play is really a stretch of the true sport, the fairways are tight and blind to almost every hole on the course.  We put in 9 holes thinking we would put in another 9 in the morning, after 8 hours in the seat of the truck, we were tired.  Morning came and I needed to go to my next destination which happened to be Moab.  We didn't get to play our 2nd round, but we got comp passes for them and will have to return and play later....big sad face.  Can't wait to return.  We stayed the night at the "Inn at the Canyons" a nice hotel in Monticello, with a nice indoor pool and spa for relaxing, continental breakfast, clean rooms and comfortable beds.  Morning came and we left for Moab.

Be sure to check out Dan's reaction to seeing the Wedge and Little Grand Canyon on Misty Mtn Adventures You tube channel. To see video click here.

Fuji, Fuji, Fish, Fish!

Jimmy with a nice chunky rainbow

Yep!  We thought the same thing at 6 am when the clerk at our Sev. told us that was the magical fish call that her grandfather told her to say when they were fishing.  We tried it out, we must not have had the right karma going for us, it didn't produce like she said it would....LOL.  We did however find some healthy rainbow at DC again today.  Jim and I went out, it was scheduled as a Strawberry trip but someone slept in, he has begged forgiveness, still pondering that.  Fish Steeler was on DC by 6:30, so not too late and it started off great.  I put a cowbell rainbow pop on with a worm trailer and within a couple minutes had one on line, nice chunky bow.  

We fished Dead Sheep Point for about an hour, the top side of the lane was good the bottom not so much.  Jimmy missed a couple, but did land one nice bow before we left for the Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea lanes.  He was running cowbell/prism tape usually the hot ticket on DC but we figured out he had a short leader on his hook.  He was running a "new hook", to be announced soon.  We fixed that, he was still getting hits but not hooking them, we both had issues trying to muscle them in today.  Good reminder not to hurry a fish in.  I put a second pole in with a dodger set up and got a couple of nice bows just under the surface in late morning and I got the last 2 on the rainbow pop gear running deep.

We fished the SoG and DS for the rest of the morning and had our limits by 11 am.  Thinking we were done and headed home I started packing up and stowing equipment.  Jimmy on the other hand had other ideas.  He wanted to fish the banks for bass.  Sounded like a plan, so we cut across the lake to white rocks and started casting.  A few lure changes later I finally got a small, small mouth bass.  It was fun but still small.

Small mouth bass on DC

  We fished on for a little while and again a few lure changes and I got a perch to the boat.  It was slow to say the least others that were near us weren't catching any faster.  We fished until 2 pm and called it a day.
Our live well had 8 nice rainbow trout in it and we needed to get them home.  We thought it would have been a packed today since it was "Free Fish Day" for Utah, there were a few more bank fishers but not as many as you would think or like to see for the sport to grow.  

We got to the dock and I went after the truck while Jimmy tended the Fish Steeler at the dock.  While I was getting the Mule a group of folks at the dock asked if he could help out with a stranded boat.  When I got back they asked me, since I have been rescued a couple times due to mechanical issues, it was time to pay it forward so we ran out and towed the boat in.  He had tried to start his I/O without turning on his blower and flooded it and was adrift.  Lesson learned turn on your blower folks, plus it could have been extremely bad had it ignited the fumes in the engine compartment.  He said, after we got him back to the dock, that he should have learned from the previous week when he did the same thing. Lesson 2 make a check list of procedures, either written or a good mental one.  He was new boat owner and I can say it took me a couple times with my first boat to learn a few things but each time I added it to the check list.  All turned out well and they got the boat loaded.  

We headed for home and dropped off our catch to neighbors and friends that love fish.  One is my parents neighbor, he is awesome, he cares for them when I can't and does yard work for them.  I gladly give him a couple fish each trip, he loves fish but is not a fisher.  Glad to keep him supplied, he fixed the last catch of the day with a brine salt solution and liquid smoke in his oven on low heat, he said it was delicious.

I on the other hand fixed my fillets on Wasatch Mountain Seasoned Gourmet Cedar Planks, or we call them Wasatch Planks.  These are a must use when grilling and wanting that tint of smoke flavor and better yet these are seasoned with different herbs, spices and ingredients.  Today I used Rosemary/Merlot, but you will have to go to the other sites to learn more.

Silver Flat Reservoir

I went with a good friend to high mountain lake in American Fork Canyon.  Bruce is one of the best fly fisherman I know.  He has one of the smoothest cast on the Wasatch front.  So it is always a pleasure to go with him and learn a little just by watching his technique.  We fished fro about 3 hours and caught only a few fish.  Nothing large but never really is anything too big in Silver Flat.  Bruce set up double hook with an attractor and and a trailer midge or scud pattern.  He got a lot of hits but landed only a couple on what he called a snowcone midge.  I fished with my fly rod for most of the evening but got nothing on it so I switched over ultra-light spin gear and landed a little carry over rainbow.

It was promptly sent back to grow some.  I continued throwing light weight lures at them and got a couple more hits on the kastmaster.  Bruce continued to drag his rig and got a lot of hits yet but still only got a couple to the boat.  We finished off the evening by catching a couple on the way in.  Slow but the views at Silver Flat are amazing!  Great evening with great company.