Bass Fishing Mantua Reservoir

After a good cleaning, draining and drying of the boat and a little Clorox to ensure the cleanliness of the Fish Steeler, Thursday morning Shifty met me at the house and we loaded up the Fish Steeler and headed for Mantua Reservoir. Mantua Reservoir is a small reservoir in Sardine Canyon on the way to Cache Valley. The reservoir is not large but holds some nice largemouth bass, along with bluegill, crappie, and trout rainbow and brown. We picked up Kelly in Salt Lake and made our way to Brigham City were stopped and we got some snacks and breakfast. We will find a different stop next time, not too good of a choice for breakfast where we stopped. We made it to the lake at sunrise and the air was crisp and the lake was glass.

After getting all the tackle on the boat we made our way across the lake to where the hot springs are located and supposedly all the bass. We started fishing, Kelly was working a topwater jerk bait, Shifty was working a spinnerbait and I started out with a medium diving square bill. After a few cast we all changed up Kelly to a frog, Shifty to a buzz bait, and I went to a shallow crankbait. I am not a bass fisher, but the crankbait worked and I pulled in the first fish of the day.

They promptly changed lures to crankbaits. I fished the shallow crankbait for a few more cast and got nothing else on it. So I changed to a couple other lures getting nothing and then put on jointed Rapala and the third cast with it produced the second fish of the day. Neither of which was anything to brag about but I was catching. I fished the jointed bait for a while and nothing else again.

We fished the bank area for a couple hours, changing baits, presentations depth's you name it, and nothing. Shifty and Kelly went to the bottom and worked worms and grubs. Shifty put on a curly tail grub jig and sank it to the bottom. he worked it for a few seconds and bam!

A nice hit and hook up. He got it to the boat and it was a nice 2 lb largemouth bass. We got a couple pictures and video shots of it and released to fight another day. We continued down the bank and Shifty continued to work the grub along the bottom and a few minutes later he had another nice hit and hook up. He got that one and we thought for sure it went 2 lbs and Kelly said nah 1.5 lb so we weighed it and sure enough 1.6 lb.

We released and kept fishing back up the bank. Again changing colors types and presentations trying to find that one killer bait of the day. I changed out to another shallow crankbait and on the third cast I caught my third of the day, again just an itty bitty but it was the third one for me putting me back in the lead.

Fished for another few minutes and getting nothing. It was a one-hit-wonder day for me and my lures. We played around until noon on the bank and caught nothing else. We shot across the lake to the dam and fished it for an hour and getting nothing we called it a day. Kelly got a couple hits but didn't land anything, Shifty definitely had the biggest bag of the day and I had the most. We stopped at the Burger Bar in Roy for a burger and it was delicious. Great day on the pond with Shifty and Kelly.

Deer Creek Revival

After a long year of not launching at Deer Creek Reservoir, the UDWR had a clean return on the water samples, giving me hope that the lake we enjoy fishing might be clean of Quaggas. We know they have to go clean for 3 years, but it was good news for us. We fished one evening after work. The wind was blowing good so we stayed inside the Walsburg leg and trolled the channel. Starting out we were getting hits often and got one to the boat. A small rainbow trout but it made the trip whole, the old lanes were still active. Parker started us off with two hookups only to lose them on the way in. We made large sweeping figure eights in the channel looking for anything that would take our offerings. I finally got a rainbow hooked up and reeled it in.

We took a couple pictures and released it. As long as we were out of the wind it was a fantastic evening, in the wind we were happy we had our hoodies on. The Spring weather still has a good bite to it. We fished the channel for a couple hours that evening but after the initial few hits and bites, we didn't get another hit the rest of the evening. We tried a couple times to get out of the channel and go toward Rainbow Bay only to be turned back. We pulled lines as the sunset over Mt. Timpanogos and made our way out of the channel. The wind had calmed down, so we opened up the Fish Steeler and went up to Rainbow Bay to blow out the cobwebs from the winter rest. For the first run of the season, it was great and we had fun sharing stories of the week. Parker is buried with school and work and is happy to have some time to relax.

Fishing Deer Creek with my Grandson

Tuesday evening Parker called and asked if I wanted to join him and Jack on a quick run to Deer Creek and fish a little. Joining him at the homestead we loaded up and took the quick 15 minute ride to the lake.

We parked in the Rainbow Bay parking area and made our way to the water’s edge. With Jack we didn’t want to make a long haul or to steep of a drop. The beach area is good for that. We started tossing lures, me with my K-masters and Parker with his Jakes, he also dropped some power bait on his second pole. Rainbow bay is a large flat that extends out into the main bod of the lake. It is shallow for quite a ways out and hard to find any holes near the bank in high water situations.

I made my way around the bank the northeast point and got nothing after changing lures multiple times. Watching Parker and Jack fish from a distance I made my way back to them quickly and got a few pictures. It was a great evening and sunset on the lake. having my grandson beside me made it that much better! No fish were caught but memories were made. Jack was not ready to go when the sunset but we made our way home and with a little cookie chaser Jack was okay to leave. Next time out the Fish Steeler will be in tow.

Big Sand Wash Reservoir - Fishing

Thursday afternoon Parker and I went on an adventure to new waters. Big Sand Wash Reservoir in the Uinta Basin. We didn't really know what to expect but were excited about the prospects. Parker is really taking to this finding new waters and exploring them. Parker loaded up his pontoon with new battery and picked me up, yep he drove and I enjoyed the ride! We stopped in Heber for a bite and then headed east. We stopped in Duchesne to get some drinks and snacks and continued our journey east. We turned north just outside of Duchesne and made our way to the lake.

We got on he lake about 3 pm. Parker loaded and prepped his pontoon for launch and readied myself for some shore fishing. I left and went to the spillway and started casting K-masters. First the cast got nothing, I changed colors to an orange K-master and second cast caught a nice 20 inch Rainbow trout, it gave a decent fight and took some drag made it enjoyable to be on the lake again. Parker was still readying himself and getting things in order by the time I caught my first. The orange k-master was a one hit wonder ten more cast and nothing. I changed to a red shiner patter and again on the second cast a nice heavy hit. Another nice Rainbow trout on the end of the line. A good 20+ inch Rainbow and easily two pounds made his way to shore with my help. I had a good little docking area for the fish with a little water and nice smooth rocks to rest on while I got the hook out. Parker by now had past my area on his way to other side of the lake with trolling motor going. Again the red shiner was a one hit wonder so changed up and changed again. Nothing was enticing the crowd to hit.

I tried something new and put a triple teaser trailer hook about 18 inches off the k-master. This proved to be enticing but not enough to for a full blown bite, I got a number of hits on the setup but didn't hook up any fish. I was spent by this time and made my way back to the truck. I rested for a few and got up to try my luck at the dock.

I looked out across the lake wondering how Parker was doing and noticed he was paddling back across the lake, remember the new battery, yep it died at the furthest reaches of the lake. He paddle for a good hour into the wind before he made the dock. Tired but not discouraged he put the other big battery in and left for the rest of his loot. He had one of the nice 20+ inch Rainbow trout and another smaller one. Asking how I was feeling, I replied I was good and to keep going. He went east this time into the wind so if the battery died this time he could drift back the dock.

Parker launched for the second time this time knowing where the channel was and went right to it and hooking up a nice fish that I could see from shore. He got it pontoon side and it flipped out of the water and was gone. No matter Parker righted the pontoon and kept moving through the lane. As I watched he caught about three more fish before I could no longer see if he was catching or not. I walked along the dam and fished a couple areas and again was spent. This surgery has zapped my reserves something fierce.

I stopped and talked with boater coming off the lake. He had a nice 17 ft tracker that he was blowing the webs off for the season. He had been out for a couple hours and got some Rainbows as well nothing big he said. He also said it was really slow for the lake. I asked what other fish are in the waters and he said it had a good population of perch, small mouth bass, large mouth bass and brown trout. Kent was his name, and he said the small mouth bite will turn on next month and he said they are fun to catch. He left and I rested for a minute in the truck.

The sun was getting lower on the horizon and the water was smoothing out. Parker was still working it along the north east shore with cliffs. I watched as he landed another that I could jumping. It had to be decent sized because he was a good football field away from me. He made his way back tot he dock and we readied ourselves for departure. Not before a few pictures of the fish he had landed. One 18 inch and the others were 20 inches plus and pushing better than 2 lbs. He told me he learned to charge his battery before he took it out again, that new battery that he took right off the shelf. We made our way back to Duchesne and had dinner at Cowan's Cafe. made it home by 10 pm. What a great evening on new waters! We will return but next time we will take the Fish Steeler out.

Fishing Vernon Reservoir with Jimmy and Parker!

Yesterday the boys went out to Vernon Reservoir to tryout Jimmy's new pontoon. He bought one this past week with a 30 lb thrust trolling motor. They left the valley at 3 pm and made their way west along the Pony Express Trail and then southwest to Vernon Reservoir. Arriving around 5 pm they launched by 5:30 and were fishing. The small irrigation reservoir is home to some of the states finest Brown trout. Jimmy was working out kinks of learning how to navigate and work his pontoon but managed a couple fish. Parker is getting the hang of his pontoon and quickly set forth with trolling and landing fish. The weather looked gloomy but the time they arrived at the lake they were clear of the weather and had blue skies and calm waters. Parker said getting in and out of the trail to the lake was interesting but they made it. They ended with one nice Brown trout to keep for the grill. They had a blast and enjoyed their evening on the lake and getting to know their pontoons. I can't wait to get clearance to go with them!! I miss fishing with my boys!!!

Yuba with Shifty

What we were looking for......

Last week I tried out the new shoulder a little, really only by reeling the casts, I laid out. Shifty called me up Wed. to verify that I was still up for the trip to Yuba. Not knowing the condition of the lake and how much wind would be blowing we opted not to take the boat. We arrived at Yuba by 8:30 and was fishing before 9 am. We were on the bank and that never comes out well for me. We fished the dam and northwest shores of Yuba until 1:00 pm. We cast a few hundred times for the day and switched up lures many times and presentation. The best I could muster up was a nice Northern Pike followed me to the shoreline, which I quickly cast back to but to no avail. After moving a few times and covering quite a bit of shoreline we decided that we had enough of Yuba for one day. We should have taken one of our boats it was actually a bluebird day with a little wind but not much. The reservoir is very low for this time of year and the amount of run-off that we have had. Not looking good for later in the summer months.

We weren't content not catching any fish, so we went to Palisades Reservoir, a small irrigation reservoir in Sanpete county. The lake actually held the record Tiger Trout for the state for a number of years. Looking at it you would not believe it. The lake is set in a small canyon adjacent to a golf course both are state parks. The lake is sapphire blue with the mineral content from the mountains it comes from. We fished the banks for the rest of the afternoon. Shifty ended up with 8 fish total and I got 3 to the shore, good for me from the shore. I didn't get any pictures of the day, Shifty did. The fish were all planter rainbows and were returned to grow bigger. We threw spinners and spoons mainly gold or brass and blue fox. A good day spent with a good friend.

Side note of the day, I was trying out my new video cams both Contour roam 2. Figured out the working of the camera and impressed with the quality and clarity of the little cameras. I figured out that the 180* on the lens meant that it inverted the picture.....lol. No manual with either camera but now I have it figured out and there will be much more action at out MistyMtnAdventures youtube channel from here on out.

The size we caught!