Jordanelle with Devin fishing for Smallmouth Bass

Saturday morning, I picked up Devin Ashby at Macey's and we made our way to Jordanelle as the sun broke the horizon we were going into the Rock Cliff area of the reservoir where the Provo river feeds the reservoir. Devin wanted to catch smallmouth bass and earlier in the season we had great success in this leg of the lake catching them. As we entered this leg of the lake the sunrise was spectacular and we could see spin-drift columns of mist rising 30 feet into the air. As we approached our destination through the mist we could see boats start to appear and fishermen standing at the bow and stern of each boat. I mentioned, to Devin, it looked like they were in a tournament. We later talked to a couple of them and sure enough they were. We made our way around the boats and into the backside of them, the area we had fished earlier in the year was now high and dry by 30 feet. The water level is below 70% right now and still dropping.

I could still see good structure and maneuvered the boat back into the spot I wanted to be in and away from the tournament boats. I put on a lipless crankbait to begin and had Devin put on a shallow diving crankbait. Once we were positioned we started casting, on the third cast I landed the first fish of the day. A smallmouth bass about 1.5 lbs, once the tourney boys seen this happen they closed in quickly and basically moved us out of the area as I released my fish and got a pic or two. I wheeled around worked back into the spot I was in, but by then three boats had stationed up and fish were being blasted with hardware. We made our way to another hole on the south shore of the leg and started fishing back towards the west. The fish turned off! We fished for two hours and got a couple hits. I remembered a rock pile as we came into the area and made our way back to it. There Devin hooked up a smallmouth but lost it right at the boat. Again the boats closed in on us, asking if we were in the tournament and we explained we weren't. They saw us catch the one earlier and were impressed by the size of it. We fished this area for another hour moving to the north shore and moved along it until the wind and skiers became too much.

We moved back into the marina bay where we had good success earlier as well. Remember we were fishing for smallmouth bass. Devin was tossing a baby bass type crankbait and got a hit within a couple casts. As he reeled it in we could see that it was a nice sized rainbow trout, Devin got on the board. By this time, we had only boated the one smallmouth bass. We continued to fish the bay for a couple hours and we ended up boating three more fish, with Devin landing another nice sized rainbow trout on a crankbait. He did finally land a smallmouth bass, his first ever so it was a very successful day. By 1:00 pm it had turned off again and we called it a day. We loaded and headed for home. The fishing was hard and slow but the day on the lake was spectacular, starting with the sunrise and ending with great views of the fall colors, with a few fish being boated along the way. Till next time “Keep It Bent”.

Watch for the video.

Bass Fishing Jordanelle with Devin

Saturday morning, I picked up Devin Ashby at Macey's and we made our way to Jordanelle as the sun broke the horizon we were going into the Rock Cliff area of the reservoir where the Provo river feeds the reservoir. Devin wanted to catch smallmouth bass and earlier in the season we had great success in this leg of the lake catching them. As we entered this leg of the lake the sunrise was spectacular and we could see spin-drift columns of mist rising 30 feet into the air. As we approached our destination through the mist we could see boats start to appear and fishermen standing at the bow and stern of each boat. I mentioned, to Devin, it looked like they were in a tournament. We later talked to a couple of them and sure enough they were. We made our way around the boats and into the backside of them, the area we had fished earlier in the year was now high and dry by 30 feet. The water level is below 70% right now and still dropping.

I could still see good structure and maneuvered the boat back into the spot I wanted to be in and away from the tournament boats. I put on a lipless crankbait to begin and had Devin put on a shallow diving crankbait. Once we were positioned we started casting, on the third cast I landed the first fish of the day. A smallmouth bass about 1.5 lbs, once the tourney boys seen this happen they closed in quickly and basically moved us out of the area as I released my fish and got a pic or two. I wheeled around worked back into the spot I was in, but by then three boats had stationed up and fish were being blasted with hardware. We made our way to another hole on the south shore of the leg and started fishing back towards the west. The fish turned off! We fished for two hours and got a couple hits. I remembered a rock pile as we came into the area and made our way back to it. There Devin hooked up a smallmouth but lost it right at the boat. Again the boats closed in on us, asking if we were in the tournament and we explained we weren't. They saw us catch the one earlier and were impressed by the size of it. We fished this area for another hour moving to the north shore and moved along it until the wind and skiers became too much.

We moved back into the marina bay where we had good success earlier as well. Remember we were fishing for smallmouth bass. Devin was tossing a baby bass type crankbait and got a hit within a couple casts. As he reeled it in we could see that it was a nice sized rainbow trout, Devin got on the board. By this time, we had only boated the one smallmouth bass. We continued to fish the bay for a couple hours and we ended up boating three more fish, with Devin landing another nice sized rainbow trout on a crankbait. He did finally land a smallmouth bass, his first ever so it was a very successful day. By 1:00 pm it had turned off again and we called it a day. We loaded and headed for home. The fishing was hard and slow but the day on the lake was spectacular, starting with the sunrise and ending with great views of the fall colors, with a few fish being boated along the way. Till next time “Keep It Bent”.

Watch for the video.

Two Curmudgeons Bass Fishing Steinaker

Thursday morning 3:15 am came fast and with a lot of anticipation. Shifty and I were heading to Steinaker, a reservoir north of Vernal, Utah. Two and half hours east of the Wasatch front at the foot of the Uinta mountains. The lake is known for its bass fishing and that is what we were targeting for the day. Shifty had never been to the lake before and it had been a decade since I last fished it. One of those destinations that seems so far but when you get there it wasn’t nearly as far as you thought. We hit the road running at 4:00 am from his place and didn’t stop until we pulled into Vernal at 6:20 am. We stopped at the Maverick and put some gas in the boat and then stopped at MickyD’s for breakfast. We pulled out of Vernal by 6:50 am and made our way to the lake, a quick 10-minute drive up the canyon road and we were at the dock by 7:00 am, launched and fishing by 7:15 am. Earlier as we crossed the Strawberry Valley we noticed the temperature was 32 degrees and sent out an Instagram stating that the ice would soon be here!!

 

We left the dock and started across the lake and seen fish feeding on the surface almost boil like. We couldn’t tell if they were carp or game fish. We tossed a few lures into the mix and returned nothing and figured out they were fingerling trout feeding on midges that were covering the surface of the water. We trolled our way toward the dam and into a bay but was getting nothing. Shifty was getting antsy to say the least he could see on the other bank huge rock fields and that were screaming, fish me! So I kicked the trolling motor up to high speed and made for the other side of the lake. I trolled as we crossed the main body and watched the second boat launch, we were the only people on the lake. As we edged closer to the rock banks Shifty got excited started tossing hard plastic like a mad man. I was fishing a Rebel red crawfish pattern and when we got the rocks I got three Large Mouth Bass in three casts. Shifty changed over to the same pattern and got a couple on the boat as well. We were fishing tight to the bank and tossing front and back deck along the bank with long casts. Hitting the points and seeing the deep pockets and calling our shots, we caught fish most of the morning. We kept working areas until the fish tired out and then we moved to the next area and finished up at the dam. We changed color, type and presentation of our lures as often as the fish were changing their minds on what they would hit. By 8 am we had seven fish on the boat and by 10 am we had 20 fish on the boat. Then the dead time set in at 10:30, we kept changing and even went to a top water plug and Shifty got a number of hits from the juvenile Large Mouth Bass in the bay we pulled into and had some snacks and water before hitting it hard again. Watching the top water bug get hit was fun and watching Shifty pull in a little one was fun none the less. We did watch a big one swim up and take a gulp at the top water but missed it.

 

After a rest period and throwing top water plugs we went back across the dam and worked crankbaits again. Shifty was up on me 22 - 18 fish and it was 1:00 pm. I noticed a number of the fish he brought in looked like a crankbait I had in my box so I tied it on. Of course every time I tied something on or pulled out of the water Shifty would throw into my open water and each time he would catch a fish. He likes to steal fish from me like that……lol. This time however it worked out, I tied on the lure and in four casts I had caught up to him. We had set a time if they weren’t hitting that we were going to leave by 1:30 pm and by that time I had caught up. The time changed to 2:00 pm and then to 2:15 and then finally ended at 3:00 pm. We fished the dam rest of the day working the rocks and pockets and catching fish until we each had landed a total of 26 fish a piece, giving us a total of 52. One of the craziest catches was a Rainbow trout on a Speed Trap, I caught it while working toward the dam, nice colors and size to it. Shifty caught two Bluegill at the end of the day which was fun.

 

Shifty and I were tired by the end of the day and hungry. We loaded the boat, stopped at the ranger station and talked with the ranger about the reservoir and the fish that were in the lake. He told us that rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Sunfish and a small population of Smallmouth Bass, which were introduced illegally a season ago, populated the lake. Nice guy and lots of knowledge of the reservoir. The facilities were great. The lake itself was drawn down quite a bit for irrigation, and the ranger said next year at this time they will drain it down drastically to repair the dam. The entire day was great weather a little breeze once in a while and cloud cover in the morning with a light sprinkle to begin the day. As the day progressed in turned into a bluebird day and glassed out a few times. We were one of three boats on the water the entire day. Not counting the DWR boat checking water quality and for quagga’s. Some shore anglers showed up in the afternoon, so we had the lake to ourselves basically the entire day. The water temperature stayed right around 67 degrees and the water was stained heavily with algae, enough to turn our lines green.

We ended the day over lunch at Freddy’s in Vernal, for those from the east it is like Steak and Shake. Good food and good service with smiles. We headed for home and made it back the Shifty’s place by 7:20 pm. Great day an Epic day on the pond. Till next week “Keep It Bent!”

Watch the Shifty Outdoor video here.

Bass Fishing in the Uinta Basin - Steinaker

Thursday morning 3:15 am came fast and with a lot of anticipation. Shifty and I were heading to Steinaker, a reservoir north of Vernal, Utah. Two and half hours east of the Wasatch front at the foot of the Uinta mountains. The lake is known for its bass fishing and that is what we were targeting for the day. Shifty had never been to the lake before and it had been a decade since I last fished it. One of those destinations that seems so far but when you get there it wasn’t nearly as far as you thought. We hit the road running at 4:00 am from his place and didn’t stop until we pulled into Vernal at 6:20 am. We stopped at the Maverick and put some gas in the boat and then stopped at MickyD’s for breakfast. We pulled out of Vernal by 6:50 am and made our way to the lake, a quick 10-minute drive up the canyon road and we were at the dock by 7:00 am, launched and fishing by 7:15 am. Earlier as we crossed the Strawberry Valley we noticed the temperature was 32 degrees and sent out an Instagram stating that the ice would soon be here!!

 

We left the dock and started across the lake and seen fish feeding on the surface almost boil like. We couldn’t tell if they were carp or game fish. We tossed a few lures into the mix and returned nothing and figured out they were fingerling trout feeding on midges that were covering the surface of the water. We trolled our way toward the dam and into a bay but was getting nothing. Shifty was getting antsy to say the least he could see on the other bank huge rock fields and that were screaming, fish me! So I kicked the trolling motor up to high speed and made for the other side of the lake. I trolled as we crossed the main body and watched the second boat launch, we were the only people on the lake. As we edged closer to the rock banks Shifty got excited started tossing hard plastic like a mad man. I was fishing a Rebel red crawfish pattern and when we got the rocks I got three Large Mouth Bass in three casts. Shifty changed over to the same pattern and got a couple on the boat as well. We were fishing tight to the bank and tossing front and back deck along the bank with long casts. Hitting the points and seeing the deep pockets and calling our shots, we caught fish most of the morning. We kept working areas until the fish tired out and then we moved to the next area and finished up at the dam. We changed color, type and presentation of our lures as often as the fish were changing their minds on what they would hit. By 8 am we had seven fish on the boat and by 10 am we had 20 fish on the boat. Then the dead time set in at 10:30, we kept changing and even went to a top water plug and Shifty got a number of hits from the juvenile Large Mouth Bass in the bay we pulled into and had some snacks and water before hitting it hard again. Watching the top water bug get hit was fun and watching Shifty pull in a little one was fun none the less. We did watch a big one swim up and take a gulp at the top water but missed it.

 

After a rest period and throwing top water plugs we went back across the dam and worked crankbaits again. Shifty was up on me 22 - 18 fish and it was 1:00 pm. I noticed a number of the fish he brought in looked like a crankbait I had in my box so I tied it on. Of course every time I tied something on or pulled out of the water Shifty would throw into my open water and each time he would catch a fish. He likes to steal fish from me like that……lol. This time however it worked out, I tied on the lure and in four casts I had caught up to him. We had set a time if they weren’t hitting that we were going to leave by 1:30 pm and by that time I had caught up. The time changed to 2:00 pm and then to 2:15 and then finally ended at 3:00 pm. We fished the dam rest of the day working the rocks and pockets and catching fish until we each had landed a total of 26 fish a piece, giving us a total of 52. One of the craziest catches was a Rainbow trout on a Speed Trap, I caught it while working toward the dam, nice colors and size to it. Shifty caught two Bluegill at the end of the day which was fun.

 

Shifty and I were tired by the end of the day and hungry. We loaded the boat, stopped at the ranger station and talked with the ranger about the reservoir and the fish that were in the lake. He told us that rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Sunfish and a small population of Smallmouth Bass, which were introduced illegally a season ago, populated the lake. Nice guy and lots of knowledge of the reservoir. The facilities were great. The lake itself was drawn down quite a bit for irrigation, and the ranger said next year at this time they will drain it down drastically to repair the dam. The entire day was great weather a little breeze once in a while and cloud cover in the morning with a light sprinkle to begin the day. As the day progressed in turned into a bluebird day and glassed out a few times. We were one of three boats on the water the entire day. Not counting the DWR boat checking water quality and for quagga’s. Some shore anglers showed up in the afternoon, so we had the lake to ourselves basically the entire day. The water temperature stayed right around 67 degrees and the water was stained heavily with algae, enough to turn our lines green.

We ended the day over lunch at Freddy’s in Vernal, for those from the east it is like Steak and Shake. Good food and good service with smiles. We headed for home and made it back the Shifty’s place by 7:20 pm. Great day an Epic day on the pond. Till next week “Keep It Bent!”

 

 









Watch the Shifty Outdoor video here.

Small Flies and Small Streams

Thursday morning was a blur at 4:30 am when I loaded up and headed for Shifty’s place and met him for our flyfishing trip into the southwest Uinta’s and Uinta Basin. We made our way to Heber and stopped to pick up breakfast before heading into the backcountry of this pristine area.

The road was rough and dusty to our first stop on this flyfishing day. We found a pull off and readied ourselves for the stream. Putting on waders and stringing our fly poles. We started off with elk hair caddis and royal wulff flies. I quickly changed to a mosquito after seeing fish feeding and seeing what they were eating. The change was the right move, I got hits immediately and couldn’t hook up one of them. Did I mention it had been a while since I worked my fly rod? I felt a little out of practice at this point and they stopped hitting it after a few more casts so I moved up stream to a beaver dam catch pool LOADED with fish. Again hit after hit no hook set, I was thinking to myself well you suck, but then I checked my hook and it was bent up into the body of the fly…..AHHHH! I fixed it and on the next cast a nice little Cutthroat trout came to visit my net. After that I caught three more beautiful Cutthroat trout, and then, the next cast one hit and my entire leader with the only true mosquito pattern I had was gone. I watched the nice sized trout hit it and then disappear into the depth of the catch pool. Shifty came up to the hole as I was re-tying my leader and fly and he took a couple shots at getting it to return but no luck. I tied on a gnat pattern with similar color and pattern and tossed it few times getting a couple swing byes but nothing. I moved up stream and Shifty stayed and played in the pool, he changed out to a nymph pattern and got a couple Cutthroat out of the pool.

Upstream I started working the gnat pattern and could see the fish feeding. I worked my way up the bank as stealthfully as I could, but still spooked a dozen or so fish in the crystal clear water we were fishing. I set my line a few times checking my range and backcast and then went for it. Moved up again spooking a few fish but what I was after was still feeding. In the shadows of the willows it was quite a sight to watch as they poked through the surface of the water and fed on tiny morsels of insect life. I cast once into the upstream and watched as my fly was engulfed by a feeding cutthroat. This was a nice sized fish for the stream we were fishing and I was happy to see them liking my offering. After releasing it I cast again and again watched it get taken by yet another cutt of the same size. Netting him I let out a, woot! To let Shifty know I was on them. Third cast, what do they say about the third, it’s a charm, this one turned out to be. I watched as the fly was slurped up by a fish and then the fight was on. Running 6x leader which is 3lb leader I was trying not to horse it by any means. I thought alright a nice fighter, it darted and dashed side to side, then with one big run, into the undercut it went. I thought great lost that one but kept it tight and pulled the fish clear only to have race full speed between my legs. Doing a pirouette on one foot and trying to keep the line tight throwing my hand high into the air only to put my line into the willow above me and get the line tangled, again I thought great lost it. I didn’t lose it though and had enough pull to keep the line taut and ripping the willow half apart and leaves and branches wrapped into the line I kept fighting the fish. She broke again, this time for a boulder and debris submerged behind me. I kept good tension on the line and worked her out of the hole she found. She swung upstream and tried to snap the line but it didn’t give. I coaxed her into the net and that is when I realized I had a beauty of a fish. Filling the net completely and extending beyond its handle, I gave a loud Woot! I called for Shifty to come and see the fish. A very nice female cutthroat. He filmed it for a minute as I unhooked her in the net. I reached down to hold her up for a good shot and she had one last thought and splashed me with her tail as she swam to the bottom of the stream and pinned herself under a boulder. It was a great fight and one I will remember. Definitely my fish of the summer!

I cast a few more times up stream and landed a couple more fish and then the leader broke on a hit and I decided to call it for the morning. On the way back to the truck we fished a bend right below the parking area and got nothing but I was still smiling from the battle of the nice cutthroat I landed.

We loaded and headed south into Hana, a small town in foothills of the Uinta range and had lunch at the Hana Café. A nice hometown café with good food and friendly service. We made our plans for the afternoon session of our day as we ate lunch. Afterwards we visited the mercantile across the street and seen walls full of deer! Very cool. We loaded and headed for our next destination. Strawberry River.

Going up the canyon toward Strawberry Pinnacles. I had forgotten how cool that canyon is. I haven’t ventured into it for years. The river was running crystal clear and fast in the narrow sections and quick in the wider sections. We went quite a way up the canyon before Shifty asked where we were stopping, I said that we had passed a number of good areas already and I just thought he wanted to see what was at the end of the road since he had never been there. He pulled over and turned around laughing. We stopped at Timber Canyon turnoff and started fishing the river in both directions. Shifty went upstream and I went down. I hiked about a mile downstream along the canyon wall and then made my way back to the river to fish it. I fished the stretch back to the bridge. Hitting every hole and ripple along the way without success of any kind. I swapped out flies a few times but got nothing not even a chase. When I got back to the bridge Shifty wasn’t there, I figured he was still fishing upstream. A minute or two later I heard him on the bridge and looked up to see him taking pics. He had been done for a while he said, but did get a fish in the first hole we saw, he had gotten out his spinning rod and used a jointed rapala to catch it. I made a few more cast up under the bridge and didn’t get a turn so we called it a day.

Today was a spectacular day! I caught the fish of the summer for myself, it took out the nice Smallmouth Bass I had gotten earlier in the summer. What made it was the fight and challenge of getting it in the net and it was nice sized for the stream we were fishing. Till next time “Keep It Bent!”

All photo's courtesy of "Shifty Outdoors"

Video will be posted this week watch for updates.