Fishing "Bruiser Bay"

Monday 11/14, my neighbor Terry and I went to Strawberry. All the reports were still saying the fishing was red hot and he had just returned home after an 18-month mission and was hoping to relive childhood memories. We got to the ramp around 7:30 only figure out the battery was dead!! We jumped it from the truck which was a pain but we got it started. After all that we pulled out of the marina and went across to Haws Point and then deeper into East Portal Bay. We fished through the bay and along the bank for an hour or so. We made one find that neither of knew about in the back bay that there is one deep hole that looked like it could have been a gravel pit, I mention this to remember for ice season. We made our way back towards Haws point fishing the bank and trolling a little with lures. Getting nothing but Strawberry moss and grass. The lake has turned over and is still loaded with algae and moss from the turnover.

We went around haws point and continued south to the old dam site and into Horse Creek Bay. We worked in this area for about an hour and got nothing. We then went into the meadows by Renegade and fished for another hour I caught a small rainbow and seen a couple other people catch one as well. First fish that we had seen pulled in all day. The wind kicked up so we went back toward the marina and went to the opening of the narrows into the bay I caught the bruiser from a couple weeks earlier.

In “Bruiser Bay” we fished along the banks and I caught a decent sized cutthroat at 20 inches and 4 lbs. The fish was caught on a ¾ oz. rainbow Kastmaster. After releasing it we got back on track and fished even harder now. Terry got into a beast right off the boat. His line started singing and his lightweight ole was doubled over from the battle. He had a good tug of war with the cutthroat for about 10 minutes. We landed it, measured, and weighed it took a couple pictures, and then released it to fight again another day. 26 inches and 5 pounds is what it measured out to, a slot buster but we were looking to keep today. The rainbow Kastmaster did the job again. We fished the bank again a couple trips and produced nothing.

We ventured into the narrows and fished about an hour trolling and casting but turned up nothing and decided to call it a day. Turned out to be a great morning and Terry was elated with his catch of the day. We loaded the boat and made our way home trading stories of our hometown Orem and the people we know in common. It was great to get out and share the water with a new friend.

Burraston Ponds Solo

Thursday, I went to Burraston Ponds on solo. Sometimes I need to go solo to clear my mind. I hadn’t been to Burraston in years and the last time I had gone there it was not a great memory. Every time a truck or car pulled through the area I caught myself looking over my shoulder. It was good to re-visit and see that it was okay to be there.

The morning was beautiful and the water was crystal clear. The ponds are spring fed and bigger than I remember them being. The vegetation was dense both in the water and along the banks. This is a good place to remember the pontoon next time. It is a WMA and a community fishery so the regulations allow you to keep two trout, if you choose too. The UDWR stocks the ponds with rainbow trout frequently. There are some carryover trout from year to year and get some size to them. Today was a challenge day for me, I took one lure to see if I could catch fish with only one lure choice. Today’s lure was a red/white kastmaster that resembled a daredevil. It proved to be productive.

I stopped in the first pullout to see what I was getting into and could see the massive amount of plants and moss in the water, and thought to myself this was going to be a tough fishing day. I cast a few times in this area but seen nothing follow and moved to the next pullout. Here I could really see how clear the water was and could see quite a distance out from shore and see what I was up against with the vegetation. However, this spot turned out to be fruitful. I could see fish feeding and each time I saw one surface I cast into the area. I caught three planter rainbow here and they were all nice enough to quick release at the shore as I pulled them out of the water. Nothing large but on ultra-light gear they were fun none the less.

I moved to the next spot, the second pond, it was nasty and filled with scum and debris so I didn’t stay here too long. I drove around to the end of the trail and could see the rest of the pond shore was foot traffic only. I also spied a dock of sorts. I pulled back to the trail entrance to it and made my way through about three feet of water and onto this rickety old dock. It put me above the water and the water was so clear I could see bank to bank. Here I got to watch my kastmaster work through the water for a great distance and see how it reacted to different retrieves and action. I also got to observe how the fish trailed it and sometimes even hit it with their nose or tail. That was a cool sight to see. I landed a couple more here, but being able to see them hit the lure I could set the hook, so I had to take them off. The dock was not stable and made for a fun casting platform sometimes wondering if I was going to take a dip. I really didn’t want to, the water I walked through was quite cold!!

I moved to the west side of the ponds and parked at the end of the trail. I made my way onto the island peninsula and made a few casts into both sides of the pond. I caught a couple more and released them. It was a great morning on the pond, caught some fish and cleared my head for a while. I will return here and bring my pontoon, maybe even see if it freezes over in the winter.

Banking it at DC

Thursday Shifty and I met up fish_utah at the corrals on the north end of DC and started our hike to a spot they said would be HOT! 2 miles later we found ourselves past where they thought they were and the lake locked in a shroud of fog. We made our way down to the bank and got our gear ready.  I was fishing a bobber worm set up and throwing metal on my second pole.  I had a visitor join me for a little while.

I fished in this location about a half hour and got nothing.  When the ADD kicked in it was time to move.  I climbed back up the steep bank and dang near blew a lung out doing so!  I really need to focus on getting in a different shape than "Pear" shape.  Anyhow I made it up to the railroad tracks and wandered back toward the truck looking for a good deep water pocket.  I hiked about a mile back and seen a good spot to try that wasn't loaded with algae, the lakes have turned and the gunk is up top.  I made my way down the steep bank to the shoreline.  I cast the worm pole and then started throwing metal again.  I fished for a bit and got a couple hits and LDR's with a kastmaster.  I moved down the bank looking for good water and stopped a couple times getting follows and hits at each spot I fished.

Making my way about a half mile down the bank I stopped and fished until Shifty and fish_utah caught up with me.  I got one to the bank and had two more LDR's on the kastmaster. The fishing was not hot and furious.  The morning was awesome with the fog locked in until late morning.  They caught a couple fish as well, but when asked for pictures they didn't take any.....right.  Hahaha.  We left the lake at noon and headed for home.