Echo Ice Fishing.....Did you hear that...

Friday morning Parker and Aaron "Elder Blatter" met me at my place and we loaded up the morning.  Aaron needed to be home early so we had to make a quick run up to Echo where Parker had been Wednesday morning and slayed the Rainbow trout.  Echo is a small reservoir at the confluence of Parley's and Weber canyon.  It has brown and rainbow trout and sometimes cutthroat, along with a good variety of panfish and catfish.  The marina is privately owned and generally expensive to use in the summer. Without going down very steep banks it's the only place to enter the lake. Winter it is closed up tight with a small gate opening to access the ramp.

Off rant, we drove through Provo canyon and stopped at One Stop for breakfast and supplies and then joined I-80 for the rest of the trip. We got to the lake in the dark and it was 5 degrees. We loaded up and figured out a way to get the sled though, over the small gate opening to access the lake.  Aaron has been ice fishing twice the last time was four years ago when he went us to Strawberry. He was a little better prepared this time for the cold weather.

We got on the lake and it solid and clear ice!  8 inches thick and no snow on the surface made for a slippery walk out. We got to our spot and set camp and drilled the holes.  Mac, Gary and their family met us there and we fished with them for the morning. We had to be off by 11:00 to get Aaron back home in time for his family activities.  We used paddle bugs and wax worms mainly for bait and the fish were suspended in about 20 feet of water.

 Parker got a double up for the first catch of the day, two nice fat rainbow trout. The trout in Echo sometimes have lesions on them from anchor worms that are found in the lake but during the winter we have not seen any of the lesions. In a few minutes Aaron got a hit but missed it. Then it came to my pole and I got it to the surface another fat rainbow trout. We fished until the designates time that we had to pull stakes and get moving.

Mac and Gary's party were bringing in fish as well a lot of perch and a few rainbow off the bottom with shrimp. I noticed the perch were being caught on Swedish pimples. We finished the morning with 6 fat rainbow trout and smiles.  Aaron got one to the hole and head out but then it smacked the lure and released itself before anyone could grab it. We stopped at a local drive-in the Polar King and had lunch, great food and service! Great morning on the ice!