Fishing Lake Powell 3-2017

Last week I team up with Uinta Recreation on a 4 day trip to Lake Powell. Adam Pulley, owner of Uinta Recreation invited me to go with him to break in his new 2150 Crestliner. Knowing the fishing was going to be a little slower this early in the spring we were the only fishers going. We met up Wednesday morning at 5 am and took off for Bullfrog marina and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The trip wasn't nearly as long as I remembered it being some 30 plus years ago when I last went to Lake Powell. We arrived at Bullfrog marina and checked into our campsite and set up for the week. Adam brought his 30-foot travel trailer for us to relax in after our long days on the lake. The trip down was smooth even though he was over 70 feet long nose to tail with his set up.

We got on the lake around noon for the rest of the afternoon-evening and fished Bullfrog Bay and also went over to Halls Crossing marina and the ferry boat bay. The evening was great a little breezy but still awesome. The beauty and grandeur of Lake Powell is breathtaking. We trolled Bullfrog and landed a few Striper bass for the cooler. We trolled light gear, shallow. We had hits on the stick baits we were using almost immediately. It didn't continue to be fast but consistent. After a couple hours of trolling and getting a good number of Stripers in the cooler Adam took us across the main channel to Halls. We fished in the boat ferry bay and cast into the shallows. We caught a couple smallmouth bass and Walleye. The fishing was spotty as we thought it would be. Loading the boat in the wind made for some fun but Adam put it on the runners without hesitation. The evening came to a close with us processing our catch with fillets and packaging them and putting them the freezer that Adam had brought down.

Thursday morning brought in more wind as a front was approaching. We started out this morning over on Moki Wall and trolled upstream to a couple bays. The fishing was spotty and not too consistent. The weather had cooled the water temp down to 51 degrees, not conducive to bass fishing. We did manage a few that morning but wanted to fill our cooler and so we fished Bullfrog Bay for the rest of the day and evening. We filled our cooler again with a good number of Stripers. We saw an approaching storm cell and made our way to the boat ramp quickly, luckily a boat had just loaded and was heading up the ramp, now about a quarter-mile long hike, I threw out my thumb and they gave me a ride to the top. I quickly got the trailer int he water and Adam pulled the boat on quickly. We got to the cleaning station and put our fish on the cutting boards and the heavens opened up for about 20 minutes. Heavy rain and winds stopped to give us a great double rainbow complete end to end.

Friday morning we went south down to Escalante Canyon. We stopped and fished a few different canyons along the way. We fished the Rincon, Iceberg, and Clear Creek while we were down there. The fishing was very slow today in this area. The water was clear and cold. We fished this area of the lake until 3 pm and called it and went back to Bullfrog bay where we loaded the cooler in a couple hours. We loaded the boated and processed the days catch again. We talked on our way back to camp and decided to sleep in and prepare for the trip home in the morning.

Saturday morning came around and I took the boat to be decontaminated and Adam readied the trailer for departure. The folks at the cleaning station were a little put off that I wanted the boat deconned, but I insisted and asked if that wasn't the rule and purpose of their jobs and they agreed and completed their duties. Returning back to camp we loaded the freezer full of fillets into the back of the truck and hitched up the train again for the return trip home. We finished with around 30 pounds of fillets. We caught 4 different species of fish; Stripers, Walleye, Smallmouth, and Large Mouth bass. I had a great time and felt the fishing was okay, Adam emphasized that the fish we caught is usually a day's catch. Weather and water temps definitely played a roll in how the fishing went. The area and views are priceless and the accommodations of Adam's boat and trailer were great! Uinta Recreation rents the trailers, water toys all summer.

Fishing Rockport Ice Off!

Last Friday I teamed up with Fish Elevated and guide Delana Oaks for a fish at Rockport. Today I tried fishing a method I had tried very much, trolling lightweight gear and crankbaits. Delana knows the lake well and started us off in the usual trolling lanes. Being the only boat on the lake until about noon we had our choice. We started off by the fingers and worked our way toward the dam. The dam was still ice-locked, but by early afternoon it was all gone as well. We fished down the resort side and got our first fish in the boat. We missed a whopper down by the river inlet. We fished the dam and roadside for the remainder of the day since it got fishy in that lane.

We ended the day with over 20 fish boated and missed a number of them and had a number of fish get off near the boat and lost one big one when it broke the line. Delana and Fish Elevated are great hosts! I had a fantastic day fishing and learning more about her background. She grew up fishing in Ohio on the rivers with her dad and grandpa, which gave her the love of fishing. She moved to Utah a few years ago due to work and started guiding trips a little over a year ago.

The next trip will be on the Fish Steeler on Willard Bay to learn the waters the way she does. We ended up a very nice stringer with bookend browns measuring over 20 inches. That was fun reeling them in.

Fishing Deer Creek and Willard Bay

Deer Creek 3/17/17

Last week went out with Adam Pulley, Uinta Recreation, and his sons to Deer Creek to finish with the break-in of his new Crestliner fishing boat. We got on the water earlier this time and got into some fish but still not like we anticipated.

We started out with a troll to the dam roadside and across the lake to rail side and back over to the road got a couple in that lane but decided to go to the island. We trolled all the way up the lake into the rainbow bay and around the cliffs. We got to Island bay and got a couple more fish. We fished in and out of the bay across the channel to white rocks and back again getting a couple more fish. Definitely not like it was the previous week.

The boys all had fun and each got to catch their own fish. A Rapala was the ticket again for the most caught shallow depth. All rainbows and nothing great in size.

Willard Bay 3/18/17

Willard Bay was a bust! Kelly and I went up there hoping to find some walleye and wiper. We should have listened to the reports, they all said the man-made lake was not producing any fish. We started fishing the marina outlet and tossing everything. Seeing fish surface all around us we threw every topwater lure we had. The fish were not interested. This went on until we got tired of not getting nothing and loaded up and went the Burger Bar in Roy to bury our pain and anguish in one of their tasty burgers.  We shall return!

Fishing Deer Creek with Uinta Recreation

Thursday got on the pond with Adam Pulley owner of Uinta Recreation on his new Crestliner. A sweet boat 22 ft. long with a 300 hp Mercury on it that purs. When he starts it you can't even hear it run. It is set up for fishing with a Ulterra minkota on the bow and a kicker on the back. He needed to put some hours on it before he takes it to Powell and I was more than willing to assist. We got out late at 10:30 after his morning customers were taken care of, but we still managed a few fish.

Utah - This is The Place Heritage Park

Haven't posted here for quite sometime. Because we haven't been anywhere! Getting anxious to hit the road, but this little side trip today was fun. I haven't been to This is the Place in years probably 40 to be exact. It has changed to say the least. They have improved the parking and the layout of the park. They have added some great statues and stories of the history.

I was in SLC today with work and had sometime to myself during lunch break and decided to visit. The first pullout is actually the train museum, but it was closed for the season and then you come to the monument depicting the Mormon Battalion and the story behind the pioneers enlisting. The statues and bronzing are incredible with great detail. The stories are captivating and get you into the feelings of the times.

 

Pony Express trail is the next stop with an awesome bronze replica of a rider and his horse. then in the upper parking lot is the gift store an old sugar mill that was moved up there. In the summer they have a fully functioning pioneer village right behind it. There are trails with stories and statues all throughout the upper area most of which were snow locked today.

The first thing I did was visit the store and walk through the displays and artwork. Three floors to walk through. The bottom is a theater and room of the Mormon Battalion, a display of the Mormon trail, The Brooklyn ship liner and the role of the pioneers at Sutter's Mill when gold was discovered. That was new to me I didn't realize the impact the Mormon pioneers had on the gold rush.

Main floor is the store and gift shop. Third floor is the art gallery with amazing artwork displayed, depicting the pioneers.

Outside on the main level is the original This is the Place Monument, a display of the handcart pioneers with stories connected to all of them. Stories about the Spanish fathers coming into Utah first. The Indian tribes and the explorers that were part of Utah history all with accompanying plaques telling there story.

This was a great visit all though it was quick still amazing to read and see the history of the pioneers that traveled to Utah.