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!

Huntington North Reservoir fishing with Parker

Parker took off Thursday morning and headed into Castle Country and the San Rafael Swell. He first went to Millsite Reservoir a small reservoir outside the town of Ferron UT. He arrived at Millsite and the wind was howling and he felt that it was not safe to launch his pontoon boat. He turned around and headed north back to Huntington North Reservoir in the town of Huntington Utah. There he found calm waters and he was the only one on the reservoir.

He launch and began trolling, his personal pontoon is equipped with a 30 pound electric motor which is more than enough to propel him around the waters. He trolled into late afternoon catching quite a few trout with some football sized pigs. He was very happy with the performance of his pontoon and equipment. Rainbow trout are plentiful in Huntington North Reservoir. He also reported it to be a beautiful day on the water.

Wrapping up Ice Season with a Bang!

Parker has been out for the past few weeks on his own. Saturday he took one of his friends from the lab he works at with him to Mammoth. They got into them! Parker said he couldn’t keep his lines in the water. Every time they set a pole it was getting hit and fish on. The Tiger trout are getting more active as things warm up and the days get longer. He kept a couple for the smoker, but they decked over 20 fish again. The tiger trout were very active and stacked. He went back to the same holes he had used earlier in the week and found them stacked up.

His friend Nick had never been ice fishing so it was a good first time outing for him. Parker said he loved it, another person hooked on ice! Our season is winding quickly but there is still plenty of safe ice just be sure to check it before you venture to far out and watch the edges as the day goes on they will become increasingly soft and a break through is very possible. Hope to get out this week myself finally got a handle on this surgery and moving forward quicker now.

Tiger's on Ice!

Tiger trout, a hybrid cross between a male Brown Trout and a female Brook Trout. Tiger trout are quite piscivorous (fish eaters) from an early age. Parker put it to the test yesterday as he cut holes at Mammoth Reservoir. He took off mid-morning and made his way up Fairview canyon, over Skyline and down to the small high alpine reservoir. He fished for only two and half hours but made out like a thief and decked over 20 of the piscivorous Tigers. All were decent sized and fighters. That is the one thing about the Brown and Brook cross is they are fighters. Running his grandfather’s Eskimo 10″ blade he struggled with a couple of them to get through the hole. That makes for a fun fight on the ice.

“It was on fire!” as Parker put it in his note to me after the mayhem had ceased. He said “my fingers were so cold from handling fish, I had to put my gloves on”. Another great afternoon outing for Parker. He is getting his set up dialed in and finding fish faster than ever right now. He said “the screen was packed with fish” talking about his Marcum LX3 flasher. Parker is a reader and student of all things and he has been reading up on his Marcum LX3 to figure out how to pinpoint fish. The Tiger Trout were plentiful and large for the afternoon. He said the ice is still good and solid with no slush on top. Hope I can get out with him soon still on the mend.