Lost Creek in the Fall / Grandkids

Jon and I took 3 of my grandkids to Lost Creek to do some trolling for trout. The kids knocked 'em dead! They caught about 30, and lost almost that many more reeling them in to the boat. Jon stayed quite busy taking fish off the hook, and keeping lines in the water.
We had a ball! Fall is such a great time for Lost Creek. Fish ranged from 14 to 20 inches, both rainbows and cutthroats.

Labor Day on Causey Reservoir

Paxton on his own little kayak. He can really fly around on that thing. He had a blast today.

 

The only fish "caught" on this day was one that Pax scooped up from the spawning kokanee heading up the stream. They are beautiful, and a lot of fun to see as they battle their way to the spawning grounds.



 

Pax posing by the running kokanee salmon. He spent most of the day riding in dad's big tandem kayak, as they made the trip up the middle arm to see the kokes.



Flaming Gorge 2015

This amazing string of kokanee salmon were caught on our last morning out on Flaming Gorge, June 22, 23, & and 24. They averaged over 3 pounds, with the largest, in the middle of the string, going 4 pounds. Several other fish came to the net, including small lake trout and a nice rainbow trout. They were kept for the freezer, and were filleted by our guide, Ashley Bonser of Addictive Fishing.  www.flaminggorgefishin.com  We spent 3 days on the lake, and wish we could have stayed at the Manila KOA the entire week!

This fantastic fish was caught by Jon on our first morning on the lake. Weighing a whopping 43 pounds, this laker made it to our guide's home page as a sample of the fish available to anglers who use his service. The fish measured 44 inches in length, and had a 28 inch girth! To say the least, he was out of his mind with delight! I've never seen such a fish . . .





My big fish of the trip was this 36 pound lake trout, pulled up from 90 feet of water. He fought harder than any fish I've ever caught. I was so excited as we began to see him coming up from the depths. The water was so clear. I spend a good 20 minutes bringing him in to the boat. We caught many others in the 15 to 20 pound range, including one 24 pounder I also had the good fortune of bringing in. All fish were released to fight another day. Such magnificent creatures!



What a beautiful setting for fishing and camping. We had a blast, and want to thank Ashley Bonser of Addictive Fishing for being our guide. He is knowledgeable and courteous, and we couldn't have wished for a better week on the water!  www.flaminggorgefishin.com



East Canyon with Paxton

We spent a Saturday morning at East Canyon with Paxton, and he had the hot stick all morning long. These are some of the rainbows he caught on PowerBait. Yellow-corn and rainbow were the 2 hot colors.

 

Here's Pax reeling in one of his 'bows. They jumped and fought hard for him. And he had a blast!

 

Paxton's first limit of trout. He brought in all 4 of them, each about a pound to 2 pounds each. Made for a heavy stringer, but he could handle it okay. Jon gave him a new pole for Easter, and he was determined to get out and give it a go. We're glad he insisted.

Strawberry Still Capped

After an unusually warm winter, on the very highest lakes are still frozen. And we've suffered from a poor fishing year at these locations. Fish numbers are there, as the fish finders and underwater cameras show. But the bit is almost impossible. I got sunburned pretty bad yesterday, and only recorded one cutthroat to show for my efforts. Jake caught one and lost one at the hole, and Cam lost one at the hole, too. Other than that . . .
Here's s shot of my cutt; he was around 18". We may go back one more time! The cold weather is holding at the Berry. It was 2 degrees when we arrived, and only 32 when we left at 3:00.

First Ice Is On!

Finally, the weather has gotten cold enough to start freezing the lakes for ice fishing.
It was a long, mild fall and early winter, so everyone was anxious to get out on the hard deck.
I got a new Aqua-Vu underwater camera for Christmas using gift cards and Cabela bucks. It's a color model, with a 3 1/2 inch screen; small enough to put in your pocket. Excellent screen resolution, too.
We've only gotten out once so far, to Scofield. Fishing was slow and not very rewarding. We won't be going back down there this year. For a 2 1/2 hour drive, the fishing just wasn't good.
Looking ahead, Mantua, Lost Creek, East Canyon, Causey, and Strawberry are all fishing good. We'll be taking grandkids to Mantua next weekend for trout and whatever else might be biting. Usually a few perch, bass, and bluegill.
Looking WAY ahead, we have a Flaming Gorge trip booked for June with Captain Ashley Bonser again. 2 days out for big lakers, and one day for kokanee. Should be a blast. It was last year. We're kind of doing this instead of saving up thousands to go to Alaska again.
See you on the ice!