Trolling

My Dad recently purchased a boat from my brother that has been passed around the family for quite a while now. In his spare time, which he doesn't have a whole lot of because he pushes himself to work way too much; he's been fixing the boat up and trying to get it ready to do some fishing. Knowing that there's only so much he could do in the driveway, he was itching for a test run and he invited the boys and me to come along. 

Strawberry Reservoir is by no means a secret spot, but it's decently close to where Dad lives and is usually worth the effort. It's a long drive for us (kinda) but getting the boys out fishing with their Grandpa is worth an extra few miles. Timed it perfectly and met Dad and his wife Deb at the boat ramp where we tried to remember every last minute detail to have the boat ready. We did alright, considering how long its been, and got the boat off the trailer without a hitch (get it?....sorry). It was only then that we realized the battery didn't have enough of a charge to start the main motor and the trolling motor didn't seem to interested in helping us out either. The battery was brand new, but apparently Dad hadn't turned everything off after he checked it the night before. In between trying to get the trolling motor started we hooked one of the many chubs that were swimming under the dock.

After a hundred (or was it a thousand?) pulls on the rope the trolling motor finally came to life and we chanced it to get a little fishing in. Getting a sling blade out and hooked to the down-rigger brought back a lot of childhood memories and it didn't take long before Atley was running one on his own. Caden was more interested in taking a nap up in the bow of the boat. Driving the boat and watching my Dad and Atley trying to figure out how to hook fish was really fun. They managed a few, but missed many more. When my jokes and teasing went too far, my Dad insisted that I "show him how it's done". Luckily, I remembered pretty well and boated a decent kokanee salmon. Atley says trolling is his favorite way to fish now, I guess we'll have to do this again...

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

He thought that if he made faces I wouldn't use the pics...

Family Time

Anyone that's been hanging around here probably knows how much we like to involve family in our outdoor pursuits. With that in mind Delvonie and I decided a little family fishing trip was in order to a nearby reservoir complete with a picnic lunch. I have to be careful when we do trips like this because I can make it way too intense. Trying to keep things relaxed I let everyone sleep in and didn't rush to get loaded up. Del was a little frustrated with my apparent lack of motivation, but I knew that everyone would have a more enjoyable time if I wasn't too pushy. 

When we arrived at the reservoir the lack of people around the shoreline was a welcomed sight. Not that I mind when others are out enjoying our public lands, just that I enjoy them a lot more when I'm not in a crowd. We picked a good spot and started getting set-up. Del and I got straight to fishing while the boys elected to mess around the shore. Not wanting to complicate the fishing, I decided to throw a lure with my spinning rod while Del went with her standard Power Bait. I know some people look down on bait fishing, but Del likes to relax while fishing and using bait allows her to do that. 

The Jake's Spin-A-Lure brought the first fish to hand, a little rainbow, but Del's bait was definitely the hot ticket as she pulled in a couple of rainbows of her own. Catching a few got the kids interested so Atley got his pole out and, with a little help from Mom, got rigged up. The wind was pretty bad, but it wasn't cold so we kept fishing. Got a couple on a fly behind a casting bubble in between unhooking Del and Atley's fish. Caden wasn't having too much luck so I let him reel one of mine in. That got the skunk off and then he managed one on his own. The way Atley tells it, once he started catching up to Mom's number of fish caught we decided it was time to go (Del out-fished us all, as usual).

I talked Del into a stop on the way home to check on one of my favorite little streams. The water was low and clear with the fish definitely on their guard but I managed one really nice cutt before meeting back up with Del where she sat watching a little waterfall. Dapping a fly finally enticed a fish to eat after a few minutes and the big girl worked me over before I could get her to the net. Enough is enough and it was past time to go home, but it sure was nice to get out with the family. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Perspective

Caden's account:

In the trip I remember making hot dogs for dinner and we worked on the first legends of Caden! [a book him and his brother are writing] And we went fishing for a couple of hours then headed back to have some cheese burgers! And in the last day we went fishing for a little bit then we went to camp, packed up and left!

Atley's Account:

When my Dad told me we were going fishing/camping I wasn't surprised, my Dad had been talking about camping with Grandpa a lot! So after we were ready we left. We listened to music on the way and had a good time. After we got to Fish Lake we spent a bit of time looking for a campsite. It was so crowded. So many people in one place that wasn't a city! 

After we were done setting up we went fishing at a lake that I don't remember the name of. I fished a little bit but I didn't catch anything. After we left we ate dinner, it was my brother's night to cook so we had hot dogs, they were very good! After dinner I fell asleep really fast! My Dad went fishing in the morning and when he came back, Caden and I were still in bed! It was like 9:30 AM So we ate poptarts and drew until it was time to go fishing again. After we got to our fishing spot I played with my cousins and took pictures it was a crowded area with all of the people. After my Grandpa and Uncle left I fished a little bit and caught a fish it was small.... A little while after, we left and cooked hamburgers at camp for Dinner and it was delicious! We went to bed a while after. In the morning my Dad went fishing. When he got back we packed up and left!

My Account:

My Dad decided that he'd like to go camping before we get busy building houses and preparing for the next hunting season & school year so we made it happen. Decided to get out of the heat and head for the mountains. Fish Lake is a place that we always talk about going to more often but never seem to, so now seemed like a great time to get up there. Unfortunately, some wind decided to make a mess that my Dad had to help clean up and we got a little bit of a late start to our trip.

Once we had made it down to the lake we went out in search of a place to put our trailers and had a bit of trouble finding a good one. My trailer is pretty small and can be set up in relatively small spots, but Weston's and my Dad's trailers are pretty big and so finding a spot to accommodate them was a little more of a challenge. We ended up staying in a campground that cost us a bit of money, but made for a nice camp spot. Weston came up a little later, so he missed out on finding a camp spot but still had to make the rounds in order to find us. By the time camp was decided on and set up the boys were starving, so Caden made some hotdogs that tasted great!

Bright and early, Dad and I headed out to try several spots around Fish Lake but had a hard time finding a productive spot. Dad did manage to catch a pretty splake, but other than that the early morning was a strikeout. 

Decided to head back to camp and get everyone else so we could take a ride to a 'nearby' reservoir to see if our luck would change. Forsyth Reservoir is a place that I'd never fished before but one that I'll definitely return to. The boys and I elected to fish near the dam but Weston, Dad and their families decided to find another spot that would be easier with the little kids. We found a few fish that were willing to come to a Baby Damsel as long as it was near the bottom with a slow retrieve. 

It got hot quick, so we headed back to camp for sandwiches and an unplanned nap. The boys spent their time in camp drawing and working on a story that they've been working on together. Part of me wanted them to head outside and explore, but after spending the better part of the morning in the sun they probably needed a break. In the evening we decided to try Fish Lake again, this time with the whole camp.

Lots of fish were surfacing, so I decided to go with a midge cluster pattern pulled behind a casting bubble on my spinning outfit. Initially it was the bait fishers that did well with my Dad's wife Deb catching a couple of small bows. I think everyone ended up catching a couple and it was fun to see the girls react to the fish. 

After the rest got bored with the fishing, the boys and I stayed on a little longer. Atley finally pulled himself out from behind the camera to fish a bit for himself and caught a little planter for himself. Then we spent a few minutes skipping rocks (the boys know better than to do this while people are trying to fish) and the boys were happy.

One last bright and early excursion for Dad and me found us on top of a mountain looking for fishy water. The first reservoir we stopped at looked promising, but all we saw were waterdogs (my Grandpa always claimed that if a lake had waterdogs it meant that there weren't any fish) so we headed on hoping to catch a few before heading back to clean up camp. 

We found a pretty lake to try out and I used my spinning outfit again. It didn't take long for some rainbows to check in by way of a black Woolly Bugger and Prince nymph behind my casting bubble. A large cougar track on shore was pretty cool to see, until we heard the cat going after some nesting ducks, then it was really cool! Dad didn't have much luck until he slowed his retrieve down, but even then he could only buy a couple of hits before we had to head back to camp.

Cleaned up and headed for home, where we decided to take the trailer straight to our new property. Excited to see that the footings had been poured and the foundation was being formed up!

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Out With The Boys - Video

Here's a video of our trip to Southern Utah

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Out With The Boys

I know that no one feels bad for me, probably because of all the fishing and hunting I get to do, but I needed a break. I had a personal day that needed to be used or I'd lose it come the end of May and Southern Utah was calling me. In anticipation of the native cutthroat trout that I imagined we'd be pulling in hand over foot, I signed Atley and me up for the Utah Cutthroat Slam figuring that it'd be easy to cross off at least one of the species. 

I'm not sure if it was just the appeal of a day off from school, or if they actually wanted to spend time with their dad, but either way the boys wanted to come!! On the road for a bit of a long drive but the boys had fun picking what music we listened to and I enjoyed the scenery.

First stop was a cool little spot that Loah at Utah Water Log told me about and it soon produced some beautiful tiger trout that were suckers for a Woolley Bugger fished deep. It was all fun and games until Atley found out how cold the water was when he fell in.

The fish were nice, but the bite was slow and soon the boys wanted lunch and a change of scenery. After some peanut butter and honey sandwiches we were on our way to lake #2 in hope of more fish and maybe some cutthroats. The boys seemed more interested in playing games with each other than fishing, which is fine by me. I love when the boys fish but I was still just happy that they were there with me, and they still ran down to reel in a fish or take a picture of one I caught. 

I'm not sure why I didn't try it at the first spot, but the first fly I tied on was a Barber Pole like my Dad had taught me how to tie about twenty years ago. Maybe I'll show you how we tie and fish them like a soft hackle. The fish sure seemed to like it on a slow strip and we caught one every two or three casts while the hatch kept up. Tiger trout really are pretty, even if they are a little weird. We even managed to get a Cutthroat, our only one of the trip.

As the light went off the water we watched a deer make its way down the hill for a drink as I kept catching fish. The boys were having fun playing with the camera and throwing rocks. I wished it could've lasted for hours. This lake is one of the prettiest I've been to and in the evening half light, watching the deer, hearing wild turkeys and having fish on the end of my line with the boys it was the best place on earth. 

It seems like food was the only thing that interrupted my fishing on this trip, and it wasn't long before the boys were begging for dinner. Reluctantly I ended my evening fishing and we headed out in search of a place to camp. 

We found an amazing camp site under the ponderosa pines where we cooked hot dogs over the fire and hung out. Dessert was supposed to be roasted marshmallows but they were pretty nasty so we burned the whole package. The boys thought it was hilarious how the flames changed colors and it burned for over an hour. The dropping temps of Spring in the high(ish) country prompted us to forego the tent in favor of the cab of the truck. Where we were surprisingly comfortable.

In the morning we set about cleaning up the camp and found a pretty old looking pile of trash. I figured we could take a few minutes and clean it up, but there was so much trash we'll have to finish the job the next time we're there. After we had cleaned up as much as we had space for we headed to a new spot where I know some nice Cutthroats live. Apparently nobody told them they were supposed to make an appearance, but we'll be back. Heading down the mountain we decided to make one more spot to eat lunch before making the trek home in time to color eggs and all that Easter stuff. Started making some Top Ramen for the boys and caught a pretty brook trout before the water had boiled. 

The boys managed to catch a couple of small, but fat, rainbows to end our fishing for the trip. It was a great time out with the boys and I'm glad we got it in while we could. With the upcoming move and house build there might not be too much time for many trips like this. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

I found my sign!

Spring Skunk

It seems like when the weather turns warm I always start fishing more stillwater. Too bad I suck at it. This weekend I decided to break out the kick boat and go for some chunky rainbows. What I found was a beautiful backdrop to a serious skunking.

The plan was to do some fishing while waiting for my Dad and his wife to show up and join me. But by the time they had made it down and set up their 5th wheel trailer the wind had kicked into overdrive. So we went out for lunch and talked over some possible house plans for my upcoming build. Once the options had been exhausted we hatched a plan for the afternoon fishing.

We thought that we could reach a different lake in the area for a change in fortunes. The nice weather had convinced us that it was later in the year than it felt like, but the snow on the road reminded us that it was still early.

A beautiful place, but a frozen lake waited for us at the end of an interesting ride through the snow and mud. This is definitely a place that I'd like to revisit in the coming months and do some camping, fishing, and hiking. Soon...

Hope you're luckier,

Kidder

No Pike

I'm a huge fan of Kanalgratis and their series Fly vs Jerk (just a warning, there is some language that might not be appropriate for every viewing situation). For the past few years I've watched this series as they release the videos which always makes me want to head out in search of pike. Luckily for me, Luc has a long standing obsession with pike and so he texted me Sunday night and wanted to head out in the morning. I suggested taking my row boat to try and improve our odds and the plan was set.

I was optimistic about our chances, if not confident of our abilities, but knew we'd have a good time. Luc had spent most of last Summer chasing pike and musky in the few places that have them around here and I hoped that he had learned something that would improve our chances. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he had taken up fly tying, so at least he had some different flies to try out. 

I mostly rowed and let Luc cast to the banks with both his fly rod and his spinning outfit, but after a few hours of that with only a couple of bumps to shows for it we figured it was time to call it quits. We did fish from shore for a few minutes before we left and Luc managed to hook, but not land, a plastic chair that someone had deposited in the lake. Dang, could've been quite the trophy...

After a quick lunch we were heading for home when we decided a little detour could save the day and not leave us completely fish-less. So a stop at a "put-and-take" trout reservoir was added into our travel plan. We left the boat on the trailer and fished from shore. Soon a had small bow in hand on a black Woolly Bugger and all seemed right with the world.

It didn't take long for Luc to find his own silvery salvation when another stocker took his olive crawfish pattern.

While I wasn't quite ready to head back to work, it didn't seem like such a horrible proposition after a little fishing. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder