Trips to the Jordan River and Utah Lake

 

This time of year, the fishing can be hit and miss on both Utah Lake and the Jordan River depending on the weather.The past week, we've had all four seasons of weather which has really messed up the fishing. The first trip to the Jordan, I managed a little largemouth bass, while seeing countless other fish that had lockjaw. It was the same story this morning when I took my niece and nephews out to fish. The day went from cold and windy, to hot, then back to cold and really windy in a two hour period. We all got casting practice while on the river, and that was it!

We fished Utah Lake for about a half hour, and managed a really nice 26 inch hen walleye. She was chuck full of eggs, so we got a few quick pictures and released her back in the lake safe and sound. The walleye spawn is happening now, so now is the best chance to catch a few. Please release any females that you catch if you go out. The cold wind made short work of us at Utah Lake, so we called it a day. I'm hoping in a month when they come to visit again, the white bass will be ready to tangle.

Schools of two inch black bullhead catfish.

Only fish from the Jordan.

 

Spiderman pole.. check... game face... check!

26 inch hen Walleye.

Check out those chompers...

Utah Lake by Land and Sea

Roger and I skipped the river today, and instead headed to Utah Lake to try our luck there. We wanted to have a fish-fry tomorrow, so Roger set up on the bank to go after catfish, and I headed out on my pontoon in search of white bass. As I headed to my honey hole, I fished for carp along the way. but the wind made you some difficult casting. I had a few chances at them, but no one came to the party. I continued on to a spot that usually holds white bass and started flingin flys.

 

I made my way around the area for about 20 minutes before I found them, and once I did it was game on! I started out using a purple wooly bugger, and the fish were fighting over it. As I stripped in line, I could see several flashes in the water as several whites were jockeying to see who got to eat it. I even had a little large mouth bass that took it.

 

After I landed several on the wolly bugger, I switched to a clouser minnow, and the fun continued. It got to wear I would only cast my leader out and drag it towards me, and I would get takes. It goes without saying that I love days like today. I ended the day catching 70 fish and keeping 63 white bass for the fish fry and also for catfish bait.

 

When I got back to the marina, I found that Roger had also gotten into some fish. He held up a stringer with four bullheads and a nice channel catfish. He also tangled with a big carp, and was able to land him. Needless to say, the trip was a success, and I can already taste the fish tacos we'll be eating tomorrow.

 

First hook-up today



even this little Large Mouth Bass  seemed to love the purple wooly bugger.

The clouser minnow got in on the action as well.

One of the bigger ones

Roger's four bullhead cats and nice channel catfish with my 63 keepers. Fish tacos, here we come!

A Bitter-Sweet Reunion In Texas

I received the sad news that a close friend had passed away this past week. To be honest, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with Tanya and her family when I lived in Texas. After failing to find a flight, I rented a car, and with Taylor, made the 24 hour drive to attend the funeral. Once we arrived, it was a barrage of mixed emotions. While it was great seeing all our friends again after such a long time, there was a sadness present with everyone not having Tanya joining the laughter and conversation. The night we arrived was the viewing followed by the funeral the following day. She had a wonderful service and will truly be missed by those who knew her.

Tanya Lynne Gilliam-Griffin 1955-2013.  You will be greatly missed. "Love ya bye".

Later that day, Several of us decided to go out and fish the Griffins private pond, and continue to catch up. We had planned on catching varieties of pan fish, but it turned out to be a bass-a-thon. They had told Taylor and I that there were bass but we weren't expecting to catch them like we did. We also didn't expect to catch the size of bass that we did. There were several landed that even surprised the Griffins. We used top-water plugs, jigs, and several soft plastic baits catching fish with all of them. It was so fun watching these bass explode on different poppers and plugs.

 We were only a few miles away from Lake Fork, but with the quality fish in this pond, we didn't see the need to hit it. We fished a few hours the next day with the same success. We then made the long drive back to Utah. It was a whirlwind trip, but more than worth it.

It was so nice to see my Texas family again. It had been way too long since I had seen them. I loved hanging out again, and can't wait to get back down for a longer trip.

Tanya's grandson with the first bass landed.

Who needs Lake Fork when you can catch this in your back yard?

Taylor with a nice bucket mouth.

The only pan fish caught amoung all the bass.

Taylor lost this top-water popper on his first cast when this bass broke him off. He got it back about 2 hours later when the same bass was caught again.

Cameron showed us how it's done on top-water. 

A surprise Bullhead Catfish on bass gear.

A great way to finish the trip.