Big Browns and Big Smiles

This past week for Boy Scouts, we took our troop to a private pond that the Scout Master had access to. He said there were big rainbows, and that a few brown trout had made there way in somehow.  We had a few of the boys that that never caught a fish before, so the excitement level was pretty high. We rigged up with gold Jake's spinners and Rapalas.

 

As we started making casts, it didn't take long until we had fish following our lures. Soon after, I saw a big brown engulf my Rapala 15 feet from where I was standing. It gave me some monster head shakes, but one of the boys was johnny-on-the-spot and netted the fish for me. The brown measured 20 inches. Shortly after, one of the boys hooked into another solid fish, and got it into the net. from then on, the catching was consistent for a lot of the boys, and we also missed several fish.

 

In all we landed eight browns. We had a few Rainbows hit, but we didn't land any. I had one that made three big jumps out of the water, spitting the Rapala back at me on the third. It's so neat to see how acrobatic the Rainbows are, and then how a Brown will just bulldog you. It was a great two hour trip, and It seemed the boys had a blast. We filleted the trout, and I'm smoking them up tomorrow so all the boys can try out some smoked trout. Hopefully, we will get another shot to go up and try this pond again. It was a blast.

Gearing up.

Staking their claim on the fishing spots.

First fish of the night; a 20 inch Brown!

Teamwork! Landing another big Brown Trout.

Beautiful surroundings to catch fish.

Big fish and big smiles!

More Browns From The Weber

Last Monday a friend and I made a trip up to the Weber to see how the Brown Trout were biting. I had heard that the Weber is down to a trickle compared to what it normally is on some sections. When we arrived we found that the rumor was true. I've never seen the Weber this low ever! It pooled in places, but several spots were dry that I've caught fish at in previous years. That said, we still got into some quality fish, and had a great time.

 

Kevin started off, catching the first three before I got on the board. The fishing was fairly consistent throughout the day. I would say we landed around 20-25 fish between us, with Kevin catching the most. The fight of these fish never gets old!

 

 

 

Winter River Fishing

The Weber was calling my name, so I headed out yesterday in hopes of landing some big browns. I arrived around 7:30 and fished until noon. The river was a touch low, and a touch muddy. I would say there was about a foot visibility. With that, fishing was slower than usual. In the time I fished, I landed 14 brown trout, with a few others getting off right at my feet. Most fish were in the 16-17 inch range. Two were picture worthy, with the biggest going 23 inches.

What is interesting about that 23 incher is that it bit about 10 feet from where I was standing. I was in knee deep water, and had no idea he was there until he bit. Once he hit, I got a quick glimpse of him as he surfaced next to me as he ripped down river. It took me a few minutes to wear him down before he came to the net. I'm hoping I can get a few more trips in before the river gets too muddy to fish.

First picture worthy fish of the day.

 

Biggest and last fish landed.

The Cisco Disco and Polar Plunge at Bear Lake

Bonneville Cisco are one of three species of fish that can only be found in Bear Lake. They are normally in deeper parts of the lake except for a 2-3 week window where they spawn along rocky shorelines. This happens mid January through the first part of February. Because of their smaller size, anglers are able to use dip nets to catch their limit of 30 fish.

 

The Cisco Disco is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and the time finally arrived. It is held annually at Cisco Beach, where anglers get together to catch some fish, swap stories, and experience great food. My wife and I made a weekend out of it and headed up Friday after work. We had a fun evening, first stopping by Maddox in Brigham City for a steak on our way, and arrived at the timeshare with enough time to watch a show before calling it a night.

 

We woke up early, got bundled up, and headed to Cisco Beach on the opposite side of the lake. At Cisco Beach, there was a huge crowd already fishing when we arrived around 7:30. There were sections along the shoreline that had ice, while others preferred to put on their waders and venture out in open water. We found a spot on the ice and started making our hole. The ice was 1-2 inches thick, where we cut first, making it a little dicey. Since the water was only 2 feet deep, I took my chances, even after seeing a guy go through to his knees further down the bank.

We arrived to a large crowd!



The hole is cut, so let the fishing begin.

The one and only Bonneville Cisco.



A school of Cisco entering the danger zone. Notice how thin the ice is...


 

It took a few minutes of waiting before the first school of Cisco came into view. My first attempt to scoop some up failed because I got caught up in the rocks. A small adjustment on my part, and my next try produced my first ever Cisco! After that, it was smooth sailing to get my 30 fish. I handed the net over to Chelsea, and she got three on her first try! I snapped a quick pic, and she released them back into the lake, not wanting to hurt them.

 

11 Cisco in one scoop.

Chelsea got three on her first try. Great job Chels!

 

Mission accomplished.



My limit of 30 Cisco.

Once we were done fishing, Chels and I headed up to the camp where some generous locals provided hot scones, fried Cisco, fries, and hot chocolate. One of the people cooking was a guy that has provided me many fishing tips for Bear Lake through different online fishing forums, so it was nice to shake his hand and thank him in person for the help through the years (and the delicious food).

Hot food brought the crowd together.

Hot scones and fried Cisco.

enjoying a hot lakeside breakfast.

We headed back to the timeshare to have lunch and warm up before the next activity that started at noon. It was the 5th annual Bear Lake Polar Plunge where people from all over come to jump into the icy water to raise money for Hope Kids. Lots of individuals, as well as groups took the plunge. There were prizes for best costume, and largest group among others.

 

As the people started jumping in, the crowd cheered them on and laughed as many shocked faces emerged from the icy water. There were medical personnel standing by as well as large heaters to get people warm again. They raised $2,400 for the charity at this event. 

 

Groups getting ready for the polar plunge.

Batman and Bane set their differences aside for a good cause.

A large crowd anxious for the participants to jump in.

 

People taking the Polar Plunge.

 

We headed home around 1:30 p.m. I saw a few good looking riffles that looked fishy as the road followed the Logan River through the canyon. I brushed off the urge to stop at the first two holes I passed, but temptation finally got the best of me, so I pulled over at the next good spot I saw. I promised my wife I wouldn't be long, but I had to make a few casts. Well, the stop payed off. Within five minutes I landed two hungry Brown Trout. They weren't big, but they were enough to satisfy my curiosity. This is the only time I've attempted to fish the Logan River, and with this result, I think there will be a return trip to spend more time on this river.

 

Two Browns in five minutes.

 

 

Another Report From the Weber

The browns are still very active on the Weber. They are in full spawn mode, so be extra careful when walking the river so you don't walk on any beds. They took Jigs and Rapalas.  I was able to catch quite a few browns, but nothing too big. The weather was perfect, and all-in-all it was a fantastic day on the water.

 

 

Fishing and Friends

This past weekend, Kevin and I headed out to the Weber to catch some fish. We have been friends for several years, but this was the first time we had fished together.  It was also Kevin's first go on the Weeb. We arrived at the river early, and the fishing was a little slow starting out. As we made our way up river, the fishing seemed to pick up. By the end of the day, we were getting fish out of just about every hole.

It was amazing to see the browns jockeying for position on their spawning beds. You could see them splashing around up river, and their wake as they cut through the shallow water. At times, there were beds in such shallow water, that their backs were out of the water! It reminded me a lot of fishing for salmon in Washington.

We were extra careful of our footing as we made our way along the river, as to not step on or disturb the beds. We picked off fish from several holes, and were able to land several quality fish. The fight that a feisty brown gives will never get old! It turned out to be a great day, and I'm looking forward to fishing (or hunting) with Kevin again soon.

 

Almost to the net!

A nice 20 inch Weber brown.

Kevin with his first fish from the Weber!

Feed me!

A stout brown that slammed Kevin's offering.

This brown was quite acrobatic, jumping several times out of the water.

Strawberry And The Weeb

This post will cover a couple trips from the past few weeks. The first trip was at Strawberry with my Dad a few weeks ago. This trip was special because it was the first time my Dad had fished Strawberry in over 50 years. The last time was when he was a boy with his father.  I enjoyed hearing about the memories of that trip, and hoped to add a good fishing memory of our own.

We decided to try out Mud Creek, and we fished from shore. My Dad went with a gold Jakes lure, while I threw big Rapalas.  My Dad outfished me, and caught all rainbows. I only caught cutthroat. It was such a fun day hanging out with my Dad! Hopefully, We will get to get out again before the snow falls.

18 inch cutthroat.

My dad enjoying the nice day.

24" cutthroat.

The second trip was two days ago on the Weber River. It is the first time since early spring that I've fished it. The water was perfect, and the flows were higher than normal for this time of year. I arrived at sun up, and had to break ice out of my eyelets for the first few hours. The fishing wasn't as fast as I thought it would be, but I still pulled nice fish on a regular basis. I found out later that day I had been fishing behind someone which explained the slower fishing.
I landed 14 fish with all of them being browns with the exception of two cutthroat trout that gave me a solid fight. Three of the browns went 20 inches or more with the biggest being a beautiful 23 inch hen. I didn't see any beds, but I believe the spawn should start any time now.

Mr. blue cheeks.

This 23 inch hen brown topped the chart for biggest catch today.

The net held up just fine.

The Weber Never Gets Old

Joe and I met up this morning to see what damage we could do on the Weber. My alarm didn't go off, so I was a little late to the party. I arrived around 8 a.m. to find that Joe had already landed three Browns! Even though the sun was out, the morning hours were a chilly 36 degrees. The river was surprisingly low for this time of year. That, along with a cloudless day, made us concentrate more on shady areas and cover.

Joe was throwing different crank baits, while I started out using a variety of different jigs. I soon realized that cranks were the way to go today. These fish were not just going after them, they would explode on them! There were several times that we almost had the pole ripped from our grasp from the force of the strike. The fight usually didn't last long though, and all the fish were released to grow and be caught another day. The fishing wasn't fast, but it was good enough to keep us engaged the whole day. We each had our share of Brown trout with Joe landing a few cutthroat as well.  We finished around 4 p.m. satisfied with another great day on the river.

 

 Crank baits were the way to go today.

Up close and personal with a beautiful Bonneville Cutthroat.

Others were also out enjoying the sunny day. A plane towing a glider.

A chunky Brown taken on a crank.

What a beauty!

My best and last fish of the day. Got him on a jig.

A sweet release... I love this river!