Flaming Gorge

I made my first ever trip to Flaming Gorge to see if I could catch my first Lake Trout. Flaming Gorge is a three hour drive for me so I started out really early to get there by eight. I met up with Captain Steve of Trophy Fishing Guides and we headed out. We started out in some of the worst weather I've ever fished from a boat in. There were high winds and really big waves knocking us around but we managed. The weather eventually calmed some as the day went on and we also found some areas where the mountains blocked some of the wind. Captain Steve had us over fish all day but the bite was really slow. He really knows his stuff and I took a lot of notes and learned a ton about Lake Trout fishing. We ended up boating two Lake Trout and lost a third. They put up a great fight and I think it's about as close to salt water fishing as you can get without actually doing it. The fish would make long runs ripping out line as they went. It was quite a rush. I plan to head back up with my boat to see if I can put what I learned to good use. My Uncle held the state record for Lake Trout until it was broken in 1988 and that record has held ever since. I was also able to do a little fishing from the shore after our trip. The Rainbow's are at the tail end of their spawn and there were quite a few that were still hanging out in the marina. I was able to catch a few but most of them had some kind of disease on there skin so they were not much to look at. I was told that they were safe to eat but needless to say I released everything I caught. On the plus side is that the majority of them were good sized. You could see dozens cruising the shallows. It was fun getting to sight fish and see all the action.

The Utah state record Lake Trout caught at Flaming Gorge.

I was greeted by Antelope as I arrived.

Finding the Mac's

33" Lake Trout

31" Lake Trout

Mule Deer

21 1/2" Rainbow

Checking Out The Berry

My father-in-law and I went to Strawberry for the first time this year. A lot of the lake is still frozen but most of the bays are open now. We decided to hit Renigade Bay in our float tubes. The water was ice cold. I actually had to get out a few times and let my feet thaw because they would go numb! The fishing was really slow and everyone around us was having the same bad luck. There was a storm the past few days and I wonder if that had anything to do with it since Spring is usually the best time to fish here. We both ended up with one fish each and even though the fishing wasn't what we had hoped for, it was still fun to get out and experience the outdoors.