First Float

It's not that I prefer fishing alone, but it seems like I end up doing it quite a bit. My Dad thinks I'm crazy for being out and about by myself. I'm not refuting that... Anyway, last Saturday I put in my time taking care of some "honey-do's" so that when Sunday rolled around without any plans I could take advantage. I loaded my kick boat up in the pre-dawn light and headed to a place where we went a lot when I was a kid. Saw some wild turkeys and lots elk on the ride but didn't stop to take pictures. 

Perfect

The reservoir has undergone a lot of changes since then, mostly positive in terms of fishing, but it still has some of the prettiest water I've seen. While setting up my boat I realized I'd forgotten a couple of things, just like I seem to every first trip of the year, this time it was my wading boots and my wool socks. I couldn't get away with not wearing boots, because I'd probably loose my flippers if I tried, so my shoes would have to do. Found some fish lying low pretty early on but couldn't buy a hit on any flies. So I went with my second choice and did some vertical jigging with my ice fishing pole (my spinning rod's broken, so I guess another rod-build could be in order). The fish seemed to like what I was serving up and I had a couple of hook ups. Too bad they got off at the boat. The third times a charm though and soon enough this splake came to hand.

Love the way he shows traits from both his parents

After that it was as if the wind knew I was having fun and just couldn't stand it. The lack of wool socks was also taking it's toll, so I called it a good day of fishing from the kick boat and headed back to the truck. Not wanting to waste the time and effort of getting to this area, I decided to check out a small stream that I used to hike up with my Grandma when I was a kid. This is the sort of thing that I probably wouldn't even remember, but Grandma likes to remind me of it every time I visit. The last time I was at her house got me thinking about those hikes and how we used to see fish in the stream...

No fish today, but this Summer may yield different results

After that it was back down the canyon to fish the small tailwater the reservoir provides. What I found was really low, clear water and some spooky little brown trout. But they were more than willing to play as long as I was careful. They were feeding on midges above and below the surface (depending on the fish), and with the low water it was a lot of fun to sight fish. 

My wife is teaching me how to use Photoshop

One of those places I dream about

Small, but they have some great qualities

This is usually impassable

Weird little dark stripe on this one

Now, everyone knows that any body of water or stretch of stream holds at least one fish that is significantly bigger than all those around it. With the low water I was hoping to find some of those larger fish, but I only spotted one that refused my offering quite rudely. Hopefully there are more and they were just hiding under rocks.

Now I know where he lives, just under that rock

I definitely stayed longer than I should have, but I couldn't help it, fishing is just that fun. Luckily, I have a patient wife. The ride home was really pretty, with lots of deer and elk that stayed off the road just like they're supposed to. Hope you can get out, be safe, and enjoy nature.

- Kidder

Funny to see that deer in with all those elk

What a view of the Sanpete Valley