# Millsite and Abroad



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Back in the spring time, when most of the good lakes in my area were still frozen, my family and I drove down to Millsite to find some soft water. It was super windy and we didn't get much time to fish before she wanted to leave. Despite our short stay, I caught a plump 16 inch rainbow and have wanted to return ever since to see what a focused solo effort could bring.

Today was my day to finish what I'd started several months ago and I knew I needed to leave pretty early if I was going to have any time to fish. The alarm sounded on time and I went through the morning ritual of getting my corpse into character for a day of kicking around a lake (high calorie breakfast, coffee, hot shower, etc).

Driving over the summit of Fairview Canyon was pretty hairy. Visibility was only about 20 feet in between patches of dense fog (clouds) getting blown all over by blasts of howling wind. The yellow line was hard to make out for a couple of miles and I had to slow down to 25 mph and kill the headlights to see. It was quite the relief to see the orange glow of sunrise in the distance, where the clouds broke.

Huntington looked very uninviting, but I pulled over for a couple of minutes anyway. There was about a 30 foot band of broken up ice chunks all along the dam, rolling with the waves.

Attempting to cast even a heavy kastmaster was a joke with the brutal, constant wind, but I tried and caught nothing. Time to go.

Electric Lake called me in for quickie and I obliged for a half hour casting session while soaking the minnow trap. Both were excersises in futility, unfortunately. My guess is that the fish and the minnows were staying deeper than where I was looking. No big deal, just a quickie.

With all distractions now aside, I was free to make the trip to Millsite without any more stops:

Made it!










Now I was free to get my waders on, pump up the tube, and wrangle up some fishies...

...Only problem with that plan was the *WIND!* :x

Just like my previous trip to Millsite, the wind was a problem. The tube never even saw daylight.

Despite the obvious wind problem, Millsite is a pretty cool venue for a trout lake. There's something gratifying about trout in a desert setting:










There are quite a few bays that finger out in all directions, and I considered floating those, but after closer inspection, realized that they were quite shallow and didn't hold much (if any) fish. The water level is down 20 feet or more from the mark.










Around the bend from the shallow bays, I found a decent drop off on the leeward side of some cliffs and started casting.

My selected lure was a bright orange/silver kastmaster and I was sure that it would get plenty of attention in the aquamarine colored water. I was wrong.

Eventually, I switched to a brass KM and that worked out a little better. Splake were the only things biting anything for me and the first came on a minnow:










I have to admit, the colors of them here are noticeably more pleasant than the neighbor to the north, Joe's Valley Reservoir. These splake had deeper hues than I'm accustomed to seeing, whereas the JVR splake tend to have muted tones.

They both seem to grow them to the same size though:










Pretty average for what I've seen. For being stocked in '06, I thought they'd be a little bit larger. Still nice to look at though.

A few splake paid me a visit, but the fishing was generally slow. The wind had crushed my hopes of getting out on the tube and I had some fish to take home, so I left to explore Ferron Creek for a short while.

Ferron Creek is a pretty little stream, but where are the fish? I hit a stretch that was scattered with fishy looking holes, but I couldn't buy a strike, let alone see anything spook in the crystal clear water. The disappointment didn't last long after I got out the camera.





































The creek walk was pretty relaxing and I was glad I took the time, even though there weren't any fish to be found. Once again, time to go.

With the afternoon still relatively young, I promised myself a hike in Huntington Canyon to see the nifty rock formations that litter almost every hillside in some parts.

This turned out to be the highlight of my day.  Huntington Canyon is amazing to explore, never knowing what kind of hollow rock or "mini-Moab" you might encounter next. It's really worth getting out of the car for a moment to take notice of these hidden wonders everywhere.

Pardon me for being trigger happy with the camera, but I actually left more than half of the resulting pics on the cutting room floor.














































Cool twisted trees and branches can be seen with some regularity, as well:




























This could have been a useful shelter in times past:



















Every time I tried to get back down to my car, I would just run into more neat stuff to gawk at.














































OOGA BOOGA!




























Okay, I finally made myself ignore the hillside and was on my way again. After driving through the harsh conditions in the morning, I was interested in seeing how everything looked up top.

Kind of neat to see trees only halfway up the frost line:










We're getting colder (winter wonderland look):










In summary, it was an excellent day to get out. The wind was a bit of a nuisance, but I still caught some pretty fish and saw a ton of great landscape that made it all worth while. I always get a kick out of driving that particular scenic route for the dramatic changes in scenery within a short amount of time.










Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## REPETER (Oct 3, 2007)

The closest I've been to there is JVR, which has some excellent scenery as well, but that place looks spectacular!!! Thanks for sharing with us-great pics. Definitely a place to add to my must fish list. :mrgreen:


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

There's some pretty wacky rock formations LOAH....I can understand the reason for all the pictures. Good pic's too !!

The splake are pretty, I don't believe I've ever caught one as pretty as those your showing. They look pretty healthy....any fight to them ? I've been wondering where you've been hanging out ? 

Thanks LOAH !!


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

There really wasn't much fight at all, actually. My drag was set pretty light and I don't think I even heard it click once, minus the hookset.

The water is really cold though. Maybe they're just slowing down a bit. I've never really had a good fight with a splake though. I need to catch a big one to get a real idea.


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## netresult (Aug 22, 2008)

WOW!! Great report and more stunning pics! Looks like a place that needs to go on the list. Thanks for sharing


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## cwp (Nov 25, 2007)

I believe that the Millsite and Ferron mountain area is one of the most beautiful areas in the state. I have spent a lot of time there when I was growing up. Lots of good fishing in the area.
Cory


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## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

Awesome report, LOAH. That sucks about the strong wind. I know what that's like trying to fish in that for sure. Still though, glad you got to see some sweet scenery and caught a few pretty Splake. 

I have also noticed that the Splake that I've caught (at Navajo) haven't put up much of a fight. Then again, I haven't caught one over 15 inches. They definitely don't seem to be very good pound for pound fighters, that's for sure.


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## Nueces (Jul 22, 2008)

Great pics and posting. Is that a bird nest in one of the rock formations?


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Nueces said:


> Great pics and posting. Is that a bird nest in one of the rock formations?


It didn't look like a bird's nest. They weren't arranged in any real pattern. I'd guess that they were just twigs that were blown in there from some of the surrounding trees.


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## russt (Apr 17, 2008)

I was born and raised in Ferron only 2 miles from Millsite. First I must say there was no mention of the golf course that is off the dam of the lake. 

Millsite is a great lake. The trick to most lakes on the Ferron side is a silver or brass Jake's spin-o-lure OR a worm with a green marshmallow. I have a grip load of Lures, but a Jake's will continually produce good fish at Millsite. 

You did catch the one flaw associated with high mountains on one side, a lake, then a desert. Wind can be brutal in that canyon when a storm front is coming. Even if the storm doesn't hit the lake the air gets moving down the canyon. Watch the weather if there is a front in the area, skip to another day for tubers because there will be wind. 

Ferron mountain is the place to be come June 1. Memorial day last year my wife's arm was tired from reeling in brookies and tiger trout. 

If you want a local opinion on when or where in Ferron area feel free to ask.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Thanks for the insight. A Jake's was tried for quite a while, since rainbows tend to like them, but no takers.

I plan on visiting the other waters up the canyon next season.


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