# Central



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

This week flew by and I found myself unsure of where I was to fish, come Saturday night. With a few long distance trips coming up in October, I needed to stay somewhat close to home, so I hit the maps in search of a destination.

After shooting down a few ideas, I heard the sublime call of an area that invokes nothing but fond memories: the Wasatch Plateau.

With so many fishing possibilities in every direction out there, I decided to start the day at a familiar spot and then set off to wander freely, fishing wherever looked interesting.

The alarm was set to ring at 4:00, but I wouldn't need it. Somehow, I was awakened a few hours early and wasn't able to get back to sleep. This called for an extra scoop of grounds in the morning's brew. After some breakfast and a map browsing session, I took to the highway under the stars.

My first venue would be Huntington Reservoir for the sole purpose of floating it, since I never had. My tube was on the water before the sunshine.

Casting wasn't getting anything to hand, but "trolling" a worm with some split shot up the line kept me busy unhooking little tigers every five minutes or so. None of them had any size to them, but it was good to see how productive getting out on the water was.

Some dark clouds blew in and gave me a short sprinkle and some wind. The rain didn't last very long, but the wind kept blowing. It made the water a little choppy, but didn't interfere with the catching. Eventually I let it blow me back to the dam and I left, satisfied.

The water level has only dropped a few feet and the leaves are just starting to turn.



















While driving to a different spot, I couldn't help but fish a small creek that looked inviting.










At first, the only movement I saw was from schools of tiny juvenile fish with parr marks. They were still fish and I wanted to get a better look at them, so I kept casting. None of them would bite, but they were following my spinner quite often.

At the spill of a beaver dam, I lucked out and actually found a nice sized cutthroat amongst the runts. It was a welcome surprise and it put a smile across my face.










I never get sick of looking at a pretty cutt.



















After admiring the beautiful specimen, I let it go and marched further upstream to find his buddies.

The brush was thick along the banks, but an occasional window provided me with a few missed hits and chasers. Finally I got another fish in my hand, but it was just a planter bow. It seemed a bit out of place, mixed in with the wild cutts.










Back it went and I kept after it, only to miss a few more before leaving. Nice creek.










Pleased with the fishing so far, I decided it was time to quench my thirst for discovery and do some hiking in a few areas that looked promising on the map. The first place I tried to get into seemed easy enough to find from the map, so I got out and started walking&#8230;

&#8230;About an hour later, I got back to my car wondering where in the world this pond was and how I could've been so off course. What I thought should have been a quick trip up the hill turned out to be a couple of miles of searching all around, just to finally give up and head back to the car. I obviously hadn't parked where I thought I did. It was still good to get in a good hike and see more of the countryside. More places awaited me.

The second area I went to explore turned out to be full of water and well worth the hike for the scenery alone.























































Plenty of pond hopping to do out there. Sadly though, much of the water I found was fishless. I made it a point to check each pond thoroughly. Casting didn't amount to any movement in the water and kicking logs only clouded it up.

There was ONE pond, however, that did support some fish. Oh, and what fish they were!

My first cast was placed perfectly next to a log on the far side of the small pond. Two cranks into my retrieve and I saw a disturbance in the water a few feet from my ripple. A waked rolled across to where my spinner was and WHAM! Fish on!

It stayed in the water mostly, but it pulled with great ferocity and had me adjusting my drag to compensate for my 4lb mono. Taking line at will, it shot from side to side toward the submerged logs and I struggled to keep its nose pointed toward me.

Bringing it in only got harder, the closer it got to me. Rolling into the weeds in the shallows and half-burying itself in the soft mud, it finally flopped just right and I was able to hoist it over to my feet. It was an awkward task to try and grab the girthy beast as it fought to escape. Finally, I had it. Smaller looking than it felt, I still had to point the fat rainbow away from me to fit it in the frame effectively.










It taped out at only 18 inches (still very larger for the area), but very chunky. From this point on, nothing would wipe the smile off my face.

Second cast, fish on! Basically a repeat of the previous sequence of events, but this one actually fought a little harder than the first.










Third cast and I had another one on for about 10 seconds before it threw the hook. Fourth cast and another fish fought its way off the hook. After missing those two, I examined the Blue Fox to find that these porkers had bent my hook. A quick adjustment with the forceps and I was back in business.

Finally, I retrieved a cast without a bump and went to the other side to check for more. More I found. The next one I brought in would be the biggest of the day at 19 inches.



















These fish were by far the hardest fighting fish I've caught for months and it was a real treat to get rewarded for my exploration. Wow. I'll be back next year to check on them.

There were a couple more ponds that I would like to have checked into, but my day couldn't get any better than it already was and I thought it best to leave.

The mountains are really starting to pop with color right now and the daytime temps are really pleasant. Get up there while you can.














































Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Toad bows!! Nice work LOAH. That is super rewarding from such a small pond and they even had fins!!


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

WOW LOAH !!!

Nice pics....those photo's literally _blew up_ on my screen. :shock:

Very 'screen saver' worthy !!

Thanks !!!


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

Sounds like a awesome trip. You cant beat those bows from those out of the way places. Looks like the leaves are turning, perfect time to be up there. Mabey I missed it somewhere, but have you tried out that pontoon yet?? Is that what you were using at huntington?


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## lehi (Sep 13, 2007)

Dang LOAH those pics are getting me VERY excited for the deer hunt. Those are some nice bows and cuts. Love your pics always man.


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

Nice loah. I didn't expect to see those fatties out of that stream. Thanks for sharing.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

STEVO said:


> have you tried out that pontoon yet?? Is that what you were using at huntington?


No, still haven't taken it out yet.

First weekend of October looks like it will be the maiden voyage.


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## 12 Volt Man (Sep 7, 2007)

Spectacular. Can't wait to see when you visit your new friends next year.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Awesome LOAH. It's as if I'm right there with you every time, I can clearly imagine those fiesty rainbows on the end of the line... 8) 

Great pictures and report.


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## flydaddy834 (Sep 11, 2007)

you could catch fish in a mud puddle i bet.


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

It looks like you had a awesome time thanks for sharing the great report and pictures once again you have proven why you are the awesome LOAH.


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## wannabefisher (Jul 6, 2009)

Beautiful fish! Reminds me of the bows I got out of Antimony Lake earlier this year. Love reading your posts!


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## pezvela (Nov 3, 2007)

beautiful pictures with a great narrative. Thank you.


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Killer pictures and what AMAZING fish from such bony water! Good on ya. We're all jealous!


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## nate1031 (Jul 2, 2008)

I know I am! Those were some AWESOME fish. Nice bows are hard to find in Utah. That cuttie was gorgeous too!


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## Jigz (Sep 30, 2007)

Very impressive! After reading all of your reports every week it makes me wonder when the book is coming out. Seems to me that you could compile all this knowledge and beautiful pictures and make a bit of money as well. I know I would buy it. :wink:


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Looks fantastic Justin..... great job!!


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## jdmckell (Nov 12, 2007)

Awesome post man! If you ever want to drag your toon out sometime, let me know... I've got a truck and a toon that are both itching to be used. Anyway, awesome post! You are the man.


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

Great pics and a great read, well done.


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## Tigru (Oct 15, 2007)

Great looking pics and Great looking fish! Props!


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## smallfry (Sep 22, 2009)

wow, those are some nice fish! especially that bow.


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## Jed (Feb 25, 2009)

Awesome post. That's my favorite area of the state. Sure am jealous.  -)O(- :|


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