# Currant Creek ICE!



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

It's been far too long since last I fished. Life has been busy and the last couple of weekends haven't offered much time to drill any holes.

With the worst air quality in the country along the Wasatch Front, a lot of people have gotten sick, including myself.

The past week has been brutal here in Utah County. My workplace is located right by Utah Lake, so I've spent much of my waking hours at the bottom of the valley, sucking sludge all the while.

*Hack! Wheeze!*

My own ailments peaked on Friday, causing me to cut my work day short (I never do that). Luckily, Saturday was a little bit better and today was just beautiful. By beautiful, I mean it stormed and chased away the toxic haze.

Not wanting to wait it out and see how the air in the valley would treat me, I set off in the morning to try out my brand new NILS hand auger that a very kind soul sent me (forever grateful). Currant Creek Reservoir would be my proving grounds, which I had never ice fished before.

Getting to the lake, the air was crisp, clean, and seemingly magical. My condition instantly improved and continued to do so throughout my stay. What a relief! It wasn't even very cold with temps lingering just around freezing (which actually felt nice).

The drilling went VERY smoothly as 8" holes were bored through the ice, almost effortlessly. It was amazing to feel the difference that the NILS design made over other manual augers that I've tried.

As good as it felt to use the auger, it felt even better to get a line wet for the first time in almost three weeks! My first drop in the hole yielded a beautiful cutthroat.










The fishing was pretty good for the first 30 minutes or so, consistently getting bites or bumps from both rods. A couple of rainbows came through the hole and were sent back. One was pretty nice, but sent back without a photo.










Suddenly, everything slowed down significantly. Even when the bites came, instead of a quick twitch of the line, a subtle droop of the rod tip was what I needed to watch for.

Sadly, most of the bites were coming from the short rod (tube jig tipped with a small minnow) and somehow I always seemed to miss those bites. Not to blame the rod, but in the three years I've owned it, I've only been able to catch a total of five fish with it, including today's.

Out of those five fish, here are two that I was finally able to pull in today:



















A couple of other rainbows made it to hand a bit later, then the big one hit.

Noting that the small minnows were getting more attention from the tiger trout than the meal worms were, I tipped my long rod's cut'r bug jig and fished a hole that I drilled very close to the dam.

In only about 5' of water, I actively jigged the presentation for about a minute, when I lifted the tip to stiff resistance. Immediately, the rod tip went down and line spat from the reel. My hog had answered and I let the camera roll.






What a beast! My best tiger from that water and probably a top 5 from anywhere, it measured 24" and 4lbs, 5oz.



















Leaving had crossed my mind a couple of times prior to that catch, but I knew some bigger fish would be worth waiting for. I'm glad I stayed.

Here's a look at my jig. Luckily it held, though she may have finished straightening it, had the fight lasted much longer.










What a day! The fishing wasn't incredibly fast, but the action I got was well worth the wait. The new auger was a thrill to use and the fresh air was much needed.

Driving home was a little bit scary in spots, due to some blizzard-like conditions, but all went well. I'll leave you with some shots of Currant Creek, itself.



















Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## Ton_Def (Dec 23, 2008)

Whoa Loah! Grrrrrrrreat Tiger!


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## ScottyP (Sep 12, 2007)

Nice tiger. Do you fish the creek often? One of my summer faves.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I love the creek(s), but it's always just a quick stop on the way to the lake. Upstream from the lake included.

Sometimes the creek does end up keeping me for a couple of hours though. It's a great place to spend some time.


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## Skullanchor (Jul 29, 2008)

That is a beast of a Tiger! I hadn't been to Currant Creek in years. I am became an instant fan of that particular Jig this past weekend and your luck with it is sealing the deal as the jig to start with.


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

Another stellar LOAH report.
I need to try CC this Summer.

I have been sold on Maniac Cut'r Bugs for years.
Last year they introduces the Gizzila. It works as well or better than the Cut'r Bug.
I keep a good supply of both in several colors.
Then White Gizzilla was my best Crappie jig for the past year'


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow, nice fish!!


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## cbassonafly (Oct 5, 2012)

Very nice fish! Thanks for the report! Makes me wanna go hit the ice now


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## billybob (Oct 27, 2008)

Loah,

I know this may seem like a random question, but what kind of line do you use?


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Cabela's 4lb Pro. A big spool of it is around $9. It seems to hold up really well, but I also like Magna Thin.


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## N8ON (Oct 7, 2010)

Nice work! Four of us hit CC Saturday morning about 2 a.m. and fished until around 10 a.m. Our night fishing trip last year was incredible, with two of us easily catching over 100 fish. Fishing this trip wasn't extremely fast, but fairly consistent. I think I ended with around 25 fish, and everyone else a few less. Probably would have caught more if toppin would have stayed awake. The majority of the fish were cutts between 15"-17", with a few rainbows and two tigers. Your tiger was a beast, congrats.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Well, folks. I just polished off that tiger with my kids.

What a treat! My kids are asking for more and that's music to my ears. I'll share a little trick I do with fish sometimes. It works with almost any species:

Fillet and skin the fish, then cut to a size that's easy to manage. Pat dry with paper towel.

Get a pan on some heat. I usually turn my knob to 4.5 (about 7:30-8:00 on the dial), which is a little hotter than medium low, I think. When the pan is hot, coat the bottom with vegetable oil of your choice.

Crack an egg or two into a bowl that's big enough to handle the pieces of fish, then whip the egg to a solid yellow color.

In another bowl of similar size (or a bag, I guess), cover the bottom with some Parmesan cheese (I just use the near-powder stuff in a jar).

Dip a fillet or two in the egg wash and then toss into the bowl or bag and shake it around to get a good coating of crumbles.

Gently place the coated fillets in the oil and let fry for a couple of minutes on each side, depending on thickness. They should be golden brown when finished. 

It's ridiculously good with trout, perch, walleye, salmon, and halibut.

(It's essentially the same way McGrath's Fish House makes their Halibut Parmesan dish.)

I just did this for my kids (tricking them into eating fish) and I'm a hero now. :lol:


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

It looks like you had a great time thanks for the report and Awesome photos you have proven once again why you are LOAH. 8)


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