# Southward Bound!



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Ah, what a relief to see some open water again! It was great to actually cast and retrieve on still water after the stubborn winter.

Early in the week, Orvis1 sent out a big pm to his friends list looking for others to join him on a trolling excursion to Piute Reservoir. Rapalahunter, Weekend Warrior, and myself were quick to respond and grab a spot on the boat.

The plans were made and we decided that today (Sat 3-15) was the day. Orvis1 was to meet up with Weekend Warrior and give him a ride and I was to pick up rapalahunter at 4:00am.

Well, many of you may have heard of my notorious alarm clock gremlins and they just wanted me to know that they're alive and well (The clock? Not for long :evil: ). They must have come out of the woodwork somewhere between 11:00pm the previous night and 2:00 this morning because I have witnesses that watched me set the alarm for 2:30am (long drive...leave early). For some reason, it never sounded and I was awakened at 4:07am by my wife just 2 minutes prior to receiving rapalahunters call. O|* 

So I bypassed the whole coffee/breakfast/shower thing and was at his door at 4:30 and we were off!

Lucky for us, I had been studying the route all week long and had it down pat in my head; I-15 south to jct w/ I-70 east to jct w/ HWY 89 south. Not too hard, right?

Well, after reaching Richfield and stopping at the gas station wondering where the junction was (since the signs said we were already on 89/70), we realized that we'd passed the exit about 10 miles ago.

Finally on 89 south, we wound our way through the craggy canyons and saw a lot of deer. One herd was very large and while we were looking on, a small group of them dashed across the road.

I slammed on my brakes and left an impressive skid mark down the highway to avoid hitting the death-wish deer, but still barely pegged one of them across the rear hooves at the last 5 mph of my deceleration. It wasn't fazed and kept bouncing its way into the herd.

Needless to say our adrenaline was pumping pretty hard by now. We were grateful that a potential disaster was averted.

Eventually, we made it to the lake about an hour later than originally planned (pickup 30 min late and detour through Richfield) to see the boat already on the water. We were just glad they didn't wait around for us.

My fault, completely. Sorry for the lag, guys. 

They came over to the shore and picked us up reporting early success! They've got some pics that I'm sure they'll post later. One of the early fish was a serious toad.

Once we were all on board, the rods started bending for some healthy rainbows.



















The whole reservoir was open water except for one patch of ice near the dam that got blown around all day.



















Gorgeous place. I forsee some near-future summer campouts.










As you can see, the north end has some pretty nice cliffs by the dam and they wrap around to the east, as well.










We continued to troll and pick up a fish here and there.










The fish were all "keeper" size so far, but there was only one problem:

I hadn't caught anything yet. My new LuckyCraft didn't pick up any hits and I couldn't score with the pop gear either. What gives?

I was out of my element. We decided to beach on the far side and try the old minnow routine on the sweet looking cliffs. No dice.

Mark another off for rapalahunter with this awesome brown:



















A little closer:










It's always nice to see a brown come from a lake of any kind.

He and Weekend Warrior took a jaunt and explored the surrounding area finding a nice bay that was hidden from the steady breeze. Weekend Warrior had a taker pretty quickly on some PB.










Orvis1 and I sat around on the rocks trying different methods, but couldn't get anything going from the eastern cliffs. Once rapalahunter and Weekend Warrior returned with reports of activity where they were, I decided I wanted to try it out too.

Rapala and Orvis went back out on the water for some more trolling and WW and I went for a hike to find the fish.

Once we arrived at the bay, I lobbed out a minnow and a worm under a bubble (the old stand-by when catching is slow). WW missed a couple of PB bites and I finally got my first action for the day:










Well hey there, fella! Aren't you a nice, chewed up brown?










Great coloring and speckle pattern, but those fins were hashed! Not a bad brownie at 19". I was pretty surprised to see 2 browns from the same lake on the same trip. Kind of a rarity for me.

So I shed the fishing funk and as soon as I was done handling the brown, my line started pulling out from my minnow rod (score!). I hefty rainbow was the ticket this time.

I didn't want to "have to" keep any more by using harmful bait tactics, so I tied on a brand new Kastmaster and started launching that out as far as the eye can see (those things really fly!). A few adjustments in my retrieval and I had 3 more feisty bows within minutes, one of them providing us with a dazzling show of aerial acrobatics.

It was good to get back to what I'm more comfortable with (shore fishing...sad eh?) and actually hook up with some nice fishies.










*Meanwhile on the boat:*

Orvis1 and rapalahunter were still catching fish:










Orvis1 pulled in the catch of the day:










Oh, that was _smallest_ catch of the day. 

*Back to the cliffs:*

WW and I were satisfied with our hike and placed ourselves atop the "fishless" cliffs to get the attention of the boat. The boat came by, but the wind had blown the ice right into our area and we had to do some fancy downclimbing to get to a makeshift boarding zone that would have to do.

We got back on the boat for another chance at trolling.

Orvis1 hooked into a couple of cuties. Hey! No tongue!




























And then WW finally landed a fish on his Xrap that he'd lost a few on earlier. This would be the last fish of the day:










Pack'em up and move'em out! Just a shameless plug for Orvis1's sweet-mobile:










The 30% change of precipitation we were told by the forecast had now turned to 100% chance of precipitation with a slight chance of death on the drive home. :lol:










There were so many gorgeous places we drove through to get home, but if we were ever going to make it in a timely manner, we couldn't afford to pull over to take pics of everything. I really wish we had more hours in the day!










Wow, what a day!!! We had a great time at a great place to be and I can't wait to get back there when it's a little warmer.

Thanks Orvis1, for setting up a great day full of belly laughs and chubby fish!

Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## maguro88 (Feb 2, 2008)

Wow!! Nice Browns. I have been fishing there for about 3 years, but I never caught Browns. Always nice to see your report with pictures. You do take nice pictures.


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## 2fishon (Jan 13, 2008)

Nice report and great pics. I was down there on Wednesday. There is much less ice in your pictures than when I was there. Piute is a great fishery. It's full of crawfish, and the smallmouth fishing is getting pretty good too. Did they have the docks in the water yet?


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## The Naturalist (Oct 13, 2007)

Good pics, nice fish.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Ha ha ha....  ......Good report LOAH !! I can guess you gave poor rapalahunter a _slight_ case of 'pucker factor' on the ride down and the ride back..... _(O)_

Excellent report !! And some nice fish, pretty and they seem healthy except for the fins on that pretty brown....I'm quite the surprised the storm hit you guys so early in the day, it never got to my house until after 4:00 and I thought the thing was headed south.........Glad you all got all of there okay. Everybody fish off the boat and the shore ? No float tubes or toons ? Very many other people down there ? Did orvis1 buy lunch _again_ for everybody ?


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## great googly moogly (Jan 26, 2008)

i know you got cabin fever when you say piute is a *beautiful *lake

uhhghghghgh


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## k2muskie (Oct 6, 2007)

LOAH et al....Great report with great photos!!...I was beginning to really wonder what "soft" water looked like.  Thanks for reminding me....Since we've expanded our fishing horizons over the winter we'll be hitting some of these areas during the upcoming season. Based on the lures in the photos we're already set as we use some of the very same ones for TMs. All in all looks like you fellas had a great day on the soft water. Nice is all I can say... :wink: :wink:


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## rugerdogdog (Nov 18, 2007)

Wow that is a good report. I did not know that Piute had such a healthy and large population of Browns. I too may have to make a trip or two. (It's only about an hour for me) Looks like a rival for Otter Creek to me!! 
By the way, if I may...You could save a bunch of time by taking exit 222 south off of I-15. State road 28 goes to Gunnison, then you're on 89 past my house to Salina. Catch I-70 west, through Richfield, to the 89 south. The exit number escapes me but it says Panguitch, Kanab. It sounds complicated but it's not. It would save you at least 30 minutes and you wouldn't have to climb over that mountain. Just a thought.


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

Looks like a awesome trip. Glad you guys got into some fish too. Im going to have to give that lake a try. It seems to have a few nice browns in it


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## Poo Pie (Nov 23, 2007)

As always, great post LOAH! Way to go fellas


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Now THAT, my friend, is a fishing report.


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## Greenguy88 (Sep 7, 2007)

Good job guys! Glad to see everybody hooked up with some fish. LOAH thats a nice looking brown you got, even though he is scuffed up. Wish I could have joined! Maybe next time. :mrgreen:


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

Well, as you can see this is why we had loah do the post! He paints a good picture of what happened. The only thing he didn't tell you about was me and weekend warriors co-fish we caught. I hooked it on the spoon bagan to real it in when the boat started doing circles (rusty) so I handed the rod to weekend warrior and he fished the job on a beautiful 22" bow:










The thing that was so impressive besides the ice monster being gone was all of the fish were soo fat and healthy! The fishing was pretty steady all day long until the blizzard hit us, and I now know that a blizzard will kill the fishing mojo. We started hooking up on a UV squid and poped two chunky fish right before the blizzard hit then it is like someone hit a lightswitch and it turned right off. Raplahunter had the mojo working early in the day trolling:



















Then we stopped for some lunch and shore fishing with the minnows. After about 1/2 hour of no action and watching my boat just sit there not being properly utilized we headed back out on the water!










Weekend warrior got into the action with his x-rap finally holding on to a fish, he had missed several others on it. It naturally gave us an opening for the rest of him to give him crap until he finally landed one!










It was sure great to get out on soft water even though it was colder than most ice fishing trips I have been one, but in my own element more fish made it into my hands. One last parting fish porn for you to enjoy!










Thanks again to weekend warrior, Loah, and rapala hunter for such and enjoyable day on the water we need to do that again! I can't wait for the warm weather and being able to troll and flyfish in shorts again! CMON SPRING!


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## maguro88 (Feb 2, 2008)

orvis1 said:


> Well, as you can see this is why we had loah do the post! He paints a good picture of what happened. The only thing he didn't tell you about was me and weekend warriors co-fish we caught. I hooked it on the spoon bagan to real it in when the boat started doing circles (rusty) so I handed the rod to weekend warrior and he fished the job on a beautiful 22" bow:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Even more nice pictures! Thanks.
I will send you a PM in few minutes.


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## k2muskie (Oct 6, 2007)

Hey your post rivals LOAH. 

Great job guys and super pictures ...again we can hardly wait to begin our adventures on the "soft" water. We've found right before the front and even a little into it can be some of the best fish'n.  Helps bring the bait fish up, bait fish don't seen as well as the predator fish, so the larger ones have a nice feast allowing for some fantastic fish'n. -/O\-

Oh come on *-band-* "_great and wonderful soft water_" --\O ... :wink: :wink:


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

Those are some fat healthy trout. :shock: I wish I could have made it this weekend, especially knowing there are smallies in there. Congratulations all. I think we are all dying to try our hands on the softwater again. Thanks for sharing.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Yep, page 6.

http://utahwildlife.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4870&start=50

2fishon-

The docks are against the hillside in the parking lot chained up to a huge stack of tractor tires.

rugerdogdog-

Thanks, I'll have to try that route next time. If anything, it's more scenic.

I went over all the possible routes, but thought that driving through all those towns along 89 would eat our progress. I still think I'll go 89 next time though.

Orvis1-

Thanks for getting those other pics posted.


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

Thanks for the report, wish I could have gone. You guys caught some nice trout. Sweet trip!


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

LOAH,
Please do yourself a big favor and Buy A New Alarm Clock!!!
No, Buy TWO!!!


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

I forgot to tell you that we also had the opportunity to see a bald eagle crusing for rabbits. It was really cool to see one in the wild!


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## Pavlik (Sep 11, 2007)

Wow! Nice fish guys! Its good to see some open water for a change. I am waiting for more lakes to open up so that I can do some trolling too. LOAH, It is kind of strange that you did better fishing from shore than trolling. I normally slam them while trolling. Oh well, very nice fish. I like that chewed up brown Wonder what happened to him. I like the boat too. I stopped at Cabela's a few days ago, and noticed that they had them there for around $2,000. What size motor is on it? Those smaller boats are perfect for taking a handful of people out on the water to do some trolling for a cheap price.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Good report guys... sounds like a fantastic time. Orvis, had a good time doing what I went for also, but water was cold and the fishing wasn't much to speak of, thats why there's no report. Wish I had just saved money and gone with you guys, but it looks like the boat was crowded with four guys in it. Glad you guys got into some fish though.... next time the offer is there, I'll think seriously about taking you up on it and possibly just bringing a tube to switch off to. Thank you anyway for the invite.... it was appreciated. 8) Great pictures!!


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Rapalahunter and I brought our tubes just in case the boat was too crowded, but we never broke them out.

Pavlik-

Yeah, I've only trolled twice and I didn't do very well either time. I just know what to do when I'm on solid ground, I guess. I never seem to do too well from my tube, either...Unless I'm throwing hardware. Weird. There must be a black trolling cloud that follows me. Oh well.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

It was a blast! I am just hating being back at work today, I am dreaming of trolling again. Loah it just seemed like everytime we were hooking into fish on something we handed you the rod and it died... Wierd.... We will get you into some fish on the boat we just need the sun! It was a blast if I could get down there again on Saturday I would just not sure it could happen 2wks in a row for me.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I can't wait to go back, either. Already have another long drive set up for this Saturday though.


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## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

Great report, awesome pictures, thanks for sharing. Looks like you guys had an awesome time. Great memories.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

You should come with us next time, shoot me a P.M. if you would be interested in going.


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## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

sweet trip, thanks for the update and post...


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## 2fishon (Jan 13, 2008)

Piute is a fantastic place to fish. You would save alot of time if you follow the directions given in an earlier post. Going clear to I-70 is the long way. Also, it was very interesting that you guys got into the browns. I have fished Piute quite a few times and only caught one brown. Even on 40 fish days I haven't had a single brown, or cutt for that matter. I'm just patiently waiting for the water to warm up so I can go after the smallies. I feel your pain on the trolling thing. I never have been able to troll. I have a bass boat though, not really set up for it. My next boat will be an aluminum walleye-type boat like a Lund or Crestliner.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

My next boat will be my first. 

I guess I need a truck first. :lol: 

I'll definitely go the other route next time. I can't wait until next time. I'm still buzzing.

It would be neat to see what one of the cutts or tigers looks like from there.


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## maguro88 (Feb 2, 2008)

LOAH said:


> My next boat will be my first.
> 
> I guess I need a truck first. :lol:
> 
> ...


Least will be nice weather this weekend at Piute


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## deadicated1 (Mar 17, 2008)

good work guys. i got an ear full all week from nor tah about how cool this trip was going to be. it looks like a blast. keep those pics coming


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Welcome to the forum bud! I am glad you decided to join us 8)


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## rapalahunter (Oct 13, 2007)

Please tell me that Nor-tah does not resemble any other forum members user name.


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Sure hope not :shock: That would be the worst!


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