# Southern Salvelinus



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

The past two weeks have been very enjoyable, chasing brookies in southern Utah waters, but I'll get to that in a moment. Before any of that happened, Holdsworth and I visited Strawberry Reservoir in search of big cutthroat.

Choosing to float near the dam, along the cliffs, we did alright for 20" cutthroat.



















A 20 inch cutthroat is not small, but for Strawberry, it's a standard. To be "big" in Strawberry, it needs to break the slot (22" or better). We didn't catch any of those.

After floating for a few hours with only slot cutts to hand, we decided to see what we could do on the river below the dam.

In one of my favorite spots on the river to dip a jig, I got a solid hookup from what would have been my biggest brown from that river, looking to be at least 2ft long. Sadly, it broke me off quickly between the branches of a half-submerged tree.

Ultimately, I had to settle for a small brookie from the river before calling it a day. So we ended up with nothing very noteworthy on the day, but it's always fun to get out.

Next Saturday, I compelled Aaron to decide where we'd go for the day and he voiced his interest in revisiting a place we'd gone to, years before.

This lake really kicked our butts on our last trip, not in terms of fishing success, but in terms of getting to the lake. The tightly wooded hillside leading up to the lake seemed devoid of trails at that time and we essentially bushwhacked our way to it.

It was pure punishment to push through the downed timber and living trees and our reward was to catch small brookies, almost at will. It was a rough trip, but still a good one.

This time around, I had since done a lot more research and exploration of the area, leading me to believe a better way to the lake existed. We followed my inteded route and actually kept the bushwhacking limited to the last couple hundred feet.

At last, an easier way to this beautiful natural lake.










Expecting to catch small skinny brookies, we were very pleased to see some healthy fish filling our hands, pretty much right away.





































Not only were they healthy and biting agressively, they fought really hard too. We had a great time and the fish were more than willing to come visit us.

We ended the day with more fish caught than we cared to count and broad smiles across our faces. My biggest on the day was 16.5" and sturdy. It was wonderful to see such a positive change for that lake, and for our fishing success.










Our next trip was a 400 mile day trip for the purpose of fishing a couple of lakes we'd never visited. The first lake was one I'd wanted to see for the past 10 years or so.

After an easy 2 mile hike, a dream of mine came true.










A beautiful natural gem in the rocks seduced me as I stared in awe from shore. The crystal clear water made it difficult to grasp just how deep the lake was, but floating it demonstrated that fact quite well.

Gaps between huge boulders that rested only a couple of feet below the surface were anywhere from 15-30ft deep and the fish could be seen throughout.

Those fish were also able to see us and it was difficult to trick them into biting.










Eventually, I cracked the code and was able to coerce a few of them to play my game.










Scar face:










Several fish came to hand for me, all of which were beautiful Colorado River cutthroat.










Aaron had a harder time at the lake, but did catch two fish, one of which was a 17" tiger trout that took the jig direcly under his tube.










Nice fish! We continued at the lake for a short while longer and I caught a couple of beauties before we set off to the next spot.










Cutthroat colors will always make me smile.










This guy had a mean overbite.










Our next lake was just a quick hike away, but worlds different as far as fishing action was concerned. We had a plan to fish this one and, believe it or not, everything went as planned.

Once we were in position, fat handful brookies came in, one after another. It was lights-out, great fishing. My first four fish came to me in about 10 minutes total, only having migrated about 10 feet from where I started.

We were vertical jigging, mostly, and it was very effective. It was so effective that I strayed from the plan and tried different presentations in different areas, just to break up the non-stop action (plus I needed a break to eat a sandwich).

Aaron was in heaven and I believe he spent more time with a fish on the line, than he did casting/jigging.




























It was a great day! Every fish fought really hard and we only had a few come to hand that weren't decent sized brookies.

Aaron caught the biggest one of about 16" and just a hair under 2lbs.










Not only was the fishing incredible, but the scenery of the lake, plus a beautiful sky really made the whole thing gel into a very memorable trip for us.










Thanks to a quick afternoon thunderstorm, we had a lot of clouds painting beautiful pictures across the sky. The calm silence after the storm also did wonders for the surface of the water, which was gladly photographed.










Glass.










We stayed a bit too long to get out during daylight, but it was worth it to see the beautiful sunset from such a place.

A perfect way to end another fabulous day of fishing in southern Utah.










Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Very awesome and thanks for sharing the great pics and wonderful stories


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Long time no see!! Always nice to view your posts and read the stories. Done my heart good to see you on here . Missed your adventures.:mrgreen:


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## hondodawg (Mar 13, 2013)

Is swear I've been to that lake with all the boulders in it. Didn't catch a darn thing


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Dunkem said:


> Long time no see!! Always nice to view your posts and read the stories. Done my heart good to see you on here . Missed your adventures.:mrgreen:


It's nice to be back! I've missed being on. Computer woes keep me from spending much time writing reports anymore. Not at home, at least. That thing just makes me angry.

My phone is no substitute either, so it's been tough to get reports written anywhere outside the blog.

My last blog post covered 4 months, so it was way too long to convert the 100+ pics to IMG codes. LOL


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

hondodawg said:


> Is swear I've been to that lake with all the boulders in it. Didn't catch a darn thing
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It was tough to fish. Took me awhile to figure out a system.

What worked was casting toward shore (from my tube) and giving my jig a quick couple of short twitches, then letting it sink for a few seconds. Rinse repeat.


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## hondodawg (Mar 13, 2013)

I think our mistake was not taking the tubes in on that hike. But so crystal clear it was incredible. 


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

hondodawg said:


> I think our mistake was not taking the tubes in on that hike. But so crystal clear it was incredible.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, it was really cool from a tube. Holy cow! Never fished anything quite like it.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Thanks for the report. Haven't been down there this year. I've got pics of 5lb+ brookies from the late 90s from the second boulder lake. It has fished for me the last few years exactly the way it fished for you, fast and furious for fat 15-16" brookies. I haven't caught a fish over 3lbs from that lake in 15 years. Those pics still put a big smile on my face. The lake with the boulders always yields a few good cutts, I usually pic them up trolling sinking fly line from a float tube, but I've never scored a tiger there before, may have to spend a little more time there next time.


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

I completely forgot about your blog! Now I know where to find you:grin:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

This is my favorite thread.


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

Awesome job great photos and post as always you have proven why you are LOAH>>>8)8)8)


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## DocEsox (May 12, 2008)

Great trips Loah. I agree with how beautiful a colored up cutthroat is.....as well as brookies. Love catching nice brooks. Thanks for the great pictures and report.

Brian


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## mlob1one (Aug 29, 2014)

Would like to check out your blog LOAH... where can I find it? 

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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

*Utah Water Log* Its in his posts, but this should take you there. Great read!!


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## mlob1one (Aug 29, 2014)

Dunkem said:


> *Utah Water Log* Its in his posts, but this should take you there. Great read!!


Thanks&#128077;

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## Jed (Feb 25, 2009)

Very nice report, young feller.

I reckon you ain't gonna tell us where that pond is???? >>O-O,-


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## BG1 (Feb 15, 2013)

Jed said:


> Very nice report, young feller.
> 
> I reckon you ain't gonna tell us where that pond is???? >>O-O,-


I hope not!&#128591;


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