# Joe's Valley Area



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Saturday wasn't the greatest looking day to get out and fish, but compared to Sunday, I'm really glad I did. With the frozen months galloping toward us faster than ever, I thought I'd get out to Joe's Valley Reservoir for one last stab at the open water.

On the way down, I went up and over Fairview Canyon to get a feel for how those waters were doing and to shorten my drive by 20 minutes or so. Huntington Reservoir was capped with ice except for a couple of small areas that were still wet. Shore fishing was actually a possibility there, on the north end, but I didn't stop.

The same could be said for Cleveland Reservoir and there were a few stubborn hold-outs along the shoreline where the last open water remained. It was tempting to give it a shot, but I knew I'd become too distracted to finish my drive to the target water.

Electric Lake was totally open, although I would assume the north end is starting to freeze. Nobody was fishing, that I could see.

It was a tough deal, driving past all that water that I love to fish, but I was proud of my restraint. Then I let my guard down and couldn't help but burn 20 minutes on a stretch of Huntington Creek.




























Look cold? It was!

Several small browns and a medium sized cutthroat chased a brown marabou jig, but I failed to get them in when they lightly nipped at the tail. No matter, it was a nice scenic stop anyway.

Okay, back on track! Joe's or bust!

Another distracting drive through a welcoming canyon finally placed me at the bend on the highway, near the dam arm at Joe's Valley Reservoir. A cold wind howled through me while I descended the very steep hillside to the shoreline rocks, where I've always had the fastest action.




























History has taught me that the fish in JVR really like kastmasters in gold or copper, so I clipped on a gold and pulled in small splake immediately.










Not the most colorful of fish, but boy do they look neat on top!










Almost every cast brought bites or fish, mostly splake. It was incredibly fast action and brought balance to the miserably cold wind I had to endure. Although the fishing was great, the average size was only about 14 inches and the fish didn't have much weight to them. Their attitudes made up for that with aggressive strikes and good fights to my hand.

The splake were mostly along the shoreline and the cutts were usually in open water. The splake outnumbered my catches of cutthroat about 8:1, but I still caught 7 or 8 (do the math, yes that's a lot of fish for the day). A couple of small tiger trout also found my hook.



















The largest fish of the day was a splake of about 16 inches and all were released this time. Having enough of the wind at the lake, I decided to use the remaining sunlight in the canyon below and the small browns in the creek were also quite active.










It's always a pleasure to find myself in this area and I've never had a bad day fishing Joe's or the creek. My ride home was re-routed through Price, since I barely made it over the summit of Fairview Canyon and it had stormed since.

Nice day to get out and I'm glad I didn't wait until Sunday.

Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## Briar Patch (Feb 1, 2010)

Great report and pics LOAH! I went over Fairview Canyon on saturday as well, around noon, in my Ford Focus. There was a blanket of snow on everything. Roads were slick. It was a pretty drive, saw several eagles. No pics -forgot my camera.
Good to see ya gettin out and hittin the water before it's all capped.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Briar Patch said:


> Good to see ya gettin out and hittin the water before it's all capped.


Yeah...I hope it's not the last time on the soft water for the year. Thanks for the report...looks like a good, productive day !!


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## Jed (Feb 25, 2009)

That looks cold! Brrrrr....


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

It was just pointed out on another board that I was in violation for fishing Joe's on this trip. I can't believe I overlooked that regulation (totally forgot about it) and didn't double check the proc, which was in my car the whole time.

I'm terribly sorry to have inadvertently cheated the rest of you by fishing prohibited waters.  

No wonder I was the only one fishing the lake! It was an honest mistake and I was in the wrong. Had I realized it was off limits, I would've gladly continued down to Millsite instead.

I'm sorry.



> Joes Valley Reservoir, Emery County
> Limit 4 trout, only 1 trout may be over
> • 18 inches.
> CLOSED Nov. 1 through 6 a.m. on the second • Saturday of December.


FWIW- All fish were released on this trip.


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## 1morecast (Dec 6, 2007)

Hey thanks for the report and pics, I know its pretty hard to take snap shot when your fingers are about to fall off, I hope to brave the berry this week and I expect freezing temps.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

An honest mistake LOAH. We've all made them.

I've always wanted to fish that river but I just drive by it every time. It looks like it has some nice, deep holes. 8)


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

The creek is the cherry on the sundae when you're in that area. It's such a gorgeous place to be, let alone fish. I actually got into a couple of larger fish than usual, this time around, but still nothing special. The holes are super deep in between the giant boulders and I'm told that some pretty nice fish live in some of them, although I've never met any. 

It's still a lot of fun to fish though. One of the prettiest creeks I've fished, in my opinion.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Need some bail money ? :?


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

No, just a kick in the head. :lol:


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Why that one month closure? Is there something in there spawning at that particular time or something? Kind of a curious set of dates....


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

To protect the big Splake as I understand.


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

It sounds like you had a great time thanks for the report and awesome photos I think they would cut you some slack after all you are LOAH. 8)


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## ScottyP (Sep 12, 2007)

Is Joe's always closed this time of year or is this a new thing? I know they aren't protecting spawning hybrids....


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## brookieguy1 (Oct 14, 2008)

ScottyP said:


> Is Joe's always closed this time of year or is this a new thing? I know they aren't protecting spawning hybrids....


The big splake don't technically "spawn" but they do go through a faux ritual that makes them extra vulnerable in shallow water. Just protecting them from snaggers.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

It is an older reg that I've read before and never "had" to remember until now (always fished it either spring, summer, or ice). After the typical Joe's regs changed from a Strawberry type of slot limit to a general reg with a size restriction, I must have subconsciously dismissed the closure dates and not even thought about it this time out.

It was pretty easy fishing for them and a good majority of my bites were within 10 feet of shore. I'm sure there's merit for the closure, although the color of the water makes visibility pretty tough past a few feet. I never saw any fish until they were thrashing on the hook.

In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't catch anything I'd be tempted to keep since that would have compounded my screw-up.


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## ScottyP (Sep 12, 2007)

brookieguy1 said:


> ScottyP said:
> 
> 
> > Is Joe's always closed this time of year or is this a new thing? I know they aren't protecting spawning hybrids....
> ...


That makes sense. Are there any other splake waters that have a similar closure? Seems like there are plenty of other fish that become extra vulnerable during the spawn that are not afforded any protections though. Besides, snagging is illegal. Seems odd that they would close a water to prevent people from poaching. Must have been someones pet project that they pushed through the wildlife board...


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

I agree with ScottyP on this.
If the State is going to close waters to protect sterile fish, why don't they protect fish like Browns and Bows during their spawn.
There must be more to this closure.


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## brookieguy1 (Oct 14, 2008)

Grandpa D said:


> I agree with ScottyP on this.
> If the State is going to close waters to protect sterile fish, why don't they protect fish like Browns and Bows during their spawn.
> There must be more to this closure.


I know it seams strange but I can think of no other reason besides protecting the large splake during their most vulnerable period. Just like the closures on Boulder during the spawn. It's also hybrids that need the most protection in some cases. Often waters that have a high reproduction success rate from non-sterile fish suffer from over-population and too high of fish density, such as the Provo River and many Uinta lakes. Such waters need no protection to spawners. In fact, more "hook 'em and cook 'em" would help.


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