# Narrow Minded @ Strawberry



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

My family and I needed to get out of the house on Saturday, so we kept it relatively close and went to Strawberry Reservoir. We've been to Strawberry quite a bit together and typically fish the same old spots all the time. This week, we planned on exploring a different part of the lake that neither of us had seen before.

From looking at the maps, I knew that a road to the narrows existed, but had no idea what kind of condition it would be in or if it was even publicly accessible. It was a relief to see that it wasn't gated and we proceeded to give the Rodeo a nice workout.

Most of the road is fine, but putting it into 4Low was necessary in a few spots along the way. I'm pleased to say that the Rodeo handled it very well, being the toughest road I've taken it on so far. After mashing our way to the edge of the canyon, we were rewarded with a pretty good view.









































































We had a pretty mean hike in front of us, for kids at least. Considering the wind coming from the west, I chose the far corner at the mouth of a little bay as our fishing spot. Shown bottom-center of the photo below:










There were no real trails to follow and the bushes got pretty thick, so it ended up being quite the task to haul my daughter and a bunch of gear the whole way. Luckily, my boy James has turned into a real trooper and only needed to be helped in a few spots.

The hike also provided us with a lot of eye candy, which helped offset the scratches we were getting on our legs.














































Finally arriving to our chosen spot, it was a relief to see that erosion had provided us with a mushroom shaped umbrella for shade.










There were schools of chub swimming around, just off the rocks, mostly in the 8-12 inch range and I hooked a couple of those before deciding to ignore them. At one point, I did spot a nice school of what looked like shiners, which I haven't seen at the berry for a few years.

Using a shiner, I was able to land my only trout of the day, a 23 inch cutthroat. It was amusing to catch this one because it took my minnow from under the rock I was standing on. Then it gave me a real fight, making several strong runs. It's nice to have a worthy battle from a berry cutt, which have a reputation of being lazy fighters.










Sonia, my wife, had more action than I did, but got broken off every time unfortunately. She still enjoyed the thrill of fighting some nice fish. We saw one of them and it was pretty big. Too bad.

She still had a good time though. The kids were surprisingly good, even without a lot of space to run around.










My slot buster ended up being the only fish brought to hand all day, but I was happy with that and it was a really neat experience to see a different side of Strawberry and take a fun drive through the mountains.










Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## ChukarCountry (Feb 26, 2011)

Wow, it looks like a fun trip.


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## 1morecast (Dec 6, 2007)

Thank for the report and pic, was the drive pretty long from the main road?


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## Flyfishn247 (Oct 2, 2007)

As always, great pictures and report.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

1morecast said:


> Thank for the report and pic, was the drive pretty long from the main road?


Not too long. Just slow in 4 or 5 spots where you have to crawl. About 20 minutes from HWY 40, I think.


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## troutwhisperer (Jan 1, 2009)

Very nice! Thx for sharing I have always had to look up & not down, both are beatiful . I have seen lots of deer come down to the lake there and get a drink . The gate has always been locked for me in the past , I wonder if that is a good place to retreat from the afternoon blowberry wind?


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## hook (Aug 24, 2009)

Great pics! Thanks for sharing.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Nice LOAH. I'm glad you caught *A* fish at least... I was skunked both today and yesterday. Three different lakes!!... been awhile since that's happened to me. :|


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Ouch! No bueno, saws. Sorry.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Pretty cool LOAH, pretty cool!

Mother nature loaned you guys the use of a giant toadstool...neat! 8)


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

Thanks for the report and great photos too bad the fishing wasn't better. 8)


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## flyfitch (Sep 22, 2007)

I am trying to figure out where you are from the pics. Did you enter from the home sites near Soldier Creek or did you drive around across the dam? The reason I ask, is because if you entered from near Soldier Creek marina, you may be on Indian Reservation. That road crosses a fence, and it seems like every year somebody tears down the No trespassing sign there.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

We went down the road that leads to the Soldier Creek Campground (west of the dam junction road) and at the last group of cabins, turned right, then left, and we were on the road.

We did cross a fence line with an open gate and the only sign posted was "Property Line", posted by the forest service. There wasn't a trespassing sign that I could see.

Here's where we were in the middle:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=40 ... 3&t=h&z=17


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## flyfitch (Sep 22, 2007)

That is where I thought you went. That first fence is the Forest Service boundary. After you continue for a couple of miles you come to another fence. The private fence is after you drive down the steep part and across the flat. I have been hunting there for over 20 years. I have been told once by a native american to get off the land about 12 years ago. He met me right at the fence when I was on my way out.


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## flyfitch (Sep 22, 2007)

Here is a map. Notice the orange area. That is Indian Reservation.
Here is a link so you can zoom in.
http://static.stateparks.utah.gov/maps/ ... stem08.pdf


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Wow, thanks for the info. It definitely wasn't well posted because I really looked for something telling me to stay out. Guess that's why I never hear any reports about that spot!

My trespassing was totally unintentional.


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## flyfitch (Sep 22, 2007)

Yeah, its tuff. The signs are probably torn down. You can still take that road for a little ways, you just have a longer hike to the lake.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

Hey, that's my boat!


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## FishNaked (Apr 15, 2009)

Ya that rock umbrella made the trip in my opinion...natural features like that are fun and make us keep going. I never fished that part of the narrows in the summer...but snowmobiled in one year as the ice was coming off and had a blast. Nice report and pics!


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## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

A whole new perspective on the berry indeed! Imagine the view form there in the winter, time to get a snowmobile. Could you make out Doger's face from the shore? I am guessing from the pic his face was blurred again but this time it was from a distance.


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## sharpshooter25 (Oct 2, 2007)

Sounds like a great day to me.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

So if the property isn't correctly posted NO TRESPASSING, should LOAH have any reason to worry about having gone down there? In that instance, isn't asking you to leave the worst they can do?


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Chaser said:


> So if the property isn't correctly posted NO TRESPASSING, should LOAH have any reason to worry about having gone down there? In that instance, isn't asking you to leave the worst they can do?


Good question Chaser. I think the answer may be depending on the attitude of the C.O. and how he would 'read' a person's intentions, or _why_ he was trespassing. In LOAH's case we all know it wasn't intentional. 
The Ute Tribe does post all of their property's at one time or another. A lot of area's are posted yearly. Some area's I see the signs will last a season, some last two weeks and some last for years. Some signs are even burnt down in place. Why people would remove or burn the signs I will never understand. It can sure create a lot of grief and heartburn for all parties involved. 
So..it's tough on them boys to keep an area posted. I guess it could be our responsibility to know where we are at all times.


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## Igottabigone (Oct 4, 2007)

FYI..only the Feather police may issue any type of citations in this case. A state fish and game officer has no jurisdiction over anything involving tribal land. I have never seen or heard of a Feather Policeman being in that area of the berry either. So, I say have at it. If one were to receive a citation the Kangaroo Courts of the tribe really do not do anything at all. And then if they do try to impose some kind of sentence there are endless ways of fighting it.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

See that's the thing- you guys know as well as I do that there are fences all over the interior of our National Forests. Just because there is a fence doesn't mean that what's on the other side is off-limits. While it is the responsibility of the individual to know where they are, it seems to reason that a landowner should show some responsibility to let people know where the property lines lie.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Igottabigone said:


> *So, I say have at it.* If one were to receive a citation the Kangaroo Courts of the tribe really do not do anything at all. And then if they do try to impose some kind of sentence there are endless ways of fighting it.


Really? :shock:

I say respect it. Posted or not.

It's one thing to not know, but another to know and "have at it".

Tribal law enforcement has a HUGE area to patrol and they only have a handful of officers to do it with. A large task in itself, let alone ensuring it stays posted.


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## Igottabigone (Oct 4, 2007)

The reason for saying have at it is for the same reason Flyfitch posted. People have been hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, that particular area on both sides of the lake for decades. One cannot go one weekend on Strawberry and not see a camp on the northeast point of poison ridge that is technically on tribal land. It is not posted, it have been used as long as I have been alive. There is also a trail on the south side of the narrows that many a boy scout has hiked from renegade to soldier creek all the while "trespassing" on tribal land. No signs, no enforcement and if any enforcement it would arbitrary and capricious at best. Way I see it the tribe is respecting the decades of family generations who hunt, fish, camp, and hike on their land. So have at it.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

It didn't sound like the person that flyfitch met out there was "respecting" him being there. :? 

Anyways, see it the way you like and have at it all you want. I'm guessing the "feather police" wont mind you going wherever you please on their land. 

I'll shut up now. Sorry to distract from your report LOAH.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

It's all for good discussion. This is stuff we need to talk about more often around here. Had my normal maps shown a Tribal boundary, I wouldn't have been there at all. Knowing that it isn't our land, I'll stay off.

Even if it's something I'm sure to get away with, it's only right to leave it alone. 

There were some other people in the aspens on our way in. They were collecting firewood (and shooting at it???). They said they couldn't break it down, so they were shooting it to weaken it. *\-\* 

We didn't see them again.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

LOAH said:


> Knowing that it isn't our land, I'll stay off.
> 
> Even if it's something I'm sure to get away with, it's only right to leave it alone.


Good advice LOAH!

I personally try to avoid Tribal Lands, they scare me. Fishing and hunting might be okay with the proper permits, but hiking, packing firearms or archery equipment, sight seeing, camping, riding wheelers or horse's is not allowed. Just getting caught on the Res. with or without proper permits... you, your passengers and your vehicle are subject to search by law enforcement. Then....if a law is found to be broken the Federal boys might just be called in, meaning the B.I.A. or the F.B.I. 
And to top it all off you have other issues to contend with.....ghost, spirits and skinwalkers!

Nope, not for me, I avoid trespassing on the Reservations!


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## MKP (Mar 7, 2010)

LOAH said:


> There were some other people in the aspens on our way in. They were collecting firewood (and shooting at it???). They said they couldn't break it down, so they were shooting it to weaken it. *\-\*
> 
> We didn't see them again.


You may be a ******* if...


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## americanforkdude (Sep 13, 2007)

Awesome scenery. I've been up the narrows a time or two in a boat but don't ever remember that much scenery. Looks like an awesome place to go to fish for a day.


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