# Castle/Whiskey Island/Provo



## JoeRandall (Jun 24, 2012)

So fist time poster. Went up to the Unitas Thursday night. Got to my spot around 7 and hiked up to castle lake. Fish were rising everywhere but couldn't seem to catch any. Tried mosquito's, elk hairs, foam beetle, and random other stuff i had and nothing. When it got dark went back to the my cold camp (I hate fire restrictions) and slept. About 6:30 went back up and same thing again. So tied on a nymph got one strike and missed and then nothing more. So left and figured I would fish the river on the way up to whiskey island. Caught a ton of small brookies and then this. I'm not sure what it is, I was thinking white fish but they look so skinny in the proclamation so I don't know. Never caught one though.
















So after that just kept fishing the river and caught more small brookies. Then made my way up to whiskey island. Decent hike for a out of shape guy. (Told my wife fishing will be my new weight loss plan) anyway, got up their in hopes of catching my first arctic grayling but didn't see any fish rise or run or anything no sign at all. Their were lots of salamanders though kinda funny looking when their growing. So hicked back down to another cold camp and then left in the morning. Kind of a lame fish report but its my first. Anyone know what the fish might have been rising to on castle? And I know people don't tell their grayling holes but other than round sand and fish is their any? And how about in streams? And what dry flies are good up their? I have been a lot more successive on nymphs but dries are so much funner!


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

Welcome to the forum. Great report. Better then mine. Mowed the lawn.


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## jwalker (Jan 3, 2012)

Yep, that is definitely a whitefish. Good report and welcome to the forum!


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## perdiz (Jun 15, 2012)

nice white fish same species found in most north central rivers/creeks ie: Weber/Provo


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Was up to Whiskey Island lake 2 years ago and it was void of fish.


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## nkunz (Sep 25, 2007)

I was up to Whiskey Island last summer or the summer before and caught a number of grayling but they were all small (3-4").


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## nkunz (Sep 25, 2007)

Also I have been on a number of lakes where the fish were rising like crazy but couldn't get a bite 0n any fly tried. Usually there a lot of tiny bugs in the air and on the water. Maybe a size 22 something or smaller might get a strike but I don't fish with those. I just can,t see them to tie them on.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Welcome to the forum! No fish at WI? Thought for sure you'd get a grayling there. Maybe it's had issues holding fish over. That's too bad.


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

Hello Joe.
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your report.
When the fish are real picky, I use a size 18 or 20 Griffith Gnat.
A size 16 Adams can also be a good choice.
If I can't get anything to hit a dry, I nymph with small leaches and chironomids like a zebra midge.
Use a strike indicator and try different depths.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Welcome to the Forum and nice whitefish. Nothing lame about that report!

Did you guys drive in on the Whiskey Creek road to get close to Whiskey Island or walk in from the Mirror Lake Highway? I seen some cars parked on the Whiskey Creek Road entrance off the Mirror Lake Highway this weekend.

Whiskey Island winter kills often. When I was a younger man I would go into WI and if the fishing was bad I would hike over the mountain into the Dry Fork and fish in Fish Lake and Sand Lake. It's a challenging scramble, lots of loose rocks. Only 1/2 mile hike into WI off the dirt FS road and then less than 2 miles up and over to Fish Lake.

I only carry 3 different flies up there:
#18 Renegade
#16 Renegade
#14 Renegade


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## JoeRandall (Jun 24, 2012)

I went up a trail off mirror lake highway that got me i think a mile away from WI. And there where no guys just me and the dog. Sometimes its nice to not have to worry about other people. I thought about hiking over to those lakes but never been in the area and didn't wont to climb over that rocky mountain side to come to nothing. I'm not really fat by any means but haven't done much hiking till recently and my job I just left I was a supervisor so not a lot of manual labor. So even short hikes up hill take a while and feel like i'm dying


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Cool. Good on you for being so adventurous.

Uh...it took me several trips to WI before I got up enough courage to climb over the ridge. One time I took a full backpack over and had to pull the pack up the WI side with a rope.


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## JoeRandall (Jun 24, 2012)

Well in that case I might have to wait a year or so till I can breath better when hiking up there.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Go up and over this ridge:









To the top of the Dry Fork of the Weber River:


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## JoeRandall (Jun 24, 2012)

So its "uphill both ways" haha. That looks like a little more than I want right now. But my desire to get a grayling will get the better of me one of these days and I will make that. So that second pic is you on top of the ridge in the first pic right? And then hows the hike on the other side? And that's round sand and fish right?


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

The WI side has a steep section you have to pick your way through. The other side is normal boulder-hopping stuff.

The lake behind my back is Sand. Fish is under my head.

On the other side of the rigde to the far left in the photo is Cuberant Basin. Cuberant Basin is a relatively easy place to hike into and the fishing is good. From the big lake in the basin you can go over the ridge into Fish Lake.

There are easier places to get grayling than Dry Fork or WI (if it even has any grayling left in it). Go to the DWR website and look in their fish stocking section. It lists all the lakes that get planted and what species they plant. You can also use the UWN search engine; just type in "grayling".

Good luck.


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