Saturday, I decided it was time to head back out and chase fish once again. I loaded up my trust of 97 Chevy with all the gear and set off at 6 in the morning, headed to Joe's Valley Reservoir.
As I drove east along Highway 6, I was treated to an absolutely gorgeous sunrise. I didn't have time to stop or take pictures, but it was one of those sunrises that literally just takes your breath away.
I rolled into Joe's Valley at a little after 8 in the morning. This is the view I was treated too.
I'm thinking the same thing you are right now - that ice doesn't look all that safe....
Before I continue, let me say - the ice at Joe's Valley isn't safe right now. There's open water around the edges, and the maximum thickness of the ice is about 5 inches. I took a bit of a risk, especially since I fished alone today, in stepping out onto the ice. Remember to be careful on the ice!
Now, moving on. As I mentioned, the ice had pulled away from the bank anywhere from 2 - 10 feet from shore. I wanted to just immediately get out on the ice, but as I looked at the open water, I had a quick thought - the fish are probably hanging out right underneath the ice by the open water.
Lucky for me, I'd brought both my ice fishing and spinning rods with me. So I threw a reel on my trust Ugly Stik, tied on a jig, and about five minutes later I was rewarded with this cutt.
Cutts in open water in February? Talk about ridiculous. This was legendary, my friends. This guy gave me a pretty good fight, but not as good as the next one.
I hooked into this guy right as the wind started to pick up. I was fishing with fluorocarbon line, so I had a bit more feel on the line than with regular monofilament, but feeling the fish take the jig was still tricky in the wind. I felt this guy bite, and set the hook. He started tearing off drag, then dived down and just hunkered down on the bottom. After about five minutes of pulling, and a walk down the bank, I finally pulled this fish off the bottom and into my hands.
Now comes the scary part of my trip. I was fishing the dam arm, and along the north end, where I was standing, the ice had pulled away from the bank. But off the dam, the ice was still flush up against the bank. So I decided to try to step out onto the ice, test it out, and see if fishing out there would be worth it.
I stepped out onto slush, and my boots sank in pretty far. Undeterred in my dogged efforts for fish, I pressed on, and finally got to stable ice. I walked out a bit, testing the ice slowly as I went, and found a hole that had been drilled previously which hadn't iced up (yes, it's been that warm at Joe's Valley, too).
So I tied on my special ice fishing rig (a 1/16 oz jig head with a worm on it) dropped it into the hole, and waited.
For about 5 seconds.
Seriously, what happened at Joe's today was incredible. I caught fish every single time I put the hook into the water, without fail. I only missed three fish, if I recall correctly. Fish were even grabbing the worm as it fell in the water, not even waiting for it to settle before going for it. For two straight hours, the action was fast and furious. The longest wait I had between fish was 5 minutes.
Towards the end of this great run of fishing, the fish started to get a little wary of all the free worms, and made me work a little more to set the hook. Regardless, this was one of those rare days when the fish are biting at everything and anything, and all you as a fisherman have to do is bring as many as possible to hand.
I caught 23 fish. Here's a few of them.
How about the coloration on this Cutt? Absolutely gorgeous. These fish were unusually vibrant for Joe's. The water in Joe's has a very rich mineral content, which gives it a beautiful aquamarine coloring. But it also fades some of the colors of trout - although, it doesn't seem to do that in winter.
It was magical, almost, to catch fish at will. I honestly can't remember a single day of fishing this brilliant in at least a year. I eventually ran out of worms, the wind picked up to the point that I almost lost my hat, and a storm looked to be working its way in, so I decided it was time to head home after two hours on the ice. Also, puddles of water were starting to appear on the ice all around me, and I could feel the ice shifting and cracking underneath me. Again, I wasn't exactly the smartest person today going out on the ice, so make sure if you try to get out on the ice, you're careful.
On the drive home, I had to stop and fish Straight Canyon Creek. Most of the small trickle of water was frozen over, and it was incredibly low. I think all the fish might have died in the colder part of this winter, which means we'll have to depend on the stocking from the DWR in spring to get any action from this creek.
Then, I had to stop and look at the "Yeti's Lair", shown to me by my good friend Justin Craddock on the last trip we took out here.
It was a magical day, and I always feel so good after a day spent alone in the mountains of Utah. Living here is such a blessing, and I seriously had the entire canyon and lake to myself all day long. Talk about relaxing!
Next week, I'll be on my way to Electric Lake to see what's going on up there - stay tuned for that trip report!
