Well, as I was driving up Diamond Fork Canyon, I remembered a favorite spot of mine just about a mile east - Sixthwater Creek. Now, quite a few people fish Sixthwater near and around Ray's Valley Bridge, but very few venture to the spots where I do - in fact, I haven't ever seen another living soul on the particular stretch of river I've fished today.
So on a whim, I decided to make the hour long trek up the face of a mountain and down the back side, into the valley that Sixthwater runs in.
I was hiking/bushwhacking my way up this steep slope for a good hour. The scenery and views were worth it, though. Oh, and so were the fish!
After finally getting up and over, I pulled out my trusty Ford Spoon, tied it on, and threw it into a choice spot. And then WHAM! Something whaled on my lure within seconds of it hitting the current, but I was just a second too late in setting the hook, and I got my favorite and most reliable spoon snagged. Even worse, the snag was so bad I had to cut the line and lose the lure.
I tied on another spoon, this one red and white striped, and cast again into the same hole. I saw the white belly of a fish roll on the lure, but the current tossed the lure out of the reach of the fish's mouth. I decided I'd hit that hole again on my way back and walked up the river, searching for more holes.
This is a gorgeous river.
I switched lures again, and ended up using a size four Panther Martin. Nearly every cast, I was catching fish. The problem was, the fish were too big to land without a net! I'd wrestle these huge Browns into relatively calm water, but there was no way to get them up on the bank without a net. So they'd just flop off and swim away.
Finally, though, I managed to hook one and land him.
17.5 inches, 2.5 pounds! An absolute whale of a fish for this river. It was a great day, and the hike was worth every minute of it for these fish.
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