Thousand Lake Mountain & Electric Lake!

I started a tradition last year, kind of by accident. My girlfriend a year ago had a thing she wanted me to be at on a Friday night. I didn't really want to go (I think it was some kind of concert she was playing in, or something important like that) so in the middle of the day on Friday, I loaded up my truck and drove down to Thousand Lake Mountain. I fished all weekend and didn't get home until Sunday night. My girlfriend was waiting at my house when I got back, and we had a bit of a fight.

That happened exactly a year ago, on this very weekend in May. Looking back, it was a good thing we broke up. She accused me of loving fish more than her, and I realized she was right!

Regardless, I decided that in order to commemorate that moment of revelation in my life, I should head back down to Thousand Lake Mountain.

This time, I brought my dad along with me for our first trip together since last September.

We arrived to this gorgeous sight.

We came down and around this rise to get to the lake. We hurried and pitched the tent, then ran down to the water to get into the fishing. We arrived at the perfect time. On the second cast, I had a fish.

My dad and I caught about 2 dozen fish, each this size, during Friday night and the better part of Saturday. Now, I know there are a few bigger fish in this lake (having caught a really nice 15 inch cutt there last year) and it took some coaxing before they'd come say hello. 

This bow fought good and hard, and had a nice plump belly to him as well. He was a welcome break from the constant barrage of 7 inch cutts I couldn't keep off my hook.

The rest of the night passed in a flurry of cutthroat before the sun set and it got too dark to fish. My dad and I busted out the Mountain House beef stew meals around the fire, and had a grand old time camping. 

The next morning, we woke up to this sight. 

I love being down on Thousand Lake Mountain. Every time I've gone there, I've had the place to myself. Being alone in the middle of nowhere is the greatest feeling in the world. 

The lake looked amazing as well. 

Dawn on Thousand Lake Mountain. Just breathtaking. 

We decided to make a short hike to another lake that morning, hoping to get into some slightly bigger fish. 

The fish here are usually bigger, and this lake is home to a good population of splake and cutthroat trout. My dad and I must have been wearing smaller-fish cologne, because that's all we kept catching. 

I introduced my dad to jigging on this trip, as well. He's primarily a fly fisherman, but wanted to give my kind of fishing a shot. We caught all of these fish on Gulp minnows on a 1/16th ounce jig head, my standard rig for fish everywhere in Utah. 

This was by far the prettiest cutt I caught on Thousand Lake Mountain. Just spectacular coloration. 

The tiger trout even decided to visit as well.

After a few more hours of fish that size, we decided to head back to camp and get started on the 3 hour drive home. While my dad was packing up some gear, I ran back down to the water for one last cast. I hooked a couple decent rainbows that both managed to throw my hooks before I got this guy. 

We decided to say goodbye to Thousand Lake Mountain. The views from the top over Monument Valley are absolutely breathtaking. 

The lonely road awaited us. 

Sunday

I woke up Sunday, took one look out the window, and knew that I had to go fishing. A buddy of mine caught a very nice 4 pound brown at a little pond on Saturday, so I decided to go up there and see if another monster was lurking about. 

I tied on the trusty Gulp minnow, and got to fishing. Probably an hour passed, with no bites, so I decided to go upstream from this pond a bit. Beavers have made a marsh of the area, and little ponds are everywhere.

I found a few small fish in one pond, but spooked them before I could even get a line in the water. After throwing around some jigs with no luck, I returned back to the main pond. 

I switched to a ghost-rainbow Lucky Craft PointerSP 65, and about five minutes later, I brought this very nice cutt to my net. 

He had some pretty colors. 

I spent another 45 minutes at the pond with no luck. I decided to try my luck on other waters. 

After a good two hours of driving, I ended up at Scofield. I was thinking about fishing along the dam inlet, but once I got there, I saw the massive crowds and decided I needed to go somewhere else. I drove up through Fairview Canyon, around the north end of Electric Lake. It was open water, but down low and really murky. I kept driving.

I merged with highway 31, and headed south. After fishing a few other lakes along the way with no luck, I ended up on the dam of Electric Lake. Using my always trusty Gulp minnows, I caught some nice tigers. 

I caught about five or six this size. They all fought really well. The dam had about 10-15 feet of open water, just perfect for fishing in. The fish were hungry and feisty. 

Colors!!!!!

After catching this fish, I realized I was late for dinner. I hightailed it off the mountain, wishing I could have spent more time there. 

This weekend was a blast, I needed all the relaxation that comes with a good fishing trip. Until next week!