Epic Weekend of Gorgeous Fish - Brookies, Tigers, and Bows!

I got quite a bit of fishing done this weekend, believe it or not.

Saturday dawned bright and clear, and was the first Saturday in almost 2 months that I haven't been up before the sun to chase fish. A buddy of mine, Ben Wilson from 1320 KFAN's 'The Monty Show', came with me on Saturday. We paid a few of my favorite spots on highway 31 a visit.

I'm moving further north (and I'm not happy about this) later this week, so I wanted to get to my spots in Sanpete County before it ends up being another hour south of me.

After a few hours of fighting wind and finding what the fish felt like biting, Ben brought a nice tiger to hand.

I caught a bunch of skinny little tigers like this

Now, Ben loves to eat himself some fish. He brought along some spices, tin foil, and matches, so after we'd caught enough for dinner we built a fire and cooked up some fish while we waited for the evening bite to come on. 

I'm starting to look fat these days...I gotta get back in shape! 

After a good dinner, Ben and I went and found some more water and fish! 

Some gorgeous fish and beautiful scenery. 

After a nice, relaxing day of fishing, Ben and I clambered back into his truck and started the beautiful drive home. We had to stop for pictures and a few more fish before we got off the mountain. 

Sunday

This was one of the great weekends when I got to fish Saturday and Sunday, and I made sure I made the most of it. 

My good friend Justin and I set out for some brookies in the high country - and we weren't disappointed. 

We walked for a mile or so through rolling country like this, treated to spectacular views of rolling hills and mountains, before we got to the small lake that was our destination. 

This lake receives a healthy dose of planted brookies, but tales reached my ears of bigger, fatter, meaner brook trout swimming around this pond. I hoped to fight through the smaller fish to get to some of the lunkers that surely had to be swimming there. 

On the second cast of the day, I brought a pretty little brookie to hand. 

After that catch, the rest is history, as they say. 

What these fish lacked in size, they made up in zeal. I was pleasantly surprised by how feisty this little brookies were, and some spunk coupled with their beauty was very welcome. 

Justin caught his fair share too, but after 3 hours at the lake, we didn't catch anything much bigger than what was in the pictures. So we packed up and moved on to higher country. 

These meadows here on the Fish Lake Plateau are amazing. We are incredibly lucky to have such gorgeous country in this state. Being up there in the high country is incredibly refreshing - just what the doctor ordered after a long week cooped up in an office. 

We ran into a series of beaver ponds that filled the expansive meadows on the hillside we hiked up. What beavers can do when left to their own devices is rather impressive. 

We fished these ponds relentlessly, but to no avail. We knew fish swam in them, and there was definitely a way for them to get into the ponds. Following the rivers and creeks that drain down the mountain is a good way to find fish, and that's just what we did. Sadly, though we saw a few fish, nothing came to hand for a long time. 

We even found lakes tucked away so tightly in thick, jungle-like forest that if you didn't know they were there, you could pass right by and not even notice them. 

On the hike out, Justin managed to nail a 14 inch brookie with a nice plump belly, and a few other smaller fish as well. Besides those three fish, the rest of the day passed in a swarm of mosquitoes. 

While the fishing was slow, the country we hiked through was gorgeous and incredibly calming. The mountains have always been a refuge for me from the mundane goings-on of life, and being alone in country this pristine and untouched was a welcome treat. 

One last picture I snapped on the hike back to the car. 

Hopefully next week brings more fish!