Gorgeous Backcountry and Pretty Fish

This week was an interesting one. I started a new job on Monday, working in Salt Lake. I live in Santaquin, so that's a bit of a commute. I've been up at 5:30 every day, home at around 6:30, with almost no time to fish. But Saturday rolled around and I knew I had to get out.

A buddy of mine, Bill, wanted to go as well, so we set out on an hour-long hike in the middle of the day up some gorgeous country.

Spring is the best, especially in Utah! Our hike took us up a long ridge, overlooking a beautifully scenic valley. Our destination, a small out-of-the-way trickle of water, lay at the bottom of a valley. 

We topped out on the ridge and couldn't resist a quick selfie in the backcountry. 

After we stopped at the top of the ridge for a quick snack and some water, we clambered down the backside and started doing what we do best - looking for fish. 

Talk about some gorgeous country to fish in! 

Bill got the first of the day, a solid brown. 

For a river brown, that's pretty chunky. We were using some fake worms on the end of a 1/8th ounce jig head, and the fish seemed to love them. Bill caught two more before I wrangled anything in.

Quick note - all these fish, seeing as they're wild and gorgeous, were tossed back unharmed. Even this guy, who swallowed the plastic worm a ways, only had the hook in the roof of his mouth, thank goodness. We got him and all the other fish back into the water after a quick photo op. 

Bill gettin' funky with another nice brown. 

Bill pulled those three in pretty quickly, but I was still fishless. This all made me come to a conclusion - fish karma is a real thing. Last week, with my buddy Dallin, I caught a very nice brookie, and Dallin only got a few small cutts to hand. This week, Bill managed to land almost all the fish, and certainly all the big ones, while I was stuck missing fish or getting snagged on the bottom.

Eventually, I pulled this gorgeous cutthroat out from behind a boulder before letting him swim back off.

After that, Bill got yet another fish on a spinner.

I tied on a spinner shortly thereafter, and I had a really nice sized brown roll on the lure, only to miss it as the spoon tumbled through the fast water. I couldn't coax anything else to bite on the lure. 

With dark about an hour off, and Bill needing to get home before it got too late, we decided to hike back out. 

The river looks so small from up here! 

It's incredible how pristine this country is. Just awe-inspiring and beautiful. Being able to romp around out here with a day pack and fishing rod is a great blessing. 

That nice rainstorm Saturday night was creeping in right as we were hiking back to the car. As soon as we popped the trunk and loaded our gear, the rain started coming down. We left at just the right time! 

It was a great trip, and a fun first one for Bill and I to get into fish on. Backcountry fishing, where I don't even see signs of other people, is great. This river is a true gem and I'm glad I got to spend some time there on Saturday. 

Brook Trout In The Backcountry

Well, it's been a while since I really got out to get some fishing done. A few hits here or there on Diamond Fork and Salt Creek have kept my line wet, but have done little in the way of satisfying my appetite for big ol fish.

Last weekend, I was trying to hike into a remote river, but we had some medical emergencies (I got a cactus stuck inside an artery in my leg, or something like that) so that trip didn't result in any fish.

This weekend, however, I got together with a good buddy of mine, Dallin, and we decided it was time to go bushwhack our way into some pristine country in search of some brook trout. Before today, I hadn't caught any brook trout in 2014.

We parked the truck to begin our cross-country trek right as the sun was lighting the sky up with its soft morning rays.

On the way up the canyon, we ran into a couple herds of elk. Both herds had 3 or 4 bulls each, with massive racks for this time of year. Anyone lucky enough to draw an elk tag for this area come fall is going to go home with a trophy bull elk. Sadly, I couldn't get any decent pictures of the elk. The second herd of them was crossing the road where we parked the truck, and there must have been 50 or so elk just tromping through the grass together. 

Our destination lay in these foothills, and we began our trek onward. Dallin led the way, and I followed as fast as my out of shape self would allow. 

I had to stop and take a moment to admire the handiwork of the beavers of the area. We saw a few fish rise in these ponds on our way up to higher waters. 

After a good 20 minute hike in the crisp, clear morning air, we arrived at the lake where we hoped to find some nice brook trout. Dallin was happy. 

We had the lake to ourselves for a while, and we got right to fishing. I set up shop on the west shore, while Dallin was across from me on the east bank. We both tied on some trusty jigs, which any self-respecting trout fisherman should never leave home without, and got to fishing. 

I was tossing a jig behind some rocks in some deep water about 15 feet off shore. I popped the jig off the bottom twice, then I felt a nice sharp tug. I set the hook, and I could tell I had a real decent one on the end of the line. 

"I got one!" I hollered to Dallin. He laid down his pole and started making his way over to me to help me land the trout. 

Now, I was standing on about 2 feet of snow, and I had neglected to bring a net. So, I had to loosen the drag quite a bit, and walk the fish towards the shallow end of the lake, avoiding rocks and logs and all sorts of snags. 

The fish rose every now and again, and I could see the pink coloration that marked it as a brook tout. Already, our trip was a success. 

Finally, after a good five minutes or so, I got the fish to hand. Dallin was kind enough to snap this photo. 

I didn't weigh or measure the fish - after the fight, I wanted to get it back into the water quickly so it could recover and swim off. Based on how the fish oozes out of my hands, I'd say it's between 3 and 4 pounds. An absolutely gorgeous brook trout! 

Talk about girth! It filled my hands up nicely. 

After that catch, we were eager to get into more big fish. Sadly, the bite disappeared right after that. I caught a little cutthroat that wriggled away before this photo op, and Dallin pulled in a few smaller cutts as well. Other people on the lake pulled in a few decent brookies, but beyond this nice one I caught, I didn't catch anything else of size all day long. 

I did get some nice scenery shots, though.

At 2, Dallin and I decided to call it a day. We began the hike down back to the truck. Now, the hillside below this lake is just sopping wet with beaver ponds and small streams. A lot of the streams are trickles of water that don't look like they hold life. A few, however, had some small cutthroat swimming around in them. It was amazing to see fish living in such small amounts of water.

The trip was well needed and well worth it. I'm starting a new job on Monday, and I don't know what my schedule will be in terms of fishing. Hopefully, I can still get out as often as I have lately.