Thousand Lake Mountain Trip

I'd needed to get away badly these last few weeks, and I was searching for a place to fish that was remote but not under a lot of snow. Luckily, after talking with a good friend of mine, I settled on fishing what's accessible on Thousand Lake Mountain right now.

So Friday afternoon, I loaded up my gear and made the 3.5 hour drive into this beautiful country.

I was lucky to get in with good weather. I pitched my tent, gathered some firewood, cooked dinner, then immediately began fishing. After messing around with some Marabou jigs and different baits, I tied on the ever-trusty Jake's lure. Sure enough, my first cast resulted in a fish!

Not exactly the size of fish I was after, but a fish is a fish nonetheless, and I was happy to hook this one. Even though he was small, I got a lot of fight out of him. In fact, every fish I pulled in Friday night fought like a trophy sized trout! 

I kept catching these beefy rainbow trout all night long. Every Cutt I pulled in was proportioned just about what you'd expect for 8-11 inch trout. However, these Bows all had huge bulging bellies! This is a good sign, as it means  this lake is full of food and supports a good stable population of trout through the winter months. 

A lot of the Bows I pulled in were just beautifully colored. 

As the night progressed, I kept catching fish all in this same range. I knew that some bigger ones existed, it was only a matter of finding out exactly where. 

After I caught 20 fish, I lost count for the night. Right as the sun dipped below the mountains to the west, I managed to wrangle in this beauty of a Cutthroat. 

Absolutely gorgeous coloration! The odd thing about this catch, though, was how it took it. I was pulling the Jake's in along the shoreline, no more than 10 feet out. My lure can't have been more than 7 feet from shore when I saw a big dark shape following it. I slowed up for a second, gave my Jake's a little action, and the Cutt nailed it! Immediately, my drag started whining and this guy took off into deeper water. After a few minutes, I tuckered him out and landed him. I had to take multiple pictures, because I couldn't believe how pretty he was!

After that catch, I fished for a little while longer until dark, only catching smaller fish as before. The next morning, I made a short hike into another lake near where I was camped. 

On my first cast, I pulled in this nice Tiger. 

Easily, the best fishing of the trip! I fished that lake for another hour without a single bite, then decided it was time to get heading home. I took a few shots of the breathtaking views on my way out.

All in all, this trip was great, and exactly what I needed to get ready for fishing Boulder as soon as the roads are open! 

Sixthwater Trip

I was sitting at home Saturday morning after an amazing date (thanks Kari!) the night before, wondering where I should head out fishing. I checked fishing reports from a few different places, keeping in mind I'd be heading to Scofield on Sunday anyways. After checking out Vernon Reservoir, a few lakes up Fairview Canyon, and Strawberry (the ice needs to come off!), I settled on heading up to the top of Diamond Fork Canyon, to fish for Cutts in the beaver ponds.

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.