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By Dale Hepworth  Take him fishing-pals for a lifetime p. Adam Barker My thoughts move downstream to the mouth of Clear Creek and the Sevier River in Marysvale Canyon. I anguish because of all the years I wasted overlooking this section of river. I recently found out how good it can be. It is often high and muddy, but when the water drops, get out the fly rod. It’s a good bet for an 18-inch brown. I still wonder where the wild rainbow come from. I don’t think they can spawn in the main river, so they must be coming out of a nearby tributary. That puts me thinking how long it’s been since I fished Beaver Creek or Bullion-Pine Creek for rainbow trout, or Manning Creek for wild cutthroat.  She caught it. Now she'll release it. p. Monique Beeley Some time ago, I had a teacher explain how southern Utah’s geology produces nutrient rich waters and big fish. Over the years, I observed this to be true. It’s certainly applicable to places like Boulder Mountain. For sheer size, the brook trout on Boulder Mountain waters can compete with any place in the world. Despite becoming more popular all the time, 5-pound brookies are caught every year. About 80 small lakes sit on this lava and sandstone plateau commonly called a mountain. Some recent changes have made fishing even better, including dam repairs, purchase of water rights, removal of problem fishes and the addition of new species, including hybrid tiger trout and arctic grayling. The results are exciting. Each fall, State of Utah biologists are given assignments to collect fish for the popular display aquariums at the State Fair. This year, we were asked to collect 8 native Bonneville cutthroat trout for one exhibit. Some of the best native cutts are in Manning Meadow Reservoir on Monroe Mountain. If we get up really early we will have two hours to get the fish by “hook and line” and still have time to get to Salt Lake by 5 p.m. Mike, one of my fellow biologists, and I arrive early. We drift around the reservoir in a small boat. No one else is on the lake. Mike casts small lures and I cast flies. Mike catches a nice cutthroat right away. Its bright spotting and live colors will make for a great exhibit. Only seven more to go. Mike misses a couple more fish, then nothing. Almost an hour goes by and no more fish. I haven’t had a nibble. I change flies for the third time. Nothing. I change flies again – something smaller with less weight. My fly briefly drags along the bottom. Why would a small fly with less weight drag the bottom? It happens again. Then I realize that’s not the bottom, those are fish. Wake up! Concentrate. Get ready. Got one! Fifty minutes left, six more fish to go. After changing techniques, Mike gets back into some action. Time runs out and we each have five fish – two more than assigned. Having to quit fishing after just learning how to catch them felt like a dirty trick. What a day we could have had! Need to come back when I have more time. I load the fish on a truck and head for Salt Lake. As I drive away, I scan the area for potential campsites. I reach the Salt Lake Fair Park by 5 p.m., put the fish in an aquarium and admire how they look. I wonder if the visitors will wonder where they came from. Then I leave and stop to get a hamburger. I consider staying over night. When I get back in the truck it seems to automatically head south. Back to Cedar City by 10 p.m. To test one of the changes, I recently fished Solitaire Lake. Until recently, if this lake had a reputation, it was a poor one. It contained nothing but stunted brook trout, but these fish were replaced with cutthroat and tiger trout. Five of us made the fall trek up the rough road to the trailhead then hiked the last half-mile through a skiff of snow to the lake. We crowded the entire trip into a single day and only had time to fish for 3 hours. Everyone caught fish and all of them were in great shape. The cutts showed off bright colors that should only be reserved for spring spawning, but unlike other cutthroat trout this subspecies retains orange and crimson colors year-round. The transformation was in essence the creation of a new lake. Everyone wanted to come back. Other changes come to mind. Because of poor fishing in the past, some of these places are not commonly known, such as the Bullberry Lakes, Short Lake, Round Willow Bottoms, Pacer Lake, Half-moon Lake, and Coleman Reservoir. Others such as Pear Lake, Pine Creek Reservoir, Fish Creek Reservoir, Blue Lake, and Purple Lake might be more familiar. Also, the geology, productivity, and fish size are the same on Thousand Lake, Beaver, and Cedar mountains. Great fishing can come in small packages and in unexpected places. Southern Utah is much more than redrock landscape. After trekking, working, and fishing around these mountains, valleys, canyons, and plateaus for more than 34 years I still have not fished it all. There are still new places to go. Some old places deserve a return trip. Some recently visited places yearn for more of my time. I’ll find that time. And, I think I’ll keep my fishing rod pointed south. |
