Some of Utah’s great fishing spots are best accessed by ATV. This is true on the Gooseberry Trails in the Fish Lake National Forest, the trails above Kamas in the Uinta National Forest, and the Arapeen Trail in the Manti-La Sal National Forest.
My friends from Virginia are avid fishermen and have been with me on Utah ATV fishing adventures before. In the past I led them to fishing spots and took pictures. This year, I warned them that I would be fishing, not just watching. “Bring it on,” they said, thinking I was no competition.
We staged our first day at the West Portal parking area on Highway 150 above Kamas. We rode to and fished Alexander Lake, Buckeye Lake, Blue Lake, and Beth Lake. We didn’t catch any fish, but we were not disappointed — the trails were challenging and the backcountry was spectacular. I was especially impressed with the picture-book quality of Blue Lake.
Our next destination was Manti, but on the way down to Kamas I pointed out a local joke. On the south side of the highway is a round sign about 10 feet tall announcing the Beaver Creek Nudist Camp, featuring a smiling, buck-toothed beaver dressed in a cowboy hat and boots.
My Virginia friends wanted to stop for a closer look. The small caption next to the eye-catching sign explained that the camp was closed due to mosquitoes, hence the joke. Undaunted, my friends stripped to the waist and crouched behind two large rocks next to the sign. I took pictures convincing enough to show that these boys were guests of the Beaver Creek Nudist Camp. Pictures were sent to friends back east electronically. The reaction was almost immediate. Their friends were shocked. The Virginia boys loved it.
The next morning we began our hunt for fishing holes from 12-Mile Campground above Mayfield. The map we got from our hotel in Manti had the fishing spots well marked.
Traveling south, we fished Emerald Lake, Blue Lake (yes there is more than one Blue Lake), and Henningson Reservoir. I realized that the Virginia boys didn’t have much of an opportunity to fish for mountain trout back east, so I came armed with a technique familiar to trout fisherman in Utah when the fish are feeding on the surface.
When I saw top-water action, I filled a bubble about two-thirds full with water and attached it to my line above a snap-swivel. I then tied a number 10 “renegade” fly to about three feet of six-pound test leader. The weighted bubble enhanced my cast. With a slow retrieval, it wasn’t long before I yelled, “Fish on!”
There is something about catching the first fish that pumps up the intensity of a fishing trip, and it builds as one person seems to be catching all the fish. After running completely through their arsenal of lures and getting tired of hearing me yell, “fish on,” they came over to see what I was using. Well, they had never seen anything like it, but I had plenty to share and soon everyone was catching fish. They wanted to call it the “high-altitude fishing technique.”
Not all the spots marked on the map turned out to be good fishing. It seems that opportunities vary through the season, but we caught a nice variety of trout including brook, brown, rainbow, and tiger.
The next day we unloaded at the Birch Creek Trailhead and rode up to the Skyline Trail. Dropping down on trail 29, we fished Shingle Mill Reservoir and Deep Lake.
Have you ever been near a tree when it falls in the forest? Well, it happened to me while bringing in a fish at Deep Lake. I heard a loud, cracking noise behind me. Turning, I saw a huge, dead aspen falling toward me. I started to move but it caught in the branch of a tree. It stopped my heart, but not my fishing.
We put on about 180 miles as we rode and fished on the Arapeen Trail. When you go, take plenty of water, keep
the rubber-side down, and take a renegade fly on a bubble.
You may contact Lynn Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.
