Utah Fishing ReportsSo, today about 10 a.m. I moved on down to Weasels and picked him up. Off to Mantua we went. The morning was brisk and somewhat sunny and warm for a day on the ice. Very little if any wind. And that combination always makes for a wonderful day on the hard deck.
We drilled a few holes and tried our luck, but nothing seemed to be working where we were. So we moved into a shallower area closer to shore.
Now when you are talking about Mantua, the word shallow is relative, because Mantua is only about 10 feet deep over all and so shallow could be 2 feet or 7 feet…you decide. I think I found a place that was close to 15 feet deep once, but over all I’d have to say the lake is 10 feet deep.
In our shallow area we could see our flashers just under the ice cap, but the beauty of it…I had a bite! The first of the day! YAAA! I missed the fish but then I had forgotten just how shallow I was and when I jerked…well I almost hooked myself! The one thing you learn about ice fishing is this: The bite might be very light, but in order to set that hook into the fishes mouth, you have to jerk pretty hard and the deeper the line is, the harder you have to pull up.
So, it’s totally understandable for me to jerk the line up and out of the water when I saw the bite. After all, it was my first bite of the 2013-2014 ice fishing season!
OK! Weasel decided after a long wait that we needed to move out t0 a little deeper water. I was all for that. Another thing I have learned over the years of ice fishing, if you aren’t getting bites where you are…move!
So, we moved out about maybe 50 yards and after drilling our holes, we found the depth to be about twice what it was in closer to shore….not a bad thing to find out. We also planted ourselves very close to a spring! How do I know it was a spring?
Weasel drilled his hole on the East side of the spring and I drilled mine on the West.
I was using waxworms we picked up at the Perry Maverick….$2.60 for 12! A bit pricey, but they are bait and you have to pay for bait!….Weasel was working shrimp.
On my first drop, and 1 1/2 cranks up…bam!!! …a bite! I pulled up and re baited and dropped it back down. No more than it hit the bottom and I felt a slight tug on the line. I tightened the line a bit and pulled up (not so hard this time) and it was FISH ON!!!!!
It wasn’t the perch, bluegill or crappie I was hoping for, but for the quarter I was going to get from Weasel it was ALLLL WORTH IT! I even tried to help Weasel out by putting that bad boy down his hole! A dad will do most anything for his son!
With a fresh quarter in my pocket, I danced my way back over to my hole and re baited up. The fishing was slow, but still just being out was wonderful. And my coughing for the last week…GONE! I didn’t cough but one time the whole time we were out fishing!
We had been in this “spring spot” for about an hour when a guy came along and started flying an electric remote control airplane. I took a video, but it didn’t turn out very good. The plane was cool an the guy eventually came out and talked to us about his doings. We told him we didn’t mind him buzzing our heads and trying to get away with our fishing rods by catching the lines on the planes wings or the other antics he was pulling. I just made all that up….it was fun to watch him do his thing around us. He was a nice guy, just not a fisherman.
While he was doing his thing a fish decided it would do its thing with my lure and what do our wondering eyes did appear? Fish and Quarter number TWO!
Another nice fat rainbow! That one went down Weasels Ice Hole as well…I’m just trying to be a nice dad!
I told Weasel as I danced back toward my hole that trout usually swim in schools and to get ready for a hit on his line. Re-baiting, I dropped the line down and pulled it up the 1.5 revolutions and BLAM! Another fish on!
Trout!
As it flipped and slithered on the cold hard deck, Weasel calmly came over and offered up this third (in a series) quarter, which I politely accepted, and did a jiggity jig two step hop as I dropped it in my pocket on top of two others I so rightfully earned!
This time I put the fish back into the lake via my own ice hole. I have to teach my son that trying to make something happen in his own ice hole can only go so far and in the back of my mind I was thinking that with three quarter of his in my pocket, a fourth would be a very welcome thing. It’s always easier to remember “I took 4 quarters that day”….than it is to remember “I got you for seventy five cents that day”…don’t you think?
As time was clicking by at an alarming rate. (Weasel had to be back at home by 2:30…a time with no extension allowed)! We were both watching our phone clocks in earnest. As a polite gentleman as I am, and a very good role model for my son(s), I told Weasel we could go home at any time. AND I politely reminded him that if we continued to stay and fish I just might catch another one and he would end up giving me a fourth quarter. He grinned!
My line pulled and then pulled again and it was once more…FISH ON!
Quarter four in my pocket and fish number four back into the lake. I offered once more the word that we should probably be going home. He glanced at his phone/watch and said nothing. I re-baited and dropped it in………………………
BAM! FISH ON! Quarter five! I’m really on a roll now baby!
So, with time running critically low, my dad instinct takes over and I offer him my “hole/pole and I’ll bait it and drop it in for you” rutine…he took it!
I moved to his hole and had to re-rig his bait etc. By the time I got it in the water he called “TIME”….and home we came!
Jingle, Jingle, Jingle! I got him for five quarters! It will take him the rest of the year to get them back!
Good day of fishing Weasel! Thanks and I sure with your brother would join us…I’dahadtenquarters! Just sayin!
Bears Butt
December 28, 2013
Weasel and I are going off on an ice fishing trip today. Not a long one, but fishing none the less. We will be out long enough to test the waters and hopefully pull in a few keepers! It’s more of a “get out of the house” type of thing, but also one in which to test our equipment. We have a big outing with the Grandkids on Tuesday (New Years Eve Day) and everything has to be working perfectly!
So, today is the day to test things out!
By the way, the guy in the picture chopping ice, lead to the saying on this sweatshirt:
Bears Butt
December 28, 2013
The season is well upon us at this time, ICE FISHING! Ya baby!
The last DWR fishing report shows lots of ice on most of the Northern Utah lakes, enough so that it’s pretty safe to go out on it and drill some holes and do some fishing. A very good report on Pineview last week as well! The perch up there should have some good size to them this year.
So, what thickness should the ice be in order to be considered safe?
That’s a good question, but more importantly than the thickness is how “hard” is it….You could have a 4 inch thickness of ice with lots and lots of air bubbles in it and that is not necessarily good enough to allow a person to stand on it. “Clear ice is hard ice”! No bubbles! And as long as it is more than 2 inches thick…notice I said “MORE THAN 2 INCHES THICK”….it should hold a person walking on it and allow for fishing….be VERY careful even at 3 inches thick as this is not much ice under your feet! A good hard jump up and solid landing on 3 inches could put you through and into the icy depths below!
4 inches would be better than 3, but I know a lot of guys who will take right off walking on 3 inches without batting an eye…I’m a LOT more cautious than that. And when I don’t have a covering of snow or frost or something on top of that clear ice, I get the hebbie-jebbies walking on it….remember when we were some of the first on Pineview a couple years back, Edjukateer?
I found a site on the web where you can print yourself out a wallet sized card about what is safe ice thickness and what is not:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/thickness.html
I printed out the card for myself and you should do the same.
Once you are on good solid ice you should not have any problem walking to some place in order to fish…the terrain on ice is pretty flat! Pull a sled with all your gear, or in it’s simplest form, walk out with a 5 gallon bucket with your gear in it. All you need is a license, fishing pole with a rig on it and a bucket to set on. We fishermen tend to think we need to take more than that, however. Stuff like lunches, hot drinks and bait. Oh and of course the auger and ice scoop and what about if we break our line…we need more fishing gear to put on our lines.
And so, like all other outdoor activities, what starts out as a simple thing like grabbing your pole and walking to the lake, turns out to be something requiring days of planning and the tuning up of vehicles and special gear!
In this case, fish finders and big batteries, atv’s or snowmobiles, special automatic fish hooking devises, ice tents and heaters etc. etc. etc.
Well, once you are out on the ice and have a hole or two drilled, it’s time to fish!
This picture reminds me of one of my fishing partners. Shipley is his name and he has an attention deficit disorder. When he is ice fishing he spends a lot of time drilling holes. He also catches a ton of fish, I have to give him credit for that! He is the person who showed me how to ice fish and taught me how to release fish…before I went with him, I always practice catching and keeping. Now I only keep the good fish…perch, walleye and catfish…the rest of the fish usually get put back into the lake or stream, unless they are deeply hooked and won’t survive being put back. That’s another story.
This picture reminds me of Shipley as well:
It is certainly time to go ice fishing! And if you have never done it, make sure you have the cold weather gear to keep your feet and hands warm. There is nothing worse than being cold and very far from the vehicle. And if you take kids out on the ice, make sure they are bundled up well too. They won’t tell you they are cold until it’s almost too late and they won’t like the experience and if given a choice probably won’t want to ever go ice fishing with you again.
Bears Butt
December 27, 2013
I like to visit and sometime make my opinion known on the Utah Wildlife Network forum (www.utahwildlife.net/forum). This was posted by a member who calls himself “Goofy Elk”, on December 21st. It looks like my proposal hasn’t dropped into a crack somewhere!:
Heres a ‘heads up’ yo some of the change’s that are well om their way.
Thiese are on the Wild life boards action item’s list, being worked on.
The currant prefrence point system in being reviewed.
There is a possiblity a ‘one point system’ could be adopted for deer
,
This would be a mojor change, any thought’s ??
Placed on Action Log: June 6, 2012
Here are a few more items on the list:
opportunity
Placed on Action Log: December 6, 2012
for Limited-Entry turkey permits, sage-grouse and sharp-tail grouse
Placed on Action Log: June 4, 2013
Placed on Action Log: May 3, 2012
deer unit and that it be discussed during the revision of the deer plan with
Placed on Action Log: December 6, 2012
Cliffs
Placed on Action Log: December 1, 2011
I thought a nice flower type picture was appropriate on such a cold day as it is today!
As you know, Weasel and I spent the day out playing in the mountains again yesterday. What a great day it was too, nice and cool, sunny and just plain great!
We had decided that since the guides wanted us to check in at the Woodruff side ranch by 6:30 a.m. that we would spend the night in Evanston and so Weasel arranged for a room. It wasn’t the type of room you might expect from a Howard Johnson, but it was what it was. Long and narrow, but what do you need when all you need is a bathroom and a bed?
We did have a microwave, coffee maker, fridge and ironing board, but we could have done without all of that EXCEPT the coffee maker. All that stuff just took up room in the already small place, but it was just fine for the two of us. I have to say the bed was one of the most comfy I have ever stayed in for a motel.
The alarm(s) went off promptly at 4:30 a.m. and up we jumped, knowing we had a full day of hunting ahead of us. So we went about making about 10 pots of coffee to fill our immediate needs and the cups for the road drive over to that ranch.
The roads were pretty slick all through Evanston and out to the ranch and so the drive was slow, but we made it and were the first ones there.
Speaking of roads in Evanston, I don’t think they have a budget for snow removal in that town. I missed two turns in a row because I slid through the intersections…You guys need to work on that.
At the ranch, the first person to show up was an elderly guide named Amos. Amos said he has been guiding at the ranch for over 40 years. He doesn’t have a lot to say, but he means every word of it! Welcome Amos, to Bears Butt Dot Com! Hello Amos!
A hunter and trapper his entire life. Lives somewhere around Woodruff.
So, next came another hunter and her escort. Amos was quick to call the head guide and tell him there were too many people at the ranch. He had room in his truck for the two hunters, but that left me and Pam’s escort and neighbor, Scott on our own. We decided rather than to sit at the ranch and wait for a couple of hours for the other guide to come and pick us up that we would drive Pam’s truck and follow them, which we did.
The going was pretty slow and difficult for us. Not that the truck couldn’t go in it, but it’s one of those beefed up high powered diesels with all the weight in the front and nothing in the back.
Amos was making the best trail he could for us to follow, but the wind had drifted the snow some and made it slow going.
The snow had a frozen crust on it as well and then under the crust was light powdery snow. Some of the toughest snow to try and drive around in.
Besides the snow issues, we did start to see elk right off the bat, but couldn’t get on them. Amos did give us a radio to communicate any sightings we might see, but we mostly just listened to what was going on.
Well, at the corner of Squaw and Trail, we met up with two other guides and one other set of hunters.
The other hunters were “guests of the ranch” as they did not hire a guide, but they had driven from the Tooele area to the meeting point at Lost Creek and had virtually ran themselves out of fuel. So, we left their truck and Pam’s at this spot and climbed in with the guides.
For the time being, Scott and I were in guide Bryce’s truck, while Weasel and Pam were still with Amos. Off we all went up the hill and in search of the mighty elk. It didn’t take long before we were in an area where it looked like hundreds of elk had been feeding. And then it happened. The radio started to bark out elk being seen and elk being killed. Two down here and one more over there.
Bryce turned his truck around and off we went to find Amos as both of his hunters had shot. We arrived at Amos’ truck to find Weasel, Pam and Amos all out glassing the area. They had shot at a couple of cows out on a knob around 400 yards down the hill. Amos didn’t want to just go down there and look for blood until he had a spotter up high to see if any possible wounded ones were moving off. So, that is why we found them where we did. Besides, I wanted to be with Weasel when he kills his elk, as Scott did with Pam and so this put us back with them.
We went down to see if there was any blood and Weasel and I went off following a trail left by his elk. Nothing. But in our hike we went far enough looking that we had a heck of a hike back out. Weasel was too layered up and had a bit of a heat stroke issue going on and was very light headed as we made the climb back to the truck.
You can see how steep the mountain is in this picture.
Well Amos, Pam and Scott didn’t want to wait for us to make the climb back up, so they headed off in search of more elk. Meanwhile, Bryce waited the hour or so for us to make that climb up.
So, now we are together in Bryce’s truck and Scott and Pam are with Amos, this would be the pairing for the rest of the day. By the way, Bryce doesn’t like to walk much and will drive to everywhere he wants to be. Take that for what you think it means. He is also always thinking ahead and wants to make the roads are as wide and clear of snow as he can for the next trip in…again, take that for what you might think I mean.
As the day progressed we saw hundreds of elk. Bulls of all sizes and plenty of cows. It is rumored that they want as many as 260 cows taken off the ranch this year and as of yesterday, they still had over 150 to go. Good luck to all the hunters who have the tags!
Around 3 p.m. all the guides and hunters were down near the “black tank”. Amos had found a band of cows mixed in with several bulls and couldn’t get his hunter a shot without some help from the rest. So, with a similar ring as our last trip, the radio was blasting out who needed to be where and who was cutting them off and who was to turn them what direction. The rodeo had begun! Bryce came to a spot next to a fence, looking into a shallow draw and here came the elk, one behind the other and about 200, maybe 250 yards slightly down hill from us. Weasel was out with the rifle resting solidly on the open door when one of the many, and I mean many, elk filing through, finally stopped and gave him enough time to drop it with a single shot! Boom!! Elk down! Good job Weasel!
A fat 2 and a half year old that will make for some mighty fine eating! Thanks a million Bryce! Great job of putting the Weasel on this one!
At the end of the day, 5 of 6 hunters had taken their cows and Pam was the only one that still had a tag, she will be coming back another day to try again. She did have a couple chances to fill her tag, it just wasn’t meant to happen on this day!
Again, I have to say, this outfitting group (Wild Country Outfitters) of guides really work hard to get their hunters onto an elk! They spend hundreds of hours out there and know exactly what to do and when. If ever I get another chance to hunt on Deseret Land and Livestock property, I will absolutely go with the guided hunt option! For the money, it sure beats trying to follow these guys around in your own truck, plus to be able to listen to the radio talk adds a lot more excitement to the whole experience!
Thanks again Bryce and all your crew for a most enjoyable couple of days this old man could have ever had in the outdoors! You guys are the greatest!
Bears Butt
December 13, 2013
Warm today, 2 degrees right now with a high expected of 18, that will feel nice! But, that is for here at home, what is the expected for Randolph? You do realize that tonight Weasel and I are spending the night in Evanston Wyoming and then heading over to the Deseret Land and Livestock ranch for his cow elk hunt in the morning…You did know that didn’t you?
Right now in Randolph it is minus 5, but a warming trend is coming and they are expecting a high today of 20! WOHOOOO! Tomorrows high is expected to be 24!!!! My goodness that will feel very warm!
Our expected high tomorrow is for Weasel to kill his cow elk! That’s what I’m talking about!
Since the good folks of the DLL ranch are allowing me to tag along, I will be taking a lot of pictures, which is something I totally did not do on the last adventure at the ranch. We have been told that I will be the 4th passenger in the guides truck with two hunters, Weasel and another person. It will be a crowded truck.
So, the plan is just like the last one, leave home around 3ish today and head to Evanston to spend the night and then up around 4:30 in the morning and head over to the ranch by 6:30 to check in, load up into our guides vehicle and head out to shoot elk. I’m hoping the herds are all right there in the pasture waiting to go home with us and that every hunter in the group kills early and we can get home before dark!
Wish us luck!
Bears Butt
December 11, 2013
It’s very cold outside and here I sit between shopping trips looking at Facebook and the forum (that I like) and seeing pictures of some very nice bucks being taken from one of my favorite spots….The Crawfords…
For those of you as friends of mine on Facebook you have the opportunity to see exactly what I’m talking about. Some very nice bucks have been taken off that mountain. And for me, the most refreshing thing about those bucks is the big old smiles on the hunters faces and the fact that “they are NOT the biggest and baddest bucks out there”. But for those hunters they are bucks of their dreams and that is what hunting for horns is all about.
Does it meet what you consider “big”! And if the answer is Yes, then so be it, drop the hammer!
So many hunters in today’s hunting world get so very much wrapped up with the biggest and the baddest that they will end up eating what is called “tag soup” rather than take a lesser animal. It’s sort of sad in my opinion. And it’s a mind set that I think needs to be sent in another direction.
I talked to my friend Bo, from Missouri tonight…he wanted to hear some of the story about my bull elk hunt and of course, you know me, I was more than willing to tell him all about the highlights. Our conversation just solidified the fact that Big is in the eye of the beholder and for both he and I, we know what we accomplished and just how much of a “hunt” we were on. The fact that we camped with people and got to know them better than we could have possibly got to know them had we not. The wildness of the area, the different personalities of people we met.
It’s all part of the package and it means SOOOO much more than the kill itself. I’m loving my hunting life right now and still have one more big hunt on the table to get done!
Bears Butt
December 10, 2013
There is usually a side story to any story and this one is one on the one previously posted.
Weasel and I had left the guides at the Lost Creek Dam and were on our way for home, cow elk in the back of the rig. No need for the trailer, as the guide insisted he quarter it using the gutless method.
I concurred with his decision at the time as it was getting late and was very cold, with the temperature dropping in groups of 5 degrees every minute, and did I mention it was getting dark?
I really wanted to have the ribs off this cow to try, but maybe next time.
So we are coming down the road talking about how cool the day had been and even if I hadn’t killed that cow when I did, how the day would have still been a total success. It’s always fun to be out and about, and add to that a guy that fit in almost as one of our own crew and was very personable to be around, made the day even better.
We talked about the other guides and a couple of the other hunters, the sighting of over 100 Sage Grouse in the air at the same time, the beautiful day, the country we hunted in, the tactics of the guides and just overall, everything that wrapped itself around us during the day.
Without saying anything, during a moment when Weasel was on the cell phone with Barney about him having elk steak for supper, I thought about the hot ground soup that I had forgotten to take up on the mountain with us. And even though it sounded good at THIS moment, it would have been better at THAT moment. What moment?
Well, elk had been killed by the singles all in a matter of 5 minutes and the guides and hunters were scattered about taking care of business, in the meanwhile with only Weasel, Mine and one other guys tags yet to fill, we went in search of a herd of cows. Actually the guides that weren’t busy gutting elk, were actually trying to find the band of cows that actually survived the melee.
We were instructed to go here and go there and to no avail. There was a spotter who had been watching that small band of cows “get out of Dodge”, but he lost them when a small storm rolled through and put a cloud of fog and snow between his position and the elk. Well, that’s how some animals survive.
There we sat as one by one the other guides began showing up with their hunters and the dead elk in the backs of their trucks. Stories were being told between hunters and guides in almost every direction you can imagine and I over heard one where the hunter was boasting he could have taken his animal at twice that distance (remember, these elk were 400 yards out when the melee began and they didn’t get any closer).
It was then that I was wishing I had a hot cup of Ground Soup. MMMMM I was thinking to myself. But both thermos’ were back in the rig at the dam…oh well, we will have to settle for a cold piece of jerky, at least I didn’t forget that.
Fade away from the hunt and back on to our drive home:
Down the canyon we went and out onto I-15 heading for home. The last leg of our journey. We were both still pretty pumped up about the day and talking and laughing. About the time we were getting close to our exit and Smith and Edwards, we both hear and almost feel a loud startling BANG!
What the heck!?! We must have blown a tire on the trailer. But with a quick look into the rear view mirror the trailer was not acting out of sorts in the least. Neither was the car. Everything seemed normal. And then Weasel says, “I smell something”! I hit the blinker and we pulled over. A quick check of the tires on the trailer…all is well…check the vehicle tires…good to go. What the heck made that noise?
I opened up the driver side passenger door and instantly smelled the odor of “Ground Soup”! I moved some things that were covering the thermos’…sure enough…the lid of one of the thermos’ was 5 inches away from the thermos itself and the screw on lid was sticking way out past its seated point…ground soup was spread out on the floor and surrounding clothes and hunting things.
I could not help but laugh and at the same time wonder, how in the heck could that have happened? Those screw on caps go in a long ways before they seat and then top it off with a screw on lid! What caused it to blow and how on earth did it do it?
So, that is the magic question for all you readers. What caused the “hot this morning at 4 a.m.” ground soup in that thermos to pop its lid at 6:30 p.m. this evening?
By the way, my vehicle smells like it was out on an all night beer drinking festival with the boys. One in which they stopped at a Maverik and all had a Bahama Momma to top off their night and at least one of them didn’t have their meal settle.
Bears Butt
Dec. 6, 2013