Currant Creek Ice

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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]It's been far too long since last I fished. Life has been busy and the last couple of weekends haven't offered much time to drill any holes.

With the worst air quality in the country along the Wasatch Front, a lot of people have gotten sick, including myself. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

The past week has been brutal here in Utah County. My workplace is located right by Utah Lake, so I've spent much of my waking hours at the bottom of the valley, sucking sludge all the while. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

*Hack! Wheeze!* [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

My own ailments peaked on Friday, causing me to cut my work day short (I never do that). Luckily, Saturday was a little bit better and today was just beautiful. By beautiful, I mean it stormed and chased away the toxic haze. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

Not wanting to wait it out and see how the air in the valley would treat me, I set off in the morning to try out my brand new NILS hand auger that a very kind soul sent me (forever grateful). Currant Creek Reservoir would be my proving grounds, which I had never ice fished before. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

Getting to the lake, the air was crisp, clean, and seemingly magical. My condition instantly improved and continued to do so throughout my stay. What a relief! It wasn't even very cold with temps lingering just around freezing (which actually felt nice). [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

The drilling went VERY smoothly as 8" holes were bored through the ice, almost effortlessly. It was amazing to feel the difference that the NILS design made over other manual augers that I've tried. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

As good as it felt to use the auger, it felt even better to get a line wet for the first time in almost three weeks! My first drop in the hole yielded a beautiful cutthroat. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

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The fishing was pretty good for the first 30 minutes or so, consistently getting bites or bumps from both rods. A couple of rainbows came through the hole and were sent back. One was pretty nice, but sent back without a photo. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

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Suddenly, everything slowed down significantly. Even when the bites came, instead of a quick twitch of the line, a subtle droop of the rod tip was what I needed to watch for. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

Sadly, most of the bites were coming from the short rod (tube jig tipped with a small minnow) and somehow I always seemed to miss those bites. Not to blame the rod, but in the three years I've owned it, I've only been able to catch a total of five fish with it, including today's. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

Out of those five fish, here are two that I was finally able to pull in today: [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

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A couple of other rainbows made it to hand a bit later, then the big one hit. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

Noting that the small minnows were getting more attention from the tiger trout than the meal worms were, I tipped my long rod's cut'r bug jig and fished a hole that I drilled very close to the dam. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

In only about 5' of water, I actively jigged the presentation for about a minute, when I lifted the tip to stiff resistance. Immediately, the rod tip went down and line spat from the reel. My hog had answered and I let the camera roll. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

(Video at bottom) [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

What a beast! My best tiger from that water and probably a top 5 from anywhere, it measured 24" and 4lbs, 5oz. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

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Leaving had crossed my mind a couple of times prior to that catch, but I knew some bigger fish would be worth waiting for. I'm glad I stayed. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

Here's a look at my jig. Luckily it held, though she may have finished straightening it, had the fight lasted much longer. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

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What a day! The fishing wasn't incredibly fast, but the action I got was well worth the wait. The new auger was a thrill to use and the fresh air was much needed. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

Driving home was a little bit scary in spots, due to some blizzard-like conditions, but all went well. I'll leave you with some shots of Currant Creek, itself. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

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Happy Fishing, Humans. [/size][/#000000][/font] [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]

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[The_Red_Leaker]

Superb post! Thanks for sharing the beautiful tiger and pics of Current Creek. I have only fished CC once and that was during a cow elk hunt (successful) this past year. Loved the lake and fish she gave up, and the backstrap and summer sausage aren't that bad either. Glad to hear you got out of the guck and had an excellent day of catching! Again, beautiful fish!
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[LOAH]

Thanks!

And for anyone wondering, the road to CC wasn't too bad, although there were areas where a 4x4 would be best.

I suppose a car could have made it (with front wheel drive), but I wouldn't recommend it.

While I was there, it dumped at least 2 more inches of snow in the area. Parking near the gate at the dam would be a bad idea for anything but 4WD and it was difficult to get out when I left.

Parking on the road would be the best plan.

On the way down, some patches of the road were completely melted down to the asphalt though. Weird.
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[joshmobile]

Those are some beautiful pics. I'm going to try and head up there this week. Hopefully the snow storm from last night didn't completely kill the road up.
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[Wildcat94]

awesome tiger and great report and pics as always
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[fishluvr]

Great report, awesome pictures and awesome fish. I have been wanting to take my two little boys to CC for a long time but keep putting it off because it's hard to pass the Berry and I don't know the lake that well and how to access it on the ice. If you don't mind sharing, public or PM, I would love to know the best places to get on and off the ice up there. Where to park and how access is to the ice with two young boys. Thanks in advance for any info.

Tight Lines
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[LOAH]

Getting on at the dam is about as good as it will get.

I would recommend parking on the road, pointed in the direction you plan to leave. Don't park too closely to other cars. It gets pretty slick.
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