Echo Lake Gold

[zfpage]

I'm looking to go to Echo Lake, up Mirror Lake highway for some golden trout, and I have heard you need some good clearance and 4 wheel drive to get your vehicle to the lake, do you need the 4 wheel drive, or will just having the clearance be ok? Also, has anyone been up that way recently, what time of day is best, what do they seem to be taking, flies, lures, bait? Any info helps!
[signature]

[Kent]

You can make it without 4 wheel drive as long as you have good clearance. Just realize saying this road is rough doesn't begin to describe it. You can catch them all day long, but early and late would be best for using flies. Having cloud cover will also help with using flies. We found the fastest action was using a small bobber with a small jig tipped with a small chunk of night crawler.
[signature]

[GrillOrFry]

I would like to hear from anyone who has recently caught Golden trout in Utah. Let us know how you do.
[signature]

[zfpage]

Thanks for the info! I'll let ya know how it goes!
[signature]

[zfpage]

Went to Echo Lake yesterday, was more crowded than I expected. Got there around 8:30 in the morning, the fish were rising frequently. Ended up catching about a dozen golden trout, biggest about 7 inches, and several brookies (biggest was about 8 inches). As the morning progressed the rising fish became sparse and by about noon there didn't seem to be anymore rising. Most of the fish I caught were on a parachute adams sunk about an inch under the water. It was nice to get out of the heat and catch some of these beautiful fish! Glad we have some in Utah, it's too bad they don't do as well in more waters.
[signature]

[Kent]

[quote zfpage]

Glad we have some in Utah, it's too bad they don't do as well in more waters.

[/quote]

Glad you got some. How did you do with that road and two-wheel drive? I'm confident that they would do well in many other waters, but not sure why they are in so few places. It makes them even more special to catch than would be the case if they were more common.
[signature]

[pookiebar]

Hope you kept all the brookies. If that lake would get thinned out a little more the Goldens would probably get bigger. Glad you found some of the target species though.
[signature]

[zfpage]

I actually ended up with a 4-wheel drive vehicle, only needed it in a couple spots, and probably could have done without if needed, but it was nice to have. I've also heard some of the reasoning of not stocking golden in other waters is to make sure the native cuts don't get mixed with them, which makes sense.
[signature]

[fish_hntr]

Glad you were able to catch a few, and definitely a pretty place to get away to. Although we have taken our full size Chevy diesel up there while leaving it in 2wd, it is a very rough road that most folks prefer to drive in 4wd. These days we take the Jeep up there.
[signature]

[SkinnyLynnie]

I went to Echo Lake with a friend a few years ago. He rode my Honda 110 Trail cycle, and I rode a mountain bike along the very rough (at times) road. Both of us carried full backpacks. It was quite an adventure. In the end, after surviving the road in, we caught a bunch of brook trout but never saw a golden trout. I thought maybe they had been all fished out. Glad to hear that they are back. Maybe I'll go to Echo Lake again, but probably not on a mountain bike.
[signature]

[fish_hntr]

[quote SkinnyLynnie]I went to Echo Lake with a friend a few years ago. He rode my Honda 110 Trail cycle, and I rode a mountain bike along the very rough (at times) road. Both of us carried full backpacks. It was quite an adventure. In the end, after surviving the road in, we caught a bunch of brook trout but never saw a golden trout. I thought maybe they had been all fished out. Glad to hear that they are back. Maybe I'll go to Echo Lake again, but probably not on a mountain bike.[/quote]

I was told they stopped stocking the goldens for about 10 years but started doing it again a few years ago, we get up there a few times each summer and go all the way in, and even on a holiday weekend can find some spots all to ourselves.
[signature]

[SkinnyLynnie]

Thanks for the encouraging words. I now hope to achieve my goal of catching an elusive golden trout. After my last trip to Echo, I had given up on that.
[signature]

[love2fishUtah]

I went to Echo last summer. Unless they have smoothed out the road, it can be a slow go without $WD and HIGH ground clearance, so allow plenty of time because you find yourself picking your way through rocks, some of which require some good ground clearance. I was glad I had 4WD and I doubt I would risk it with 2WD. It had rained and there were some 10-12" deep puddles 20-30' in length you needed to drive thru as well. Be aware that if you have a larger (wide) vehicle, like our Suburban, you will almost certainly get some scratches down the side on your paint job due to the narrow road and lots of brush and trees close to the road on some parts.

I would go again, but my dad, who was 83 yrs old, most likely would not because the drive was slow and tossed him around more than he liked. Actually I think he was worried about breaking down and getting stuck out there.

Beautiful little lake. We only got brookies but had little time to fish since I didn't allow enough time for the drive. I think it took about 90+ minutes one way, after we left the Mirror Hwy.

Good luck.
[signature]

[fish_hntr]

[quote love2fishUtah]I went to Echo last summer. Unless they have smoothed out the road, it can be a slow go without $WD and HIGH ground clearance, so allow plenty of time because you find yourself picking your way through rocks, some of which require some good ground clearance. I was glad I had 4WD and I doubt I would risk it with 2WD. It had rained and there were some 10-12" deep puddles 20-30' in length you needed to drive thru as well. Be aware that if you have a larger (wide) vehicle, like our Suburban, you will almost certainly get some scratches down the side on your paint job due to the narrow road and lots of brush and trees close to the road on some parts.

I would go again, but my dad, who was 83 yrs old, most likely would not because the drive was slow and tossed him around more than he liked. Actually I think he was worried about breaking down and getting stuck out there.

Beautiful little lake. We only got brookies but had little time to fish since I didn't allow enough time for the drive. I think it took about 90+ minutes one way, after we left the Mirror Hwy.

Good luck.[/quote]

I was kind of surprised to see a Subaru all the way back in by Hoover lake over the July 4th weekend.
[signature]