08-08-2016, 07:53 PM
This report is a few days late, but I was up in the Uintas for a couple of days last week. The first day I fished North Slope lakes in the afternoon with only a fish here and there. In the last hour before sunset, the trout became vulnerable and I started having strikes on almost every cast. The best fly was a small grey emerger (size 18) stripped back in short, quick strips. For some reason, I find that action is often successful on high lakes when the trout are taking on small surface flies. The emerger sits in the film or just underneath. I caught a few with small dry flies and a few on a size 10 bead head sparkle bugger (black). I'm not sure that fly is better than others or whether I just have confidence in it.
The second day I had a hard time finding fish. I walked into a lake off the trail, which i had read had large brook trout. Fighting the forest for an hour, carrying a float tube, pump, and fins in a backpack, I arrived at the lake to find it eerily quiet. After fishing around the edge with no sign of fish, I gave up. On my way out I caught a brook trout or two from a stream. I tried another stream that also appeared to have no fish, and caught only a small grayling at another lake. I thought about staying around for the evening bite again, but with a long drive back I opted to come home. You don't find them every time, I suppose.
My best fish was a 15 inch rainbow. Not big, even for the area. My similar trip last summer was a couple of weeks earlier in the year, and i did quite a bit better that time. Hard to predict, though. Anyway, it's worth it just to look at the sky on a clear night.
Sorry for the lack of fish pictures. I need to get a cheap camera that I'm willing to take into the float tube.
[signature]
The second day I had a hard time finding fish. I walked into a lake off the trail, which i had read had large brook trout. Fighting the forest for an hour, carrying a float tube, pump, and fins in a backpack, I arrived at the lake to find it eerily quiet. After fishing around the edge with no sign of fish, I gave up. On my way out I caught a brook trout or two from a stream. I tried another stream that also appeared to have no fish, and caught only a small grayling at another lake. I thought about staying around for the evening bite again, but with a long drive back I opted to come home. You don't find them every time, I suppose.
My best fish was a 15 inch rainbow. Not big, even for the area. My similar trip last summer was a couple of weeks earlier in the year, and i did quite a bit better that time. Hard to predict, though. Anyway, it's worth it just to look at the sky on a clear night.
Sorry for the lack of fish pictures. I need to get a cheap camera that I'm willing to take into the float tube.
[signature]
