Round Two, Duck Valley

[Kodiak1]

Revisited Duck Valley Wednesday, and found the fishing to be somewhat slower at Mt. View, but still productive. Most were 21". Smallest this time was 19". Met up with Mudsucker (Eric) and family, and they had better luck. They started fishing early and hammered 'em at first light. We arrived at 9:30 and Eric mentioned that was when it slowed down for them. We decided to head over to Sheep Creek and see what was happening there. Talked to some float tubers who had not had so much as a bite. Said they had phenomenal success late September. Watched a boat trolling while we bank fished, and were doing quite well, but for what seemed to be smaller fish. We had a difficult time finding an area that didn't have a thick mat of weeds about 4' wide. It surrounds the lake. The water is as clear as I have ever seen it. The fish we caught there were smaller than the Mt. View fish, around 16". Also, noticed that their meat was whitish, compared to very red-meated Mt. View fish. You will never find harder fighting fish than these. Nice meeting Eric and family....nice people. Always good to put a face to the posts! Mike
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[mudsucker]

Using Mike's suggestions, we got there a little before 6 a.m. and I scouted around with a flashlight til I found the heaviest concentration of footprints and sticks to hold stringers. We rigged up and immediately wife and I both hooked our biggest rainbows ever. If we knew then what we learned, we could have had our limits by sunrise. They moved off the shallows when it got light and we finished up by noon. While we gutted the fish, my boy managed to catch his last one so we all had a limit. It was a fun treat to have a trip like that, even if 620 miles in 32 hours was a bit of a chore. Had one for supper tonight and the meat is great. We'll find how they smoke tomorrow.
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[Kodiak1]

Eric, why do I have a feeling that you might be down there next spring?! They are terrific tasting fish, aren't they. Glad your boy nailed that last one!! Mike
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