Red Rock Adventure Blog

I was scheduled to lead a group on the Subway canyoneering hike in Zion Park early this week, but we postponed when they posted a flash flood watch. The Subway is a great hike but no place to be in a thunderstorm. We hope to make the trip next week.

I've cleared my schedule so I can go fishing Saturday morning. I'm still debating where to go - if I can actually get away for the whole day I will head up to Moon Lake, in the Uintas. I've wanted to put a small boat with a fish finder on that water, to hunt down the splake. I've got just the boat and so I'm anxious to try it.

Family matters may cut into my day. If that happens I'll probably go to Strawberry.

We're making good progress editing video clips for utah.com. Here are some we've recently created:
- Dead Horse Point State Park
- Slickrock Bike Trial
- Delicate Arch
- Devils Garden
- Arches Windows Section

Check out the amazing video clip on this page showing high water in Cataract Canyon.

The recent court ruling opening streambeds to the public is a major victory for fishermen and other recreationists. It brings the opportunity to fish more waters, but will only stand if sportsmen are responsible and show a spirit of cooperation.

Wes Johnson has written this thoughtful essay about the ruling, and its consequences.

People pay me to develop content for their websites. I work hard for them and so I never have time to work on this site. My team has just completed a massive project where we upgraded and expanded the national parks section on utah.com - adding new text, photos and video clips. You can see the new pages here:
- Zion
- Bryce Canyon
- Arches
- Canyonlands
- Capitol Reef

Utah.com ranks very well in the search engines and this content should help keep them right near the top for virtually any search term related to the parks.

Websites are never done - we'll continue to improve the information and add new content, particularly new multi-media.

We'll be adding a large number of new video clips during the next few weeks. We're using video shot for the Utah Office of Tourism. They had a company shoot high quality video for TV spots and other promotions. We're using their "B" roll, which includes some excellent shots of the national parks. We edit it and format it for the web.

We're getting very good at editing video. We're also pretty good at shooting it. Professional, economical and efficient.

Some day we'll have time to develop new clips for this site.
- Dave

I fished Scofield Reservoir over the weekend and found action to be surprisingly slow. We caught three - two rainbows and a tiger trout, and had an enjoyable time. The weather was perfect - warm but not hot. The scenery is beautiful up there. The snow is almost gone now - just a little bit in shaded areas.

But, it would have been more enjoyable had we caught a dozen or more trout. We worked hard for our fish, which were fat and fish. Maybe too fat. Definitely well fed, apparently dining on Mayflies. Perhaps the fishing would have been better had the fish been a little more hungry...

Others we talked to reported similar success. Lots of fish in the reservoir, we could see them on the finder. But lazy fish not willing to exert much effort to bit my hook.

But we talked to one buy who was really catching them. He was fishing dead minnows on a long leader under a bobber. Scofield supports a large population of minnows (I think they're red shiners). This guy starts his day by using a minnow trap to catch a bunch, which he keeps on ice and uses as bait throughout the day. (In Utah you can fish with dead minnows, but it is illegal to use them if they are live. Also, the minnows can't be small game fish and cannot be from an endangered/protected species.)

Scofield has a lot of cutthroat and tiger trout that love to eat minnows. Since this guy was using their favorite food, a minnow the fish recognize and love, he was catching big fish all over the place.

Now, I report this with some degree of hesitancy. When I fish I normally practice catch and release, and I fish with flies or lures. When I hook a fish on a fly the hook usually penetrates its lip and is easy to remove. Fish often swallow bait and so the hook goes deep. It is very difficult to release fish unharmed if they have swallowed a baited hook.

I don't have any problem with people keeping a few fish, within the legal limit, if they really will eat them. Scofield has a good trout population and it won't hurt anything if a few fish are harvested. Indeed, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has increased the trout limit at Scofield to 8 fish, to encourage anglers to fish there. (Statewide, the normal limit is 4 trout).

That said, use minnows or other bait if you want a great fishing experience, and you will really eat the fish you harvest.

Me, I'll stick with my flies and lures. It is still early in the season. As the water warms a bit the fish will become more aggressive and I'll do better there.

Scofield is a beautiful reservoir with a very nice campground. It's worth a visit.

- Dave

Fishing was tough at Strawberry on Saturday (May 17, 08). We managed to catch 4, all cutts, 17-20 inches, but we had to work for them. Others we talked to had similar reports.

We launched from Renegade and worked the shorelines out from Indian Creek without getting a bite. I thought fish might be moving up toward the mouths of tributaries and so we worked shallow until stopped by weeds, but didn't find the fish.

We marked a few fish as we cruised past the mouth of The Narrows and so we went in. We used the electric motor to crawl up the channel, casting in toward shore, and we had a couple hits but no hookups.

Finally we entered a couple small bays inside The Narrows and that's where we caught our four. All were caught within 2 feet of shore. We had a couple hits out in deeper water but they didn't stick. Two of the fish were caught on a yellow Panther Martin and two were caught on a black Rooster Tail.

We tried many other lures without any luck.

The guys we talked to who had troll caught very few fish.

The fly guys out in tubes caught a few - also working close to shore.

Water was cold and there was still snow down along the shoreline in many areas. The road to Renegade was clear except in one spot where we had to drive through snow. It was no problem pulling the boat through. The launch ramp was fine but there were no docks in the water.

My guess is that fishing will improve within 2 weeks, as the water warms a bit.

I had planned to be a Lake Powell right now, soaking up the sunshine, catching striped bass and enjoying the big lake. But the two guys going with me both had to cancel and so I decided to postpone the trip. I decided it is worth waiting, to share the fun with them.

My plan is to explore the San Juan arm of the lake. That's a long boat ride and I'd definitely like to have an experienced hand or two with me when I make the journey. Reports suggest the fishing is great up there right now. It should hold for a few weeks, and so I'll still get to enjoy it.

Our plan now is to head down on May 29.

Meanwhile, I'll go fish Strawberry Reservoir tomorrow. The ice is off and I think I know where I can find some big cutts.

I've put a nice electric trolling motor on my little boat. Now I want to add a better fish finder. When I get that on I will have a sweet little craft that is good for fishing and very good for cruising and exploring. It will be fun to see how it works.