|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Visit our Sponsor!
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Story and photos by Martin Bird of Loveland, Ohio
It was a morning unlike any other I had experienced in Las Vegas. A cool 45 degrees, clear and surprisingly dark. This, so I have heard, is a City that never sleeps. I never had experienced the late nights of Vegas until this very cool April morning. I decided that a trip to go fishing was a good break from the trade show set up. I arose at 4 am to find that the city was very much alive. Exiting my hotel I managed to run into the who’s who of the late night scene entering the hotel as I exited.
SUV ready, I began the trek to St George, Utah. (Who was George and why is he a saint?) The trip was close to two hours but a trip well worth the effort. Moving north along I-15, I began to notice the signs. Nellis Air Force Base, famous for Area 51 and of course aliens. Although I like to consider myself a skeptic of UFO’s, I of course found myself looking skyward in the chance that there might be something in the air. For a flashing moment I saw a sparkling ahead in the distance looking as if it was headed right towards me! Suddenly it hit me! Smashed on my windshield like a bug, it was a bug, a big bug at that. Must have been an alien bug of some sorts!
Further up the interstate I went, noticing the temperature going down instead of up as the dawn drew nearer. First stop Mesquite, NV, time to fuel up the SUV and continue on. Chevron’s the fuel stop of choice and a bonus, Hostess Blueberry Pie. I don’t think I have had one in 10 years! Plus I got offered the night managers position $12.50 an hour to start. Although I was tempted to stay there and begin immediately, I soon remembered what I had started out to do that day.
I needed a map, not just any map, a good map with county roads and lots of details. Failing to find one in Mesquite, next chance was St George. I managed to see from the highway another Chevron, and to my surprise they had just what I was looking for: a map with all kinds of detail. With a little help from the girl behind the counter and $19.95, I continued on my way. Since the dawn had arrived and it was early morning I figured it was time for a warm up. WRONG! It was getting colder and the rain began.
Just a little at first but then that changed too. Now I needed to get my fishing license so a stop in Veyo, Utah, (population 18) was on the agenda. At this stop, not a Chevron in sight but a nice Sinclair was there to accommodate. Since it was getting colder I thought gloves might be in order. Gloves in hand (literally) and license in my pocket, it was time to head to Pine Valley and the Santa Clara River. As I was leaving the Sinclair store, I was nicely informed they got 6 inches of snow last night. This did not bother me, but of course, living and growing up in a big city there were always snow plows. This area the size of the Salt Lake Valley, population 18, seemed to have a different policy on snow removal. If it melts it’s removed! But following the advice of a friend, "Continue on in 2 wheel drive and when you get stuck use the four wheel drive to get out," I continued.
A few miles up the road the snow began to fall out of the sky, a little at first but then it got heavier. As I came on my turn the roads where now covered with 2-3 inches of snow.
8-10 miles further up the road the altitude had raised and the temperature had dropped. Now dealing with 6-8 inches of snow and finding it difficult to find the road. I caught the first glimpse of the river. This Santa Clara, she must have been a runway model, because no river I have ever seen had been so thin! Further still up the road, the river crossed again. This time she (the river) had finished a meal and grown a little.
This was it, the first fishing spot. It was 27 degrees and cold. Easily 8 inches of snow on the ground, Boots! Ha I laugh at boots! If there ever was trout weather this was it. I stepped out of the SUV and assembled my rods. First choice is usually the right choice, so I go with the four-piece pack rod as a spinning rod. Choice of spinner is easy, Panther Martin Black with yellow dots in 1/32 ounce. Traipsing through the snow towards the river I find the first pool, five casts in, nothing. Twenty feet down stream looks good, so onward I go. Two underhand casts into a small pool and BOOM fish on. Looks like it will be a good trip. As I move the fish to the bank and myself to unhook the fish I notice it’s a nice brown 10 inches long. The river in this area was well covered and hard to cast, but worth the effort. I caught 4 fish in the 8-10 inch range in this first stop. Further downstream I see why the river was so small at the first crossing, a diversion dam was taking water and moving it off to the city, probably used for farming. Running out of fishable water I decided to go upstream.
Upstream and the switch to the fly rod the river grew but so did the obvious. Even through the snow it was apparent that the pressure on the stream was present. Trash, the markings of humans was present along the stream. I always carry a plastic bag and pickup for those of you that do not have hands. For I cannot understand any other possibly way that you could not pickup for yourself. The river was easier to fish at this point and the brown trout were less rewarding 6-8 inches but still worth a cast.
The sky was even giving way to some blue! The cold was getting through to me though, and I was actually hungry. Now is as good as any time to go back through the snow to the SUV and the warmth of the heater. It was about lunchtime and I had yet to eat except for that blueberry pie. Starting out I had to put the theory to test: stuck in 2 wheel drive, out in four. But once I figured out I had to put my seatbelt on to shift into four wheel drive, I was out and on my way.
The big city of Veyo and the local dinner, also in the Sinclair. Lunch is a great Mexican fare and with the addition of a couple of candy bars for the trip was $12.11. The two streams that I have set out to fish today are separated by 8 miles or less and the Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness Area. But in order for me to get to the next stop I had to head back to St George and then north on Interstate 15 again. 35 miles to get 8? Sounds like odds in Vegas.
Exit 22, Leeds, Utah, and the Silver Reef Area, the water is called Leeds Creek. This was a bit confusing and difficult to find. Exit 22 exits the freeway north but exit 23 enters the freeway south. But I needed to get to exit 23 to go north towards the Oak Grove Campground. Once I found the road leading to exit 23 it was over the freeway and up we go. I never saw the tributary streams of Pig Creek, Horse Creek, and Spirit Creek, but they are accessible by hiking and contain a population of trout. A better map would be helpful.
About 2-3 miles up the canyon the creek crossed for the first time. Looking up stream from this point scared me. I have never seen so much brush and so little access. A little further up I found a place to turn off. This was the first look at the stream.
The water was clear and running quickly, with large rocks and short runs to fish. I sat on a large rock over the river and began to cast. Casting any distance was very difficult, underhand flips stripping out line and letting it float was all you could do. Once the lure or fly would get in position for a strike it was tough to keep a fish on.
But I was not about to give up on the native Bonneville Cutthroat I came in search of.
After several cast with both the spinning rod and the fly rod I managed to catch the first fish, a nice trout about 9 inches long.
This trout looks like a cross bread of a brown and a cutthroat. The distinguishing mark of the red under the jaw was the only present sign of the cutthroat. Well finally this was it, I had caught the rare native fish. But I was not done! I continued to catch and release 10-12 more fish. One 14 inches long!
I only went up this stream for about 6 miles and then had enough. There has to be more fishable water up further and also the promise of the feeder streams. Next trip will be in search of these streams.
After a great successful day fishing it was time to return to Las Vegas. On the trip back I did manage one further noteworthy sighting? Off in the distance over a small mountain range I saw something hovering over the hills? Skeptic that I am, I of course thought it was a helicopter but as I got closer and as I could see clearer, it was sliver with black dots like windows. At last glance before it shot into the sky, I though I could see a present sign of red under the front of the craft?
Maybe too it is a native of Utah!
Written 4-14-03
Home - Fishing - National Parks - ATV - Photography - Other Topics - Recreational Property
Place your ad here and reach the great outdoors! Listen to the Utah Outdoors radio show, Saturdays from 6-8 a.m. on KSL.Thanks to our Supporters!
Sky Call Communications  Site owned and operated by |
