Rainbows at Flaming Gorge

Last month we took Kevin’s new boat out to Flaming Gorge to test it out.  It worked great as a fishing boat.  We camped at the Mann’s campground on the west side of the reservoir along Sheep Creek. 

We pitched my tent and launched the boat at the nearest dock. 

Isaac, Kevin’s son, enjoyed watching the movie Lion King while we headed off to Kevin’s favorite, secret fishing spot. 

No wonder Kevin was anxious to fish this spot.  We caught a good dozen rainbows including a few over 20 inches.  The smaller ones (those under 17 inches) we let go and fried up the others for dinner. 

One thing we wanted to test with the boat was my Minn Kota trolling motor.  Kevin had rigged up a transom on the skiing ladder that we attached it to with bungee cords.  We could quickly zoom around the reservoir with the boat’s motor and slowly troll or fish the edges with the trolling motor. 

It was the perfect system.  Along the edges we were able to catch smallmouth bass with crawdad rapalas.  One huge monster of a fish hit Kevin’s lure but didn’t hook up.  That fish will haunt him for quite a while.

Kevin’s parents and brother met up with us for dinner.  His family goes all out when it comes to food and camping.  On the menu was: BBQ ribs (more than we could eat), the trout we caught, beans with bacon, corn, French bread with cheese, and for desert-strawberry and blueberry shortcake. 

With so much food, we made sure we had everything put away well before calling it a night.  You may remember previous blogs where a raccoon was able to break into a cooler or what was even worse, a visit in the night from a skunk.

Kevin and Isaac slept in the boat and I slept in the tent.  Kevin’s parents and brother stayed in a hotel in Manila. Our plan was to meet at 8:15 the next morning at Browning’s restaurant for breakfast.  I gained five pounds on this trip.

At breakfast Kevin told us about what happened that night.  At about 2:30 he heard a noise in his boat.  He looked over at Isaac and he was sleeping soundly.  He peeked out of the cuddy and the noise stopped.  Everything was black. Then he saw this white and black thing moving out from under the life jackets that ran right in front of his face.  He startled the creature as he scramble to block the opening and just as the creature turned around and raised its tail…Kevin woke up from his dream.

We picked up some more ice at the gas station to top off the coolers and then headed back out in the boat. 

Kevin had rigged a ramp for the boat to make it easier to get to shore. 

The fishing was just as good as the previous day.  After two hours we had each caught our limit and decided we should break camp and head back home, hopefully in time for a movie. 

I saved my fish to cook up the next day for dinner.  It was delicious with my home made tartar sauce.

Scouting out the Green River in Wyoming

Fishing a new place takes a bit of scouting.  I noticed at the Wasatch Fly Tying & Fly Fishing Expo last month that The Four Seasons Fly Shop was offering guided trips to the Green River below the Fontenelle Reservoir.  This can also be considered the Green River above Flaming Gorge.   

The Green River below Flaming Gorge, of course, is the famous section that gets all the attention and crowds.  It is very scenic with all the red rock and canyons and has a very high trout count per mile.  The section in Wyoming below Fontenelle is quite different.  It is not famous and therefore not crowded.  

It is in a desert with flat land sage brush.  It has no red rock or pine trees.  It also has fewer trout per mile.  The trout however, are quite large.  The river flows through the Seedskadee wildlife refuge and therefore it is remote and you will see quite a bit of wildlife.

I drove up to the river last week to scout out the area.  It is only two and a half hours from Salt Lake.  In Kemmerer there is a BLM office with camping information and maps.

There are four campsites right near the dam.   

Three are right on the river which are free.  

I camped at Slate Creek Campground which is four miles downstream from the dam. This campground has a few outhouses and garbage bins.  It is right on a bend in the river which looks like it would have good fishing.  Even further downstream on the other side of the bridge there are some access points near some good stretches that have some deeper pools.  I didn’t fish much on this trip but did catch a few small rainbows and even managed to hook some big crawdads that I saw near the shore. 

Weeping rock campground is a mile below the dam.  On the opposite side of the river from the campground, water seeps through the mountain, thus its name. 

This also seems like a nice campground near some good fishing. They say in the summer when the mosquitoes are out, this campground has fewer mosquitoes.

Right at the base of the dam is tailrace campground which is also located right on the river.

I did catch a little rainbow here and looks like it could be good fishing.

I drove through the wildlife refuge a few miles downstream from the campgrounds.  

There is a dirt/gravel road that runs through the refuge with a few access points to the river.  

I saw ducks, pelicans, several other pretty birds, antelope, goats and marmots.  

I was the only one on the road and even at the visitor center.

I talked to a few fishermen there.  The stretch of the river near Slate Creek seemed to be the best stretch for fishing.  I saw one fisherman catch a fish right at the bend, similar the rainbows I had caught the day before.  The fish seem to take caddis nymphs and San Juan worms. On my next trip I will bring some crawdad imitations also.  

I booked a trip with a Four Season’s guide for next month.  I'll be able to provide more specifics regarding the fishing when I blog about that trip.