Less than an hour adventure...

We just had a baby on Wednesday so my life has been wonderful and hectic lately.  I was getting a little stir crazy this evening and the boys had already gone to bed so I slipped out for an hour down to the Bear River.  I have been set line fishing, but a few weeks ago the water level raised two feet and my set line got snagged.  I decided to leave it and wait until it broke free- tonight I was able to break it free and boy was it a mangled mess.

My bow fishing experience didn't go too well the first time and retrieving the arrows was cumbersome, so I made an upgrade.  I purchased the AMS Original Retriever 310 from Sportsmans Warehouse store in Ogden for $79 and it has made all the difference.  It is a pretty slick rig.

I went out on my normal walk out willow tree.  It was a peaceful night.  I saw ducks, geese, pelicans and even a muskrat swam right underneath me, completely oblivious that I was right above him.  After learning how to aim without using my sights, I took this carp on my second shot.

It was a lunker.  It felt like I was reeling in a log.  It really put up a good fight!

I shot it from about 10 yards away and my arrow went clean through its belly.  One or the raccoons to enjoy!

Bear River Bow Fishing

I have found a new adventure- bow fishing!  The other day while I was looking for a place to do a set line I found a nice eddy on the Bear River that has two walk out trees and plenty of carp.  I purchased a reel, line and arrow from Cajun Archery and it worked awesome!  However, I would recommend the actual fishing reel vs. the spool for faster retrieval.  I was a little rusty on the bow- I hadn't used it since I last went elk hunting two years ago.  Tips from a buddy- Matt B. made it even more exciting.  He shot 2 and I lost 2 arrows.  Obviously I'm a novice and need some practice, but I enjoyed it and plan on doing a lot more with it.  Look for future postings of me actually shooting something and not losing money.

 

Even the smallest of streams...

Justin Harding of Utah Pro Fly Fishing and I spent a couple of hours one evening fishing the small stream that comes out of Smithfield canyon.  To our surprise the stream holds and produces rainbow trout.  While the size of the trout we caught were not the biggest there have been reports of up to 12 inches.  It would be recommended to fish with a 2 weight rod if one were going to try to fly fish this stream.  The easiest access is below and above the dam just east of Mack Park.  A couple of my friends have fished it all the way up the canyon and said that they have caught dozens of fish.  Keep in mind that the stream is very over-grown in most places.  One of my friends even used an ice fishing pole to access it better.