Went up to Little Dell today with the intensions of finally catching a Brookie. Tried the inlet for a while to see if I could hook a stacking spawner. Ended up catching cutthroat after cutthroat. At one point I felt a big snag and new it was a good fish…then the line took off and the fight was on! A few minutes later I got the 17.5 inch brute in and he spilled his breakfast all over the shore. This moment was one of oppurtunity. Due to the strict catch and release regs I finally got to see what they are eating! There were leeches as well as 3 inch brown backed, white belly minnows…No wonder my “bad to the bone” Strike King Red Eye Shad works so well! After a total of 9 fish I went back to my priority of catching a brookie. Took off up Mountain Dell Creek in search of them. Stumbled up on a large beaver dam and in the 1st cast with a silver blade, black/grey boddied Roostertail produced an interesting Cutthroat Trout. Insted of the red slash it had a yellow slash! Lost the lure on the next cast so I switched to a Gold Blue Fox in size 0. Caught a dink cutthroat trout and lost a few more. Moved up the pond and got a nice 10 inch Cutthroat Trout that inhaled the tiny spinner. After coming to terms that there would likely be no Brookies today I moved back down to the reservoir. Caught 3 more cutthroats and had to call it a day. In total I caught 15 Cutthroat Trout and 0 Brookies.
Maybe no one on this forum will notice the deep throat Treble hook on the Catch and Release Cutts, at least tell us you picked up the bottle floating in the river.
Never a good thing for the fish to get a hook that far in if you’re planning on releasing it but it happens sometimes. Thats one nice thing about tossing flies, doesn’t happen all that frequently and when it does its easy to clip off a fly that cost me 20 cents to tie up instead of a 5$ lure.
As his twin go up Parley’s Canyon and take the East Canyon exit. It is super close to SLC and outstanding fishing right now! Now is the time to hit it. It has been consistant for the 2 of us for over a month now.
Nice catch. If your going to be releasing those fish you really should put barbless single hooks on your lures. I don’t know about you but it kind of makes me sick when I have to release fish (because of regs) that I know won’t live. And please, don’t kid yourself, those fish with barbed trebs all the way down their throats died. If you can keep them at little dell then I apologize. I don’t know the regs for that water. I keep my fare share of fish and love to eat them. Once again great catch. I’m jelous.
Brownieguy I must say I respect the way you presented yourself. In this case the 2 of us are not fly guys…yet that is! Don’t take this the wrong way at all.
Don’t get the wrong impression about us. We cut off deeply hooked fish (when we release) when there is an eagle claw hook with bait. That is a tiny loss for us. Now a lure like spinners and such, no way in hell we are going to cut that off. Besides I doubt a fish can really deal with that big of hardware in it’s guts and gills.
Fishing is a predatory act whether we want it to be or not. There are casualties. Now the darwin’s survival of the fittest can be put to the test. The cycle of life carries on and now there is more habitat and resources for other cutty’s and brookies to grow bigger.
Maybe no one on this forum will notice the deep throat Treble hook on the Catch and Release Cutts, at least tell us you picked up the bottle floating in the river.
Ha Ha…they noticed the deep throat treble…and for the record I did pick up the bottle…it now rests in a garbage can.
Nice catch. If your going to be releasing those fish you really should put barbless single hooks on your lures. I don’t know about you but it kind of makes me sick when I have to release fish (because of regs) that I know won’t live. And please, don’t kid yourself, those fish with barbed trebs all the way down their throats died. If you can keep them at little dell then I apologize. I don’t know the regs for that water. I keep my fare share of fish and love to eat them. Once again great catch. I’m jelous.
Fishjon
I had a friendly chat with a DWR worker today at Little Dell today while I was fishing about single barbless hooks and here is what he had to say. He said, “treble hooks are allowed here at Little Dell, this argument that folks are telling you singles only is not valid. We aware that anglers choose to use trebles and that is up to them as an angler”.
It is illegal to keep a cutthroat trout from Little Dell as well as Mountain Dell Creek…however trebles are just fine. That lake contains 200,000 cutthroat trout…I guess the count stands at 199,999 now. Wish I coulda ate him…however he was not bleeding and swam off just fine…maybe next time I will take a frame by frame sequence of the release…but then I will have someone on here complain that I handled the fish too long. Trust me it was just a light push down and the hook came right out.
Maybe no one on this forum will notice the deep throat Treble hook on the Catch and Release Cutts, at least tell us you picked up the bottle floating in the river.
Ha Ha…they noticed the deep throat treble…and for the record I did pick up the bottle…it now rests in a garbage can.
Gotta say - the gals got keen eyes!
Garbage can? What no recycle bin?
Thoughts: Maybe not hold him up BY the deeply hooked treble for the photo. Glad it came out easy - know it makes a difference WHAT the hook sank into (gill, toungue, throat).
I’ve now pulled TWO barbs out of fingers this year, so I know what it feels like.
If you have a good hook cutter you can snip the hook, or better - even just the barb off the treble - and save the spinner. I agree - all that hardware hanging out of ones mouth - I really don’t know how all our young generation manages with all those piercings! And in SOME of the places they choose…
Hooks can be replaced on a lure.
I’ve mixed and matched in my spinner craft - some have single hooks, some trebles. Alot of the success in ahookup may depend on the angle of the hookset. I know I’ve yanked lures away from plenty of willing fish!
Looks like the fall action is still on. Nice pix, nice post.
Is Little Dell protected cuz its so close to SLC? Or because they are Cutthroats? (Native?)
The Bonneville Cutthoat Trout (BCT) were petitioned to be listed as a threatened or endangered species (or subspecies) several times in the past couple decades. If it was listed it would have had tremendous impact on where and how anglers could fish in many places. Utah and some surrounding states have spent millions to keep this from happening. Those BCT in Little Dell and other waters are expensive fish overall. So when DWR requires (someone replied previously as if I wrote these regs[:P]) immediate release of all BCT in Little Dell it is to improve survival and keep cost down. Most of us will go beyond the legal requirements knowing this program which has been successful comes with a huge price to Utah. Dollars spent here aren’t available for other fishing interests.
I doubt DWR making some visits and recent posts that they where certainly aware of is a coincidence. Where did you get that 200,000 number of BCT? Seems like a lot for a couple hundred acre reservoir. I was blown away recently hearing their are something like 15 million stripers in Lake Powell. However Lake Powell has something like 7 trillion gallons of water and Little Dell holds on the order of one thousandth that amount at full pool.
Where did you get that 200,000 number of BCT? pool.
Wow river dog cry me a river! Then put some salt water fish in it. If that trout that died yesterday costs so much send me a bill then.
Cutthroat Trout live over 7 years. If you check the stocking website around 70,000 Cutts are stocked every 2 years. At 200 feet deep the place is swarming with cutthroat trout.
Looks like the fall action is still on. Nice pix, nice post.
Is Little Dell protected cuz its so close to SLC? Or because they are Cutthroats? (Native?)
Yep the action is still on at Little Dell. Little Dell is driking water for SLC (so no swiming and no motors) and the cutts are protected due to the fact that the DWR uses their milk and eggs for the hatcherys. It is much like Red Butte Reservoir except anglers are allowed to fish it.
Thanks catcherman for seeing the good in the post…some people wish to only highlight the bad. Fish near the inlet on the east side for the best action on the lake.
Thanks catcherman for seeing the good in the post…some people wish to only highlight the bad. Fish near the inlet on the east side for the best action on the lake.
Only when it is obvious and uncalled for.
I do feel you two love to stir it up too. You posted this on another forum and got several responses to the Treble being deep. So, you felt the need to post it here as well and not leave anything out…
There’s a big difference between a DWR worker and a DWR biologist.
Yep there sure is…looks like you were smart enough to catch that.
I imagine that when you two grow up and stop patting yourselves on the back, you’ll may be able to take some criticism, and learn it’s not about the numbers, or showing off how many fish you can bring in. It’s called stewardship. Look it up.
I could care less how many fish you two can catch, and it’s not about you helping others by posting your inane reports and pictures ( like you claim)but it’s about bragging. Good for you guys. You can catch fish at LD. So what.
Now don’t stop posting, I have to get my daily chuckle.