Personally I would start by ditching Deer Creek for Strawberry cutts or Jordanelle browns. Fish with tube jigs tipped with bait (chub or crawler), gulp minnows, spoons, or jerkbaits ( rapala - husky jerk, countdown, or x rap). Your worm and mallow isn’t a terrible choice either. I’ve got some solid browns and cutts on that bait.
It seems that tube jigs are also a good weapon to add to my arsenal. I am going to have to learn those bad boys. I go to Strawberry once in a great while and Jordanelle never, but I always do well at Deer Creek. I just had to learn the reservoir. It’s a great argument between my brother and I - He being a great lover of Strawberry and me not so much. The way I see it, why bother when I usually do just as well at Deer Creek. Of course, your mileage my vary and I thank you for taking the time to answer my question. Happy fishing Mr. scartinez!
I might not be an old timer yet (1962) but been around a little bit roasterx. If you’re looking for big trout IMO, put away the pooh bait. Most larger trout are almost exclusively piscivorous. Think large minnow type offerings, foul weather, and nocturnal. That will get you started. FYI, if you use minnows in Utah, check the proclamation…they need to be dead and there are multiple restrictions depending on locale. Good luck.
Piscivorous - Exclusively eating fish.
I thank you for your response, this seems to be the consensus - big fish eat little fish. I will definitely be checking in the legalities of minnows, but I am looking forward to learning how to fish with them.
Drive at least 2 hours away from the valley, the harder to get there the fewer people fish it. Think a back pack and hiking. Jigs, streamers, and plastics are all I ever fish. Big fish are in shallow looking for food for the first 1 hour of light and the last 1 hour of light. Big baits at the shorelines when no one on the water will help you in your quest for big fish. My biggest was in Yellowstone a lake you had to hike to I got there right as sun was coming up no one on the water landed a 8lb cut my best fish last year. Good luck in your quest, the more time on the water in those conditions the better your chances.
I thank you for your response. I do see the light. I am going after a different type of fish now and I’ll have to get used to getting skunked. I good with all that. It also sounds like inclement weather may be my friend. It also seem that, like hunting, the further off the beaten path I can be, the better.
My 2c, FWIW would be to ditch the snoopy pole, push button reel, and powerbait.
As said - fish big or go home. Bigger baits, better presentation. But fish are opportunistic to, as they say match the hatch. Big trout will eat a lot of little flies. Sometimes they’ll get so zoned on a certain hatch, they see nothing else.
But as suggested some big fish give up their buggly ways, and go on carnivorous rampages. But not just fish, frogs, hoppers, mice, birds, etc. Some big-ass browns are caught at night by thumping a big ol’ mouse pattern against a cut-bank.
Never really caught if you bank tangling, or floating. But floating definitely offers more opportunity to cover water and access areas not possible from shore.
Also as suggested - go where the big fish are. You want big tugs, I’d even suggest moving on from the slimers. Musky, Wipers, Catfish and Carp will give you a bigger run for your money. You wanna go REALLY big - head after Stripers, or Lake Trout. Beyond that there’s deep sea fishing, Alaska, even Idaho salmon runs.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most is not limiting myself to one water, but exploring different targets in different locations. A 5lb Channel will get your blood pumping, and 10 lber might give you a stroke! The thrill of a toothy Tiger Musky on the line will set you on fire. Trout are wimps. Carp can withstand almost any extreme!
roaster - I’m not a big trout fan, so I can’t give you any suggestions that come even close to being as valuable as what you have gotten from TD or others.
I only have ONE small request: Whatever you fish from be it tube, float, boat, or old log. If you put it in Deer Creek, then plan to take it elsewhere, PLEASE do a good drain and dry or professional decon. Lets try and limit the quaggas and zebras to where they already are or may be, and not spread them. I’m sure you agree with that, and probably already do all those things. Good luck in your Big Fish search… [fishin]