04-11-2003, 07:28 PM
[cool]I have lived (off and on) and fished in Utah since the early sixties. From the mid 70's to the mid 80's, I was actively involved in bringing float tubing to most of the waters in Utah. I'd be willing to bet that I was the first donut dunker on many of them.
Big browns at night, on jigs...or otherwise? Deer Creek and Starvation. I suspect that Starvation is not what it used to be for the brownies, what with the stunted smallies and walleyes eating up all those tasty chubs. I keep in touch enough to know that there are still some good ones in there. Big browns are not easily removed from any habitat.
As long as there are any other fish to eat, in Deer Creek, there will be big browns. Biggest I ever landed out of Deer Creek was a little over 10 pounds. However, I have lost a couple that were almost double that. All my bigger fish were hooked after dark or just before daybreak. If the water is clear and cold, the browns will cruise near the bank. When it gets warmer, and there is a lot of boating traffic, they tend to stay deeper, with only occasional trips to the shallows.
I used to fish the Gorge, back in the days of the twenty pound plus browns and Ray Johnson. Scored one 23 1/2 on a big trolled Rapala just before dawn on a late February morning that was absolutely miserably cold. It was the only hit we had in three days of fishing...but I warmed up in a hurry when that rod went bendo. Again, the chubs are gone and the browns are fewer and smaller these days.
One of my favorite ways to fish Deer Creek after dark was with a bubble and fly, from my float tube. The evening breezes would die down at dusk and I would launch up past the buoy line near the dam. I understand the parking area on the north side is closed now. I also used to do the same by hiking up the tracks from the resort area in Midway, and launching from the rocks there. After dark, I chucked out a water-filled bubble, with about 5 feet of leader behind the swivel (to stop the bubble). I used big flies...no smaller than size 4, and up to about 2/0. Big black streamers and wooly buggers were my preferred offerings. They show up better against the sky for trout that look upward for their evening snacks. One of my best patterns was a wooly bugger with a claret red body and black hackle and tail. The red and black combo has long been a favorite for night fishing for both bass and trout. Walleyes like it too.
On one pre-daybreak launch, I got a heavy hit on my first cast, just after I began kicking away from the bank. I had cast downshore, parallel to the bank. The bubble splashed down in the dark, I waited a few seconds to start reeling and before I even turned the handle something grabbed the big black bugger and headed off up the shoreline. I had been expecting the customary 16" to 20" rainbows, so the power took me by surprise and my reel drag sang.
An hour later, it was getting light and I was still attached to the big fish. I never did see it, but a couple of other guys who had walked up the tracks could see it clearly when it circled near the surface. They said it looked like a salmon...at least 20 pounds. A couple of minutes later, the leader finally had enough stress, and abuse by the fish's teeth, and we parted company.
Most of the bigger browns I have landed on Deer Creek have come from either around the island or near the Provo River inlet area, below the bridge. Depending on the time of year and boat traffic, you can often find small groups of browns foraging on young perch or other fry. Rapalas are a good choice of lures then. And don't just "match the hatch". One of my best colors for big browns...wherever they are found...is the bright orange CD-7 Rapala. And, I have fished the larger sizes to good effect too. That was the lure I had and lost my other BIG Deer Creek brown on.
In early September, around the opening of deer season, I hit the water on the south side of the Island, for some of the big perch I had been finding with regularity. I brought only a couple of light 7' rods, not thinking of anything more than maybe a stray walleye at daybreak. I had one of the rods rigged with one of the orange Rapalas. In the pale dawn, I saw a large swirl next to shore. Not knowing what it might be, I grabbed the Rapala and sailed it near the spot of the disturbance. Two cranks of the reel handle and I was hooked up to a big brown. Unlike most big browns, it leaped clear of the water and threw the lure back at me just like a largemouth. It took awhile for my pulse rate to return to normal. That one was also more than 15 pounds. How much more depends on how gullible I consider the recipient of my story to be.
In both Deer Creek and Starvation, I have nailed some hefty browns by spooning in deeper water...mostly during the day. I first developed and used my "famous" perch urchin spoons on Deer Creek, back in the eighties and they have accounted for some biggies.
They will hit a wide variety of jigs, however. A good color is a smoke sparkle plastic, to which you add either black vertical bars and a back line...or use green. These simulate either perch young or crawdads...depending on where and how you fish them. I used to catch a lot of 3 and 4# browns in fairly shallow water, after the perch had spawned and the fry were hiding in the stickups and weeds during high water of late spring. I fished small tube jigs for the big perch that were cannibalizing their young, and the browns would be in there too. Quite a surprise to hook a feisty brown when you were expecting a porky perch.
Well, that's a lot of drivel. But, if you wanna PM me here on BFT, I'll be happy to address any specific questions you might have.
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Big browns at night, on jigs...or otherwise? Deer Creek and Starvation. I suspect that Starvation is not what it used to be for the brownies, what with the stunted smallies and walleyes eating up all those tasty chubs. I keep in touch enough to know that there are still some good ones in there. Big browns are not easily removed from any habitat.
As long as there are any other fish to eat, in Deer Creek, there will be big browns. Biggest I ever landed out of Deer Creek was a little over 10 pounds. However, I have lost a couple that were almost double that. All my bigger fish were hooked after dark or just before daybreak. If the water is clear and cold, the browns will cruise near the bank. When it gets warmer, and there is a lot of boating traffic, they tend to stay deeper, with only occasional trips to the shallows.
I used to fish the Gorge, back in the days of the twenty pound plus browns and Ray Johnson. Scored one 23 1/2 on a big trolled Rapala just before dawn on a late February morning that was absolutely miserably cold. It was the only hit we had in three days of fishing...but I warmed up in a hurry when that rod went bendo. Again, the chubs are gone and the browns are fewer and smaller these days.
One of my favorite ways to fish Deer Creek after dark was with a bubble and fly, from my float tube. The evening breezes would die down at dusk and I would launch up past the buoy line near the dam. I understand the parking area on the north side is closed now. I also used to do the same by hiking up the tracks from the resort area in Midway, and launching from the rocks there. After dark, I chucked out a water-filled bubble, with about 5 feet of leader behind the swivel (to stop the bubble). I used big flies...no smaller than size 4, and up to about 2/0. Big black streamers and wooly buggers were my preferred offerings. They show up better against the sky for trout that look upward for their evening snacks. One of my best patterns was a wooly bugger with a claret red body and black hackle and tail. The red and black combo has long been a favorite for night fishing for both bass and trout. Walleyes like it too.
On one pre-daybreak launch, I got a heavy hit on my first cast, just after I began kicking away from the bank. I had cast downshore, parallel to the bank. The bubble splashed down in the dark, I waited a few seconds to start reeling and before I even turned the handle something grabbed the big black bugger and headed off up the shoreline. I had been expecting the customary 16" to 20" rainbows, so the power took me by surprise and my reel drag sang.
An hour later, it was getting light and I was still attached to the big fish. I never did see it, but a couple of other guys who had walked up the tracks could see it clearly when it circled near the surface. They said it looked like a salmon...at least 20 pounds. A couple of minutes later, the leader finally had enough stress, and abuse by the fish's teeth, and we parted company.
Most of the bigger browns I have landed on Deer Creek have come from either around the island or near the Provo River inlet area, below the bridge. Depending on the time of year and boat traffic, you can often find small groups of browns foraging on young perch or other fry. Rapalas are a good choice of lures then. And don't just "match the hatch". One of my best colors for big browns...wherever they are found...is the bright orange CD-7 Rapala. And, I have fished the larger sizes to good effect too. That was the lure I had and lost my other BIG Deer Creek brown on.
In early September, around the opening of deer season, I hit the water on the south side of the Island, for some of the big perch I had been finding with regularity. I brought only a couple of light 7' rods, not thinking of anything more than maybe a stray walleye at daybreak. I had one of the rods rigged with one of the orange Rapalas. In the pale dawn, I saw a large swirl next to shore. Not knowing what it might be, I grabbed the Rapala and sailed it near the spot of the disturbance. Two cranks of the reel handle and I was hooked up to a big brown. Unlike most big browns, it leaped clear of the water and threw the lure back at me just like a largemouth. It took awhile for my pulse rate to return to normal. That one was also more than 15 pounds. How much more depends on how gullible I consider the recipient of my story to be.
In both Deer Creek and Starvation, I have nailed some hefty browns by spooning in deeper water...mostly during the day. I first developed and used my "famous" perch urchin spoons on Deer Creek, back in the eighties and they have accounted for some biggies.
They will hit a wide variety of jigs, however. A good color is a smoke sparkle plastic, to which you add either black vertical bars and a back line...or use green. These simulate either perch young or crawdads...depending on where and how you fish them. I used to catch a lot of 3 and 4# browns in fairly shallow water, after the perch had spawned and the fry were hiding in the stickups and weeds during high water of late spring. I fished small tube jigs for the big perch that were cannibalizing their young, and the browns would be in there too. Quite a surprise to hook a feisty brown when you were expecting a porky perch.
Well, that's a lot of drivel. But, if you wanna PM me here on BFT, I'll be happy to address any specific questions you might have.
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