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Show The Salt Lake Tribune OUTDOORS Tuesday. June 20, 2000 Fishing the La Sals: Cool Dessert in the Desert BY SKIP KNOWLES BEAR THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Whatdo you do the next time the perennial Utah summer camp- trip to Moabis unnecessary. The snow-capped La Sals seem to hang in theair east ofMoab,like a big dripping ice cream conejust they are delicious. the dryness, the suns rays physi- cally hurt your skin. The air you breath feels like your headis held undera pillow andheat takes on a bright, stabbing quality. But there are the La Sals, just sitting there like dessert in the desert. Cool, green, breezy and full offish thatlive in clear, sparkling cold water. To Moabites, they are the escape hatch from summer's suffocating heat. “The thing thatit offers is 20-degree cooler temperatures than Moab in the summer,” said Meg Russo of Moab Adventure Outdoors. “For us, that’s major, major.It's so hot here, people go up there fishing just to cooloff.” They are Utah’s pocket-size mini-mountain range, a crumb thatfell off the Colorado Rockies and plopped like a chunk ofspilled rocky road on the desert east of town. A small, approachable mountain range,friendly and fathomable, they lack the aura of end- lessness that definestherest of the Rockies. Thefish and the lakes here are the same way — small and approachable.A stone can be skipped across the biggest lakes in the range, and the largesttrout barely nudgea foot. But aggressive stocking of catchable-size rainbows by the state makes fishing here almost as sure a thing as escaping the and use somestinky bait and dough aregood). near theroad. It was easyto leave the crowds by hoofing it a few hundred feet through the trees to steeper terrain, and small planter rainbowsfought to commit suicide on a small brown weighted Woolly Buggerfly. Fish also hit a 1-inch silver flutter spoon, but it was the fly that outfished surrounding bait fishers at least 10 to one, right through the heatof the day. Thatis actually fairly typical of fishing there, said Jim Gunderson at Fish Tech in Salt Lake. The fish in the La Sals seem to preferflies overbait all summer long,but that hardlylimits the fishery. A fly cast using conventional tackle behind a clearplastic float is deadly, particularlyif the fly is weighted to sink a few feet below the surface. Clark Lakeis up above Oowah, a mile hike, and holds brook trout and rainbows. Oowah offers the most entertainment, however. A the sun comesoff the water. Warner,to the north,has large campsite in the evergreens but is not so fisher friendly. Only one side is approachable without wading reeds and mud,and of course the fish can be seen mostactively feeding on the side that cannot be walked. A trip here May 29 turned upa few fish in the midday sun, but Oowah held the heavieraction. Oowahbrought oohs and aaahhhs from the dozens of anglers, crying babies and yapping dogs that lined the shore on the side HIGH irrigation they are not stocked, and turn to work well on hing remains good. Shore rs fishing for rainbows con tinue to have some success using worms and a marshmallow or the browns. Pa a bubble with smaller wet flies such as Woolly Buggers, leeches and Woolly Worms insize 8 and inches. smaller. Also try nym phs such as . and a'camera. “T've seen two bears down there and if you spend sometime look- ing, you have good oddsof seeing bears,turkeys,tonsofdeer andlots ofelk,” Gundersonsaid. At Don’s Lake, there is a big openhill directly to the west that receives evening shade. Deer and elk feed out into the open at dusk, and there is some technical terrain. Fishers down onthelake are and can be observed while you are hooking small trout in the lake often treated to squealing brakes and loud swearing come from the trees. It helps pass the time. below. Spinfishers should cast a fly and ling limi RAWBERRY RESERVOIR there is potential for trout to 15 Fly fishers should bringterrestrial patterns such as grasshoppers lakes. alor id reservoir. where the state diverted Mill Creek. Where the creek spills in is the best place to fish. Worms the lakes to catch fish for dinner. The streams havea few cutthroat or brooktroutin them. Thefish are small and do notoffer a lot of room to maneuver, but down lower, Bf 2-hr. periods of peak activity & Week's besttimes 2 Mirror Lake Highway) are open ater anc ‘e been stocked. The Ken’s Lake is 13 miles south of town. It is an out of the La Sals and is behind Mount Peale, and Blue Lake and other small high alpine lakesall holdfish. Wise anglerswill practice catch andrelease in the streams because RE VATION LAKES AIL of the trout. mountain biketrail passes the lake evenings. Griffith's. Gnats, single Renegades (size 16 and smaller) and black andredants workwell. ELLE RESERVOIR to good success reported variety ofbaits and lures. Power: bait fromshoreor troll jopgear and wormare best bets for trout UTAH LAK Good success. reported\by several anglers for the channel ¢atfish by using shrimp, FLAMING GORGE Warner Lake has the nicest VOIR campsites and restrooms, but state and national forest land for disperse campingis everywhere. Even the desert se s summer for rainbowtrout fromshore. MOUNTAIN Access is now possible again this week from both shore anglers and boat anglers using a worms orStinkbaits as well\as Adams patterns. | ounce Based on slater able by Miami Herald sports writer Jim Martenhoft ee Knight Ridder Tribune} RESER- Excellent’ smallmouth bass fishing using fish colored grubs andcrankbaits: Good action s on the mountain. Water are low. Little Reservoir has ago. 1.stocked more than a month most higher lakes were stocked this week. Fair fishing at most spots. KOLOB RESERVOIR The reservoir is now accessible from the Cedar Mountainsideas well as fromthe south. Good fishing for rainbow andcutthroat from 10 to 17. inches withafew upto 24 inches. DivisionofWildlife Resources rain, so-don’t plan on sleeping in the open. Afternoon thunderstorms are commonin late sum mer as cloudsroll up off Powell “and they can wallop you,” Gundersonsaid. GOFISH Salt Lake Tribune Outdoors Writer Skip Knowlestells you where. Gunderson came here to hunt years ago, and comesbackfor the fishingasoften as the wildlife. up out of the middleofthe desert,” feeding trout every evening when Another hot spot down low is Ken's Lake, a res ervoir outside Moab stocked with brown ‘Skip Knowles/The Salt Lake Tribune Pretty Warner Lake has a large campsite in the evergreens, but the best fishingin the lakeis not easy to access. “Desert is all around you and here is this place that just shoots beauties surrounded by evergreens, and both are dimpled with ing well PINEVIEW Good fishingfor crappi Creek and middle inlet area daily tiger muskie limit is one fish over 40 inches. Minimumba is 15 inches. The perch and limit at Pineviewis 20 of * (nighterawlers, shrimp most popular lakes, closest to the Moabside and less than an hour and other crankbaits Go where 191 crosses over desert heat. Oowah and Warnerare the two from downtown. Both are shocking side of the lake around First Point area. Trolling in 25 to 35feet of wa ter near the bottomis pre the best results. Rape FESTIVAL 2000 burninggrill of slickrock desert, wondering whythetires on your mountain bike are not melting. Your lips and nose crack from and somelaketrout, alongthe east right down to the bridge out of reach as you stand on the Warmer throat fishing. Anglers have reported excellent catches of cutts. Staying in town? Try fishing the Colorado River at night when the desert cools. Thecatch is predominantly catfish, under10 inches long, but ing debate rears its ugly head? You punt. Choosing between a camping trip to the mountains or a-desert , LAKE weather has turned on th @ SomeLike It Hot he said. “You have really high peaks, super steep abovetree line and it’s really diverse,” he said. “Asfaras in as just 10 miles you go from lowland sage to ponderosa pine and_ scrub oak, quaky patches. .it's unique terrain, with lots of overlooks to survey the countryside.” Andit’s cool. “T've never had a problem with mosquitoes up there, and in August you are lookingfor a jacket in the evening,”he said. Dons Lake, Oowah and Warner lakes, and Hidden Lake were all stocked in May, and should pro- vide good action all month. Don’s Lake is on Don's Lake Road to the north. Dark Canyon Lake comes 7TH ANNUAL ART ATTACK 5K FUN RUN June 24, 2000 AT & HAPPY 60TH ANNIVERSARY TO BOTH LEW & MARGE. 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