Utah fishing opener

hossblur

hossblur

Long Time Member
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Driving out on the desert for dogs and bunnies, I was reminiscing about fishing season opener.(yes flatbrimmers, it was a thing. ) Maybe 3rd only to deer opener and pheasant opener?

But I couldn't remember when fishing closed, end of year?

We fished Town Reservoir up 12 mile on the Manti. Mud slide in the 80's ruined that place. How about you guys?
 
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I remember it well. As a kid we would fish the Blacksmith River. I believe the opener was always Memorial Day weekend, but I could wrong. I cannot remember when it would close for the season.

The one opening day I do remember was fishing Left Hand Fork. It was a small river and we were up really early to fish and the fishing was great. Some guys that were camping nearby decided to sleep in I guess, and showed up late. I guess they thought they would have the spot to themselves. They were fishing right next to us and were not happy. I remember my dad catching a nice fish and one of the guys hurrying over to fish the exact spot my dad was fishing.

Seems like it was really cold and my dad having to help me put salmon eggs on my hook ha ha….. I would guess that this would have been late 70’s, maybe 80 or 81?….

Great memories!
 
woodruffhunter said:
I remember it well. As a kid we would fish the Blacksmith River. I believe the opener was always Memorial Day weekend, but I could wrong. I cannot remember when it would close for the season.

The one opening day I do remember was fishing Left Hand Fork. It was a small river and we were up really early to fish and the fishing was great. Some guys that were camping nearby decided to sleep in I guess, and showed up late. I guess they thought they would have the spot to themselves. They were fishing right next to us and were not happy. I remember my dad catching a nice fish and one of the guys hurrying over to fish the exact spot my dad was fishing.

Seems like it was really cold and my dad having to help me put salmon eggs on my hook ha ha….. I would guess that this would have been late 70’s, maybe 80 or 81?….

Great memories!
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Fish it a lot it was crazy back then at the old dam
 
Opening morning on minersville reservoir used to the ticket for me. Looked forward to it every year just like the opening of the deer hunt. Good times for sure
 
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Closing Day was Nov 30th for trout lakes.
I actually miss Strawberry being closed for the winter.
Like EA said, big Bows and lots of them for the summer.
 
Yep remember it well myself. Always fished nine mile reservoir by Sterling every opener with my dad and both of my grandfather's from Sanpete county. Great memories made there.
 
Ya. They keep draining it every year now. Boy it use to have great feed and grow some fat good fish. Haven't fished it or Palisades for 20 years now. Use to fish them several dozen times a year with dad and my grandpa's. Also a lot of the small lakes dotted across the skyline. Spent a lot of week vacation at Joe's Valley and Fearon reservoir when growing up.
 
Most People Don't Have A Clue!

But The Brook Trout We Pulled Out Of Strawberry Was Un-Believable!

You Had To Know Where & When To Fish For Them!

The Old Strain Of CutThroat Had three times The Fight To Them As What They Have In There Now!

I Still Remember When They Poisoned That STANKIN SUMBITCH As Well!
 
Most times it was the south fork of the Ogden but I remember the Weber, Blacksmith fork and the Logan also. I think the Blacksmith was my dads favorite river until they paved the road. LOL
 
Strawberry for sure,Had a cabin at Clarks camp by mud creek
I also remember the opening of Archery deer,You could hunt all across the state,Then I think rifle deer was next,Then Elk,Then muzzleloader,No draws one deer a year and one elk.You could also hunt sage grouse at strawberry with a small game license.
Back. in the good old days!!
 
It was Strawberry for us. Old wooden boat that you had to bail out the water until the wood swelled up and sealed. We always trolled early in the morning then still fished after that. I always thought it was cool everybody would hang their fish on the sides of their cabins to dry. Good memories for sure!
 
Old 70's van, pulling single axle, 16' trailer. 3 of us on the top bunk. 18" to the ceiling.

Sometime the "suck", is the memory
 
rmanwill said:
Ya. They keep draining it every year now. Boy it use to have great feed and grow some fat good fish. Haven't fished it or Palisades for 20 years now. Use to fish them several dozen times a year with dad and my grandpa's. Also a lot of the small lakes dotted across the skyline. Spent a lot of week vacation at Joe's Valley and Fearon reservoir when growing up.
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We try to hit Yearns as soon as snowbanks disappear
 
I remember being very young and going with my dad to strawberry reservoir for fishing opener. The marina was jam packed, and it was a circus, but we caught lots of fish and had a great time.

Hawkeye
 
As Much As I Liked Strawberry Back Then It Was A Mess!

Lil Beav Is Way To Young To Know What Strawberry Once Was!
 
Anyone remember the old bills cafe out on the highway 40 junction.

They made the best cheese burger ever,I remember the punch boards, you would punch a rolled paper through the board and hopefully get a price behind the counter.
Good days
 
bucks said:
Anyone remember the old bills cafe out on the highway 40 junction.

They made the best cheese burger ever,I remember the punch boards, you would punch a rolled paper through the board and hopefully get a price behind the counter.
Good days
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Wow. Punchboards!!! Now my boys have to listen to more stories.

Totally forgot a punchboard????
 
hossblur said:
Wow. Punchboards!!! Now my boys have to listen to more stories.

Totally forgot a punchboard????
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Punchboards, wow, what a memory.

There were punchboards in the first Golf Proshop in Roosevelt. Remember them well.

Bessy, here's one for you. Do you remember who owned the marina before Paul and "Lil Beav"? Frank Madsen?

Fishing opening day, pretty cool.
 
I do Remember the Madsen & The Clark Camps!

It Got Perty Trashy at times!

I Also remember 4 to 6 Pound Bows Were Common!

Robin_Hood said:
Punchboards, wow, what a memory.

There were punchboards in the first Golf Proshop in Roosevelt. Remember them well.

Bessy, here's one for you. Do you remember who owned the marina before Paul and "Lil Beav"? Frank Madsen?

Fishing opening day, pretty cool.
Click to expand...
 
elkassassin said:
I do Remember the Madsen & The Clark Camps!

It Got Perty Trashy at times!

I Also remember 4 to 6 Pound Bows Were Common!
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That's many moons ago.

I only went to the marina a couple times when Frank "Sr" owned it.

I do remember Dr.Madsen very well. Many family vacations and he hunted with my dad many, many times.
 
There Was A Hippy Type a Guy That Worked At Clarks Camp!

I Guess You Could Say He Didn't Appreciate A Good Sounding Set Of Glass-Packs at 3:30 AM!:D
 
I Had To Laugh about 12 years ago at Strawberry!

I Use To Stop At The Stairs Every time I Went Buy & Look & See What a Guy Could See!

Just above the Stair there was a Nice Pool Of Fish!

Right Below 2 Teenager Kids Swimming Around Dinking Around!

The Swam Up to Where I Was At & Asked If I Thought There Was Any Fish In The Lake?

So I Told Them To Climb Up Where I Was & Jump In & Try & Catch One Of These Fish!

It Wasn't Easy For Them!

Finally The One Kid Lucked Out & Got A Good Hold On One Of The Fish!

He Was Pumped!

I'm Taking Him Home He Said!

Then He Asks Me What I Would Do?

I said:

Turn around!

Look in to That Camera!

Kiss The Fish!

And Put Him Back In The Water!

That Really a F'N Camera He Yells?

Kinda Funny!
 
Lots of electricity in the ground the night before…. Ford fenders coming out and cans of corn!
 
bucks said:
Anyone remember the old bills cafe out on the highway 40 junction.

They made the best cheese burger ever,I remember the punch boards, you would punch a rolled paper through the board and hopefully get a price behind the counter.
Good days
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Dad punched two 25 cent punches on a board in Ephraim and won the grand prize - Sport-King 22 pistol. They wanted to buy it back, due to the board not being worth much. Dad kept it and I still have it today. Best 50 cents ever spent. ?
 
Itching to get the boat on Fish lake ! Everyone one is talking like June with our weather. But no we are seeing open water already !
8BBCDC3D-B79B-4E77-8DEA-55FB4FDD1A94.png
You may not be able to get a car in the parking lot. ??
 
Provo River every opening! (we fished it at least once per week until dove season.... then hunting took over our time)

It was one of those events that the kids nowadays will not experience.

Glorious times with my dad.

Wow Mr. Hoss, thanks for the flash-back and the wonderful flood of memories!!!!!!! :)

Zeke
 
My brother and I were talking about this the other day reminiscing about our old man. Strawberry was our go to, but I still remember the day they opened Jordanelle to fishing, like it was yesterday. We were one of the thousands lined up on HW40 trying to get in. We almost left, glad we didn't. We caught so many fish that day. We actually started pulling old lures out of our grandpa's tackle box that hadn't caught a fish in decades and sure enough we still caught them. A great memory.

How about the smell of an old 2-stroke 9.9 Merc? I used to love that smell.

I had forgotten how exciting it was to wet the grass before the sun went down and grab the flashlight after watching MASH and go and fill the coffee can full of worms. There was a science to grabbing a worm and pulling with just the right tension so you wouldn't break him in half. It was usually a contest between my brother, dad and I. I wish my lawn had nightcrawlers. My kids never got to experience this. I've failed as a dad! Good memories, great post!
 
Hey fstop!

I Wasn't In Line At Jordanelle But I Seen The Line You Were In A Couple Of Times!

JFP!

I've Never Seen That Many Boats & Watercraft On Any Lake if Figured Per By Square Mile Of Water!

The Poor Bastages Trying To Fish Were Engulfed With People Playin On/In The Water!

I Also Remember It was Just A Short Time Later When They Put a CAP On The Number Of Boats/Watercraft They'd Let On The Lake!

And Yes The Line Was Clear out On Highway 40!
 
Thank you @hossblur for bringing back such good memories. We would either go to Minersville, Echo or Scofield for the opener. Depended on how many days we were staying. My father would also have me go to the back yard with a flashlight and tap on a stake he had in the ground, then dig for worms. He claimed tapping on the stake would cause the worms to come to the surface, something about imitating rain. Not sure if it was true or if he just liked watching me tap on a stake at 9:00 pm, while he had his Gin and Tonic.
 
Great memories!
I am 55 this year and go through a lot of worms.
I am lucky to have them in my yard and think nothing of catching a few dozen a few nights before I go fishing.
A few years ago my daughter and son in law were living in my basement while their house was being built.
I was out in my backyard catching nighties when unbeknownst to me my son and law had come up the the kitchen and seen a ‘stranger’ sneaking around the backyard with a small flashlight.
He is a big dude and came charging out at me with a chunk of 2x4 from my garage.
Scared the crap out of me and him!
 
I Told You Letting Them Move In To The Basement Was A Bad Idea!:D

MrShane said:
Great memories!
I am 55 this year and go through a lot of worms.
I am lucky to have them in my yard and think nothing of catching a few dozen a few nights before I go fishing.
A few years ago my daughter and son in law were living in my basement while their house was being built.
I was out in my backyard catching nighties when unbeknownst to me my son and law had come up the the kitchen and seen a ‘stranger’ sneaking around the backyard with a small flashlight.
He is a big dude and came charging out at me with a chunk of 2x4 from my garage.
Scared the crap out of me and him!
Click to expand...
 
fstop said:
My brother and I were talking about this the other day reminiscing about our old man. Strawberry was our go to, but I still remember the day they opened Jordanelle to fishing, like it was yesterday. We were one of the thousands lined up on HW40 trying to get in. We almost left, glad we didn't. We caught so many fish that day. We actually started pulling old lures out of our grandpa's tackle box that hadn't caught a fish in decades and sure enough we still caught them. A great memory.

How about the smell of an old 2-stroke 9.9 Merc? I used to love that smell.

I had forgotten how exciting it was to wet the grass before the sun went down and grab the flashlight after watching MASH and go and fill the coffee can full of worms. There was a science to grabbing a worm and pulling with just the right tension so you wouldn't break him in half. It was usually a contest between my brother, dad and I. I wish my lawn had nightcrawlers. My kids never got to experience this. I've failed as a dad! Good memories, great post!
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I was there as well fstop!

I had not been married long and convince my wife to go down with me to fish. We got in line and spent a good part of the night sitting in my 1985 Jimmy! I had a little 12' aluminum boat and a 9.9 Johnson motor, that fortunately ran.

Everytime our line would hit the water we would catch a fish. Most were regular sized rainbows but my wife did catch a really nice brown. After catching so many fish, we were trying about all of our lures to see if they would not bite on something. It seems like it did slow down a bit when I put on a large flat fish.

I remember going to the cleaning station and taking care of my fish. An old guy commented how nice the brown was that my wife had caught. I just agreed and didn't say say much more. My wife kind of chewed me out for not letting him know that she had caught it!

That was my one and only time I ever fished Jordanelle.
 
Sold worms as a kid $1 a dozen. Would go out after the watering with a flashlight in my mouth (no headlamps) and would an ice-cream bucket full of nightcrawlers. Nasty slimy lump, had a metal tub buried in the ground filled with peat moss and covered with wet newspaper we kept them in. Sold a lot of worms each summer.

There is an old cemetery in Southern Utah that had the name of the cemetery on one side on the other it said "Night Crawlers .75 a dozen". Thought that was pretty funny an old spooky cemetery probably had a few nightcrawlers after the sun went down.
 
Absolutely one of the best posts in here in a long time! This thread has my head on memory lane! Everything from selling night crawlers to the fishing opener being better than Christmas as a kid, and of course all of it made possible by my dad taking all the boys out for the event every year! Sure miss him! Thanks all for this thread, extremely cool!
 
Bigwiffy said:
Sold worms as a kid $1 a dozen. Would go out after the watering with a flashlight in my mouth (no headlamps) and would an ice-cream bucket full of nightcrawlers. Nasty slimy lump, had a metal tub buried in the ground filled with peat moss and covered with wet newspaper we kept them in. Sold a lot of worms each summer.

There is an old cemetery in Southern Utah that had the name of the cemetery on one side on the other it said "Night Crawlers .75 a dozen". Thought that was pretty funny an old spooky cemetery probably had a few nightcrawlers after the sun went down.
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Went out with my brother and a cousin when his dad was watering the pasture. We caught 110 dozen and decided it was time to quit. We stocked the crawler bin on the north side of the cabin. Top soil peat moss and coffee grounds kept them lively for the summer. Great memories! Thanks
 
hossblur said:
Driving out on the desert for dogs and bunnies, I was reminiscing about fishing season opener.(yes flatbrimmers, it was a thing. ) Maybe 3rd only to deer opener and pheasant opener?

But I couldn't remember when fishing closed, end of year?

We fished Town Reservoir up 12 mile on the Manti. Mud slide in the 80's ruined that place. How about you guys?
Click to expand...
Opening day was a madhouse. When they went year round fishing it was the best thing ever.
 
Yeah and back before it went to year round, there was probably less than half of todays population in the state.
Can you even imagine what a fishing opener would be like now?
 
Yes, it was great when they went to the year round fishing.

What I remember best is that it introduced us to ice fishing in Utah. I remember going to Hyrum lake when they first started fishing it. There was a guy fishing, probably close to 80 years old fishing at the bottom end of the lake. I had never seen anyone ice fish before and shortly after I was down on the lake fishing as much as I could.

No ice auger, used an ax :).
 
I remember going down to Johnson Res. With my friends on an opener. We floated around on an old military raft and slayed some fish. Fun times!
 
woodruffhunter said:
Hey woodruff!
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They've got KALI Approved Ice Augers Now!


woodruffhunter said:
Yes, it was great when they went to the year round fishing.

What I remember best is that it introduced us to ice fishing in Utah. I remember going to Hyrum lake when they first started fishing it. There was a guy fishing, probably close to 80 years old fishing at the bottom end of the lake. I had never seen anyone ice fish before and shortly after I was down on the lake fishing as much as I could.

No ice auger, used an ax :).
Click to expand...
 
woodruffhunter said:
Yes, it was great when they went to the year round fishing.

What I remember best is that it introduced us to ice fishing in Utah. I remember going to Hyrum lake when they first started fishing it. There was a guy fishing, probably close to 80 years old fishing at the bottom end of the lake. I had never seen anyone ice fish before and shortly after I was down on the lake fishing as much as I could.

No ice auger, used an ax :).
Click to expand...
I have fished Hyrum for over 40 years
 

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