Today I got into Flaming Gorge – wasn’t too long of a drive from where I was camping. I stopped off at the dam and went to the visitors center here – not much going there really.
I went up towards Dutch John which is a small town near the reservoir Stopped by the fly shop to get some advice on where to fish in the area. Got some bad news though. They were releasing water from the reservoir and fishing the river was not going to be possible.
It was a little disappointing because the river is supposed to be one of the best spots to fish in the entire country. But all good really – I can still fish the reservoir.
I went up the road to this little cove and walked a while along the ridge and found a decent spot for fly fishing. I didn’t catch anything but there wasn’t much to catch as far as I could see. I was there for a few hours and saw only a handful of fish feeding at the surface.
I went up the road and fished there too but still nothing. I didn’t see many people catching much. I gave up after a few hours and I took a nude swim once I was done. The water was super cold!
I camped at Antelope Flats which was even further north up the road. Really great campsite and there was really no one there. It was just me and another family and the campsite probably had 80 or so plots.
Woke up in the morning and fished near the campground. I was seeing way more fish in the morning and I learned a few more techniques as far as fixing my rod with weights and bait.
I was able to catch two trout – my first two trout of the trip (if you don’t count the two small ones I caught with the help of Craig in Red Feather Lakes). The second one I caught was actually quite large. I would say a little over a foot and over four pounds. I was pretty pleased with myself.
I headed back towards the dam and went a little further to the Red Canyon area. This part of the gorge has the reddest rocks and this is where the area gets its name from. I did a hike around the rim of the canyon. It wasn’t challenging – just a few miles and it was rather flat. Great views though.
Afterward, I headed towards the west side of the lake and did some fishing but didn’t catch anything. I lost the last lure that I had which was kind of shit because I had gotten a fish to bite while I was there. I have to practice tying the clinch knot so that my hooks and lures are more secure.
I found a little campsite just in the bay on the west side of the lake and it was free. I was quite happy with it. As the sun was setting the colors of the canyon walls became clearer and I could see the different layers of rock which was pretty cool.