CarpQuest – S1E29 – Utah 2013 Carp Fishing – Bear Lake – Part 4

Highlights from my last afternoon session fishing Bear Lake, in Utah.

It was great to away vacation with my wife. It was also good that I managed to get in two good day sessions on the shores of this stunning venue. The weather had been remarkable the the late time of year. Most of the locals in the town had packed it up for the year, some of the shops were closed, I had the whole beach and shore usually to myself !

The last few hours of the session rolled on by, the carp bite slowed down and my tactics of bigger baits = bigger fish did not seem to be going so well. I finally had a real screamer of a run, snapping the rod tip around. I knew i’d hooked into something good, line was ripped off the reel and finally the run stopped. I gingerly reeled the capture in, wading out maybe 20 yards with my net, ready to land the beast !

The fish was but 10 feet or so away, I could see her through the clear water, a nice, slender, mirror carp, no baby, this girl was pushing plus 30″ and was a good high double, who knows, maybe more ! blood pumping, she came closer to the net and into the shallows, over a sand bar. Then “POP”, the hook pulled, and she was gone!

I was gutted to say the least. I watched her swim away back into the depths of Bear Lake and trudged back to the shore.

Sometimes, fishing is just NOT easy!

I banked another few small mirrors before the session was over, 6’1, 3’8 and 3’2 lbs. It was good to get more fish i the net, and to be fair, each fish was scale perfect, stunning. I can only imagine what they would be like in a decade or so.

Overall the sessions at Bear Lake had been good, I had banked a lot of great looking mirror carp, and hooked into a good one. The shallow water at the margins had wreaked havoc on getting the fish in and certainly had cost me a great capture!

I’d love to return to this venue again in the future to see what other secrets and beasts lurk down there. Perhaps next time I will find a spot that’s easier to bank the fish from and is the hangout for the big ones!

If you looking for mirror carp though, you cannot do better that Bear Lake!

Tight-Lines,
John
CarpQuest