(Adam) Thanks for tuning into KSL Outdoors, I’m Adam Eakle. Tonight we have a really fun show for you, we are up in Wyoming at Flaming Gorge Reservoir where the bass fisherman here have asked the Utah DWR and the Wyoming DWR to join them in a friendly fishing competition. They say it’s friendly but I’m not too sure I believe them.
(Bubba O’Neil, Evanston Bass angler) pick one chip, tell everybody what it is. (ryan) seven red.
(Dave Richter, Wyoming Bass Nation) it will be run like a regular tournament. We are going to pair each of those guys with one of our guys, kind of a pro/amateur type deal.
(dave Richter) We’ve also got a friendly competition between the two states to see who seems to be the better bass fisherman.
(Rob Keith, Wyo Game & Fish Fisheries Biologist) instead of doing money for an entry fee we decided a lure would be the best way to go. (adam) what’s your lure you are giving away. (adam) there’s corn in there! (rob) that’s Ryan, he donates corn instead of a lure.
(Ryan Mosley, UT D.W.R. Flaming Gorge Project leader) Adam it’s way to early in the morning for you to ask questions, I’ve got to get prepared! (laughs)
(Craig Amadio, Wyo Game & Fish Fisheries Biologist) There’s definitely bragging rights on the line.
(Trina Hedrick, UT D.W.R. Regional Aquatics Manager) No, there is not friendly in fishing is there. (laughs)
(Dave Richter, Event Organizer) We want to show them what is happening on the lake. These burbot have really impacted the smallmouth fishing here. The fish are bigger than they’ve ever been, but there is no small fish on this end of the lake. We think the burbot are eating those things up.
(Mark Fowden, Wyo Game & Fish, chief of Fisheries) They have some opinions, some ideas on how we should be managing their fisheries. That’s why I’m out here. It makes me a lot more approachable, we are out here on the water, it’s not a meeting room, conference room, this is where we do business.
(Fish splash and net fish) (adam) finally ate. (tory) took us awhile to make him mad but he finally decided to take a bite out of that dropshot.
(Adam) nice little fat fish. (tory Thomas) pretty little Flaming Gorge smallmouth. (fish release) (adam) but not big enough huh? (tory) not big enough. (laughs)
(Adam) don’t blow this mosely. (net fish) Oh that’s a nice fish. (larry) there is some good ones on here. I just saw a big fish right back there.
(Adam) that will work. first thing this morning. How’s it been then? (taylor) pretty good we’ve got a trout too.
(Adam) Oh he got off, he got off, pulled my pants down and laughed at me, look at that. That’s embarrassing.
At the dock, everyone seems to be catching some fish, but the Wyoming biologists did seem to be catching a bit more and a bit bigger.
(Adam) tell me you caught a fish. (Miles Hanberg, UT DWR Regional Habitat Manager) I caught three. (adam) any good ones? (miles) a couple of pretty good ones, about 3.5 pounds.
(adam and Tory Thomas, Wyoming bass angler) (adam) that’s the big one, look at that. That’s a really good fish here at Flaming Gorge? (tory) it’s a pretty good one. Probably 4 pounds.
(Adam) is that your biggest smallmouth out of Wyoming? Out of Flaming Gorge? (ryan) no. (adam) well now, don’t count nets. (ryan) well then of course. (laugh)
(Bubba O’Neil, Evanston, Wyo Angler) Lee come up first. You’re up first Lee.
At the weigh in.
the scale confirmed.
that Wyoming biologists are a little better at targeting bass than Utah biologists.
(Tory holding up fish) there you go, that’s a nice limit of fish. That’s a good bag.
The biggest bag of fish went to Wyoming biologist, Rob Keith. His five fish weighed in at 12.64 pounds. Utah’s average was nearly two pounds lighter than their counterparts in Wyoming.
(applause) (dave) now this is a traveling trophy, you only get to keep it for a year. (rob) it’s not going to travel, it’s going to stay in Wyoming.
So, Wyoming kicked Utah’s bass but Utah still got a second place trophy, to remind them to come stronger next year. The rivalry is just getting started.
(Trina Hedricks) We gracefully take second. (laughs)
(Rob) how many pounds was Ryan’s fish. (rob) 8.78. 12.64 man, (ryan) I didn’t get skunked, you got skunked for kokanee. You manage kokanee. (rob) i’ll see you next year.
(Trina Hedrick) you and I can’t prove it but he always cheats. Cheaters never win Rob. (rob Keith) I did today. (laughs) (adam) that’s right but hey there is always next year, Utah has a chance to redeem themselves. We’ll have more on KSL Outdoors, here from Flaming Gorge in a moment, but first tonights Burt Brothers Quiz Question.
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(Adam) Welcome back to KSL Outdoors, back here at Flaming Gorge, I’m Adam Eakle. Everybody knows the phenomenal lake trout and even the kokanee fishery we have here at Flaming Gorge and there is some great guide services to get you out on the lake and catching those. But, did you know there is actually a guide service that does fly fishing on the reservoir? I didn’t until today.
(Captain Mike Sergeant, Flaming Gorge Fishing Co.com) I’ve been here 27 years and I started guiding here on the river when the first wave of guides started guiding here.
Meet Mike Sergeant, a veteran fly fishing guide that has been searching for fish of all species for most of his life. Mike can be found fishing for a multitude of species in San Diego Bay or on the famous musky and smallmouth rivers in Wisconsin, but every summer he’s back at where his guiding career started, Flaming Gorge.
(mike) ok, all that I have is just a little. (adam) Oh there he is. (hit) there his is, I’m not even ready. Ok, first cast.
Mike specializes in fly fishing, this year, he says, the canyon reach at Flaming Gorge and the Green River below the gorge, is seeing a huge cicada hatch. Mike guides anglers to rainbows that are feeding on the cicadas that drop from the trees and the Smallmouth that are shallow and in spawning mode.
(Mike) They are really aggressive and they attack anything that comes near the beds, mostly crayfish, they worry about the crayfish coming in and stealing the eggs. There is all kinds of other stuff, little bait fish come in and steal them. (hit) there he is. Oh I missed him.
Mike is using cicada patterns and this popper called a buggle bug.
(Mike) it moves really well on the water, you don’t even have to move it on the water and it’s just jiggling. that’s what is really nice about it.
(Mike) so I’m just throwing it out over the shallow water.
(Mike) and what I’m doing is stripping it, tight little strips to make it pop and then I let it sit and the little rubber legs waddle around a little bit and the fish loves that.
(fish hits) there he is.
(Mike) little guy, but they all fight good.
(Adam) They think they are the baddest fish in the reservoir, don’t they? (mike) they really do, and even a little guy like that, the popper is just, I mean he’s almost smaller than the popper that he ate. (laughs)
(fish release) it’s kind of a numbers game, we’ll get a lot of little ones and we’ll catch a few big ones in between as we are going.
(fish hit and miss) there he is. (mike) oh come on.
(fish hit) there he is! (mike) oh I blew that one. He snuck up on me.
(Mike) there should be something there. (fish hit) oh that was beautiful, that’s a bigger fish.
(Mike) once the summer kicks in, the bass will spread out and be on every little drop off. you’ll be able to go just about anywhere and stop the boat and catch fish.
(Mike) and the best part is there is nobody fishing it. I very rarely see anybody fishing what I’m doing.
(Mike) and it’s none stop action that’s the best part and the thing is, it’s like pulling the jackpot on every cast. I mean sometimes you hit it and you get that bolt of electric charge through your body almost. (laughs) and it’s addictive, it’s totally addictive.
(MIke) there he is. (adam) that was a good hit too. (mike) nice eat.
(mike) My website is michaelsergeant.com. You can read about me and what I do and I do a lot of carp fishing after the carp get active in the summer, we’ve got miles and miles of sandy bottom flats that I fish for carp and they are huge. (adam) we’ll come up and do it sir, lot of fun, carp on the fly. I can’t wait. (mike) it’s fun. (adam) Hey let’s head back to SL now to the guys at Fish Tech with some more fishing for tonights fishing report.
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(Adam) Welcome back to KSL Outdoors and welcome to Cedar City, Utah where the Utah Summer Games are in full swing. Thirty seven sports and thousands of participants have all converged on Cedar City to participate in the games and the trap shoot is kicking the games off with a bang.
(Frank McNabb, Pres. Cedar City Trap Club) We shoot four different games. The one we are shooting right now, we are starting with wobbles.
(Frank) you don’t know if it’s going to be way in the grass or up in the sky.
(Frank) we’ll shoot doubles.
(Frank) tomorrow we’ll shoot what’s called singles.
(Frank) the last one is what’s called handicapped.
(Frank) we do it by age.
(Frank) The younger folks get a little closer, like at 18 yards and some of us older guys get to shoot back at 22.
Being a bit younger helps, especially in a sport that requires good eye to hand coordination.
Jim started his son Clint shooting trap when he was just three.
(Adam) when did he start beating you? (Jim Hosey, La Verkin, Utah) about three or four. (laughs)
(Clint Hosey, Virgin, Utah) oh its great, just getting better, getting good at it. Never perfect, always working on it.
The Utah Summer Games is a festival for athletes of all ages and abilities. In trap, the girls compete right along side the boys and do quite well.
last year Cami took home three golds, two silvers and was the high overall female. This year she’s looking to repeat.
(adam) what’s it like competing against men? (cami) it doesn’t bother me, it’s fun. (adam) kind of fun to sit them down? (cami) yeah it fun.
For the past 27 years, the Utah Summer Games has had an average of 9,600 participants, 50 thousand spectators, and 1,000 volunteers in attendance each year. Add all that together and you have one of the premier sporting events in Utah.
(Casey McClellan, Ex. Dir. Utah Summer Games) Definitely a huge impact on our local economy. It’s a great opportunity for the people of Utah to come and compete with their rivals, their friends, their family in the sport we love.
(Adam) Everything from cycling to bass fishing you name it right? (Casey McClellan, Ex. Dir. Ut Summer Games, ) absolutely archery to to wrestling, everything in between and you and I are going to partner up and get a medal. (adam) there you go, sounds good.
(Tag) the Utah Summer Games runs through the end of the month, so if you are passing through Cedar City, stop on in and support the competitors or how about better yet get a team or a gun and get out here and get out here yourself and compete. Time now to dive into tonights Utah Field Guide.
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