Fishers of Men: Keep the Lower Lights Burning

Ancient Light House

  A long time ago, noted preacher Dwight Moody told his congregation a story about a boat, helplessly rocking and plunging on a stormy, starless night near the Cleveland harbor. The mariners on board could see the lighthouse, but they needed to find their way through the narrow passage in the treacherous rocks that surrounded the harbor. Normally a light on the shore, aligned with the lighthouse, marked the passage to safety. But on this night, the lower lights had gone out.
Finally, the desperate captain decided they had no choice but to proceed into the harbor without the guidance of the lower lights. “With a strong hand and brave heart”—but in almost total darkness—“the old pilot turned the wheel.” Tragically, he missed the channel, crashed the boat upon the rocks, and lost the lives of his sailors.
Moody then explained the lesson to be learned from his story: the Master will take care of the great lighthouse, but He depends on us to keep the lower lights burning. Philip Paul Bliss was directing the singing at the meeting that night and was so inspired by Moody’s story that he wrote what would become one of his most popular hymns, “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy.” He also composed the music, a hymn tune known as “Lower Lights,” which was first published in 1871.
The storms of life put many around us in peril. They may long to approach the light of “our Father’s mercy” but are unsure how to navigate the obstacles in their way. We all know how they feel, because each of us has been lost at sea from time to time.
Most often, God uses us to rescue them. If we can keep the light of faith burning in our hearts, if we align our light with the Light above, we can guide an exhausted mariner safely home. We can be the lower lights that “send a gleam across the wave. Some poor fainting, struggling seaman [we] may rescue, [we] may save.”
-Lloyd D. Newell

Courtesy of Music and the Spoken Word

Check out this performance of the song Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy.

Casting Jigs in a Lake or River

Several years ago, a friend of mine told me that he wanted to show me how to catch fish in a way that he was sure I had never tried before. When I asked him to tell me exactly what he was talking about, his reply was that I would have to go with him to find out what he meant.

I was eager for him to pick me up the following weekend, and the minute I hopped into his truck, I asked him what we were going to be fishing with that was so top secret, he couldn't have told me about it earlier.

“Jigs,” he said. “We are going to be fishing with 4 inch long tube jigs.”

I laughed!

At this point in my life, I had done quite a bit of fishing and tried many different lures, flies and baits. I was quite certain that big jigs like that were reserved for lake trout fishing, and there was no way that a trout in a river was going to bite something that big and unwieldy. Besides that, jigs are for ice fishing. A fisherman drops the jig down the hole and jerks the pole up and down every once in a while hoping that  fish will come by and bite.

This, I soon found out, was not the case. Fishing jigs in a river or in a lake is much like fishing a lure or spoon with long casts and slow retrieves. There is lots of casting, lots of work, and lots of action.

We launched the drift boat and walked over to fish the hole directly below the dam before we set off down the river. My buddy took the first cast with a big ugly white jig and instantly hooked into a fish. Several minutes later, I helped him land a chunky 24 inch rainbow. I didn't need any more convincing. I tied on a jig and caught several nice fish that day. I spent that rest of that spring learning how to fish with jigs.

Since that time, I have caught trout on jigs in all kinds of lakes, ponds, and rivers. If there are fish in the water, a good bet is that a jig will catch them.

Since that first trip, I have also used all sorts of jigs: rubber tubes, bucktails, maribou, and all sorts of combinations of the three. Fishing jigs can still be sketchy. There are days when the fish just won't bite anything. However, more often than not, if the fish are going to bite, a jig will hook up more fish than any other bait.

-Jeremy Kaiser 

Nice Browns in Porcupine Reservoir!

I went to college at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.  I admit that I was just a little nerdy and studied too much as I worked to achieve a dual major in Biology and Public Health.  However, I still had my priorities to keep the insane stress of school in check... I fished whenever I could! We fished all over the Cache Valley from the Logan River to the Blacksmith Fork to Newton Res.  One of my favorites was Porcupine Reservoir. On this particular day we hit it just as the ice was thick enough to walk on. Slightly scary, yes, but worth the risk!   Don't tell my wife but we had to jump over a few feet of open water along the edges to get to where we wanted to fish.  I know... I know... I am a safety professional and I take some chances on the ice now and again. However, I make sure I take the proper precautions while I'm out there.

This day was just perfect: clear skies, fresh snow, strong clear ice, and good company.  I was fishing with Cody Anderson who is usually pretty busy pouring concrete with Cadillac Concrete in Cache Valley but now and again I convince him to bust out his fishing gear.  We fished near the dam in about 20 feet of water with small green and black jigs right off the bottom. We caught these two fish great fish.  The thinner of the two was actually 21 inches long and the heavier fish was 24 inches.  Strong, feisty fish that put up a good fight! 

Fishers of Men: Attributes Obtained Through Fishing

"To go fishing is the chance to wash one's soul with pure air, with the rush of the brook, or with the shimmer of sun on blue water. It brings meekness and inspiration from the decency of nature, charity towards tackle-makers, patience toward fish, a mockery of profits and egos, a quieting of hate, a rejoicing that you do not have to decide a darned thing until next week. And it is discipline in the equality of men-for all men are equal before fish."   

Herbert Hoover

" Perspective is a perishable commodity. Fishing restores perspective. when we escape to the solitude of quiet waters, the day's fleeting troubles seem to evaporate into the mist; in the presence of nature, spiritual order is restored."

Criswell Freeman

Bow Fishin' for Carp!

I hate carp in so many ways but then again they can be so awesome!  I have several fishing buddies who fly fish for carp and they think it's the bomb. I know others who love to get out their ultralite spinning gear with 4 lbs test line and hook into carp during the spawn.  Me, I just like to snag them with heavier gear and get a good fight out of them! Or I’ll break out the bow from its winter hibernation and rig up the bow fishing gear.  We mostly ‘hunt’ carp in the summer months at Flaming Gorge Reservoir but we will also spend some time in the Blacks Fork Rive stalking the river banks.  When carp spawn they gather in numbers and it is not uncommon to see over 50 carp in a single cove or nestled into the shallows with their backs sticking out of the water.   

If you camp along the reservoir you can hear them splashing around all night.

Bow fishing is a little trickier than you might imagine.  Of course you want to get as close as possible and shoot them when they are within a few feet of the surface. Early in the season you can jump in your boat and slowly motor around and get close enough for a shot. Later on you might have to transition into stealth mode and often get in the water and move slowly into spawning areas.    
 When light hits the water it gets refracted and changes its direction of travel. This causes the fish to appear that they are in one spot but in reality they will be a few inches (or feet) from where you think they are.  The depth changes all that as well and it magnifies the effect. Get out to the lake and give carp fishing a shot!

Big Brook Trout in the Uinta Mountains

Brookies generally don’t get all that big in the Uinta Mountains or in most mountain waterways.  Now and again you stumble into an area that where you start off by catching a few small brook trout and then… Whammo! You rip into the lips of a trophy brookie that takes you for a ride! This lake is definitely one of those areas where, on the right day, you can catch a lot of good cutthroats and brookies and now and again hook into one that goes into the 4-5 pound range.  Brookies have always been one of my favorites to fish for.  Generally, they are much more aggressive than other trout, will hit almost anything you throw at them, and put up a strong fight.  Pound for pound they are among the strongest of the trout and char varieties and among the tastiest as well. 

Island Lake is nestled just beneath the rocky peaks of the western Uinta Mountains. It’s not a very popular destination and it requires a good amount of hiking on less than well-traveled rocky trails.  The hike isn’t terribly aggressive in terms of vertical ascent but it is a solid six or seven mile jaunt.  The trail is poorly marked and dead fall occasionally blocks it all together. A few areas will test your scouting skills and may present difficulties in choosing the right path to follow.  I’ve hiked in and out of this lake in a single day with a few hours of fishing in between. If you plan on the same trip you better be prepared for a full day and have flashlights with you just in case you fish longer than planned and end up hiking a few miles in the dark.

The trail usually is muddy and even into late June and July you can run into a few deep snow drifts. Good water proof hiking boots are a must. Horses will certainly do well on this trail but be aware of the bogs and swampy areas where elevated platforms have been built up for hikers.

Flies work well on this lake and so do gold and black panther martins, red and white Daredevils, the frog patterned Daredevils, and gold, hammered brass Krocodiles. Don’t be afraid to let your spoons sink to the bottom and jig them back slowly. Often the large brookies will follow your gear in right to shore and strike just a few feet away. In doing so you will occasionally snag into sunken logs and hook up on rocks but the risk is worth the reward...

Jealousy and Sibling Rivalry

Tony and Tom Redmon

This is a hole Tony and I fished in just a few days before...

There is only one thing that distracts me more at work than knowing my two little brothers and my dad are fishing. That is having them send text messages to me all day and knowing they are catching lots of big fish! Not to mention that they borrowed two of my rods and my fish finder...

The phrase "the early bird catches the worm" doesn't mean a thing to these three.

Tony Redmon

This bunch of fisherman is the kind to sleep in, take their time, and refuse to fish all day.  Usually I criticize that kind of behavior but now and again they prove all my theories dead wrong.  This morning, to their credit, they actually did get up somewhat early but they got caught in a white out blizzard. When they arrived at the lake they were unable to find the holes Tony and I fished in just two days before due to the poor visibility and not to mention we didn't mark the spot with a GPS.  After wondering around for quite sometime, the sun finally broke through long enough for them to find the holes.

As soon as they got their jigs to the bottom they started laying into the fish.  Within a short time they had a double hook up.  A short time after that, they hooked up another double!  My youngest brother, Taylor didn't even have much time to fish as he was running back and forth between Tony and Dad helping them land fish.  All in all they had a great day with catching around 10 fish. A few were over the 20 lb range and a couple dipped into the 30's. Man I wish I could have been there!   

Tom Redmon

 The following day I actually took the day off work and went with Dad back out to this same area.  To see what we caught that day click here... it was one of the best days of fishing at Flaming Gorge I have ever had... I would say that for all the jealousy I felt while they were fishing, that day made it all better.

Taylor Redmon

Fishers of Men: Wilford Woodruff: The First Fly Fisherman West of the Continental Divide

Wilford Woodruff

To me, stories of the struggles and hardships of the Mormon Pioneers are always inspiring, heartbreaking, and captivating. Those of us who live in the Western United States share the legacy of their courage and faith, no matter our direct lineage or religious affiliation.  In one way or another we are beneficiaries of the blessings that resulted from their sacrifice and labor.  I know what you are thinking, “How does this relate to fishing?” 

I was raised in the Bridger Valley in Southwest Wyoming, an area rich in historical significance as pertaining to the old west. Among other things, Fort Bridger was a vital resupply point for handcart companies and wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trails. In 1847, a man named Wilford Woodruff, a Mormon Pioneer, recorded in his journals accounts of fishing throughout the trek including fly fishing on the Blacks Fork of the Green River.  The house that I was raised in is literally just above the flood plain of the Blacks Fork River.  I have spent countless hours fishing and swimming in that river.  I can recall multiple occasions of catching large brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout just a few miles downstream of Fort Bridger. How I wish I could have fished next to Wilford back in those days!

The following is an excerpt from a wonderful article which documents the deep connection that Wilford Woodruff had to the art of angling.  He is honored here for his dedication and his mark on western fishing as we know it today. I must note that there is so much more to this great man than fishing. He left his mark on the world as a powerful missionary, teacher, and as a prophet of God.

Enjoy! To read the entire article click here.

bamboo rod

"Fortunately, Western annals leave a stronger clue and point directly to a Utahn--no less a figure than Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a totally committed angler. Woodruff made the trek west as a member of the LDS Council of Twelve Apostles and traveled in the vanguard of pioneer Mormons to reach and settle the Great Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. He also was one of the most diligent and important diarists among the Mormons, keeping note of everything he did for more than a half-century. And when he fulfilled a church mission to England in 1841, he brought back a fly rod and an assortment of artificial flies.

Because of his fondness for angling, he became a sort of clearing house for matters piscatorial. Woodruff always remembered to inquire of trappers and traders on the prairie where the best fishing was. And when someone had some luck, they passed the word to Woodruff.
 ..........
Bridger's trading post of crude log houses on Blacks Fork of the Green River was a place emigrants could stay a day or so to rest and feed their livestock, repair wagons and generally gird for the final push to the Great Salt Lake Valley or points west. And here Woodruff made his mark. In his own words, and colorful spelling: "As soon as I got my breakfast, I rigged up my trout rod that I had brought with me from Liverpool, fixed my reel, line & artificial fly & went to one of the brooks close by Camp to try my luck catching trout."
Fresh meat: "The men at the fort said there were but very few trout in the streams. And a good many of the brethren were already at the creeks with their Rods & lines trying their skill baiting with fresh meat and grasshoppers, but no one seemed to ketch anything.
I went & flung my fly onto the [water]. And it being the first time I ever tried the Artificial fly in America, or ever saw it tried, I watched as it floated upon the water with as much intense interest As Franklin did his kite when he tried to draw lightning from the skies. And as Franklin received great joy when he saw electricity or lightning descend on his kite string in like manner was I highly gratified when I saw the nimble trout dart [at] my fly, hook himself & run away with the line, but I soon worried him out & drew him to shore. I fished two or three hours including morning & evening & I cought twelve in all. And abought one half of them would weigh about--3/4 of a pound each while all the rest of the camp did not ketch during the day 3 lbs of trout in all, which was proof positive to me that the Artificial fly is far the best thing now known to fish [for] trout with."
Wilford Woodruff went on to fish the Bear River (not with an artificial fly, however) on horseback in the middle of the stream, casting baited hooks into eddies. Like anglers of today, he discovered that fish are fickle. "Some of the time I would fish half an hour & could not start a fish. Then I would find an eddy with 3 or 4 trout in it & they would jump at the hooks as though there was a bushel of trout in the hole. And in one instance I caught two at a time.""