Fishing Willard Bay Utah

Today I headed out to a place called Willard Bay. This particular body of water is part of the Great Salt Lake but is fresh water because of man made structures around it. This makes Willard Bay a prime recreation area and all around it is a state park. this means fees people. For the spot I went to it was just 3 dollars for the day, other areas are 10 dollars a day. My intent today was to catch some catfish. I was a bit ill prepared but I went out with a spinning rig and a pack of hot dogs. The last time I was here I used chicken liver. The chicken liver yielded much better results. I arrived at the lake at about 5 pm and left at 8:30pm. If I hadn't had a prior appointment I would have stayed later the fish where just starting to role and not small fish mind you. I left the area with no fish and no bites, I was disappointed. my fishing parter says he had gotten a few bites but the area was dead for the hot dog fishing. The good news is just getting outside makes it worth while to me.

To get to Willard Bay get on I-15 and take exit 357 once at the light head West. On the West side of the interstate you will see a dirt road heading off to the North West and a paved road to the East. Take the road going North West there is a fee collector on the left side of the road for you to fill out your information and pay the three dollars. I would suggest paying the fee during my time there, there had been 4 sheriffs in the area. If you don't pay it's at your own risk.

This place is great just for a quick escape for me as it is one of the closer places to where I live. I hope you have better luck than I did, I will try again in a couple days and will post the new information if any should arise.

Antelope Island

This past weekend some of my extended family and I took a trip to Antelope Island Utah. If you are from you area I'm sure you know what this place is. The island is a great place to take families for day hikes and to see some things that can't really be seen anywhere else in the country with out exerting your self to much, however you you can choose to do some of the many trails on the island if that is more your style. The island is located right in the middle of the Great Salt Lake so you if you live or are staying anywhere from Sandy to Ogden this is a must see place.

To reach Antelope Island head towards Layton on I-15 and exit at Antelope drive. once off the Interstate turn west and stay on this road. You will come a cross a tole booth. The island is a state park so it does cost to enter the park. The fee isn't to much its 9 dollars for a car load of people per day. More information about the fees can be found at http://www.utah.com/stateparks/antelope_island.htm.

As for things to do you can choose to go camping on the island. It is a little pricey for my taste for the style of camping you are doing. there is a marina for a boat if you wish you boat on the lake. Be careful with boating, remember that the water is salty, very salty and could damage your boat if you don't take the appropriate precautions. The lake is not that deep and it veries a lot depending on weather. There is a visitor center on the island with some historic information, talking about the lake, how it was formed, and the unique smell you get to experience there. there is also two gift shops on the island for the nick nack inclined and small resteraunt that you can eat bisan burgers. On the sothern end of the island there is the GARR Ranch. On the island you can rent horses to ride on the trails and see all the places that you can't see from the road or you can adverture on foot or Bycikle. Getting off the beaten track is the best way to see the wildlife, wich include bisan, antelope and many other animals that are more common.

I would also highly recomend people take a moment to stop and the Ranger Air Force memorial on the island. It is the first turn off on the island. This memorial is to remember the brave Army Rangers and Air Force indiviuals that died in a terrable helicopter accident on the lake during a training exersize.

For pictures it would best suit you to get off the road and hike the trails to see tha animals and a telephoto linse is a must. Many of the animals are used to people being around but to get the good canded wildlife shots keep your distance and utalise a telephoto linse. There are several other things to get pictures of but the island is mostly deserty terain. I found that othere than wildlife you are most likely going to get a few good macro shots. You can also get some interesting pictures of people floating in the salt lake for the more people/creative photographers.

Waterfall Canyon

This weekend I braved the weather and headed up to waterfall canyon. You might jump to the conclusion that there is a waterfall at the end.... and you would be correct. This hike is a personal favorite in the Ogden Utah area. Its not to difficult of a hike so its perfect for the novice and families with kids of all ages. the waterfall at the end is one of the bigger in the region at 200ft. The trail is also accessible year around. In the winter months, where you have to get off the Bonneville shoreline trail and head east up the mountain you find that it is a little tough to navigate because of snow. However in the winter the falls freezes but is well worth the extra effort.

To get to this trail head all you have to do is go into downtown Ogden and get on 29th street. Fallow 29th street east, you will come to a point where you have to go around a school but that is no problem just goto the next street on either side and go around. At the end of 29th street you will be at the base of the Wasatch front mountains and to the right is the trail head with a parking lot. there is information boards there that will show you the different trails around the area, however waterfall canyon is not shown on the board. I would recommend looking at a forest service map to find out where to turn on the trails or go with someone that has done it before. If you brave it your self with out doing the research like I did the first time, you have a pretty good chance of not finding the right trail.

Once you get to the falls there are good pictures to be taken of the falls. You can get pretty good pictures with a standard point at shoot camera. However if you want to get some more impressive pictures I would suggest a decent digital SLR and what ever lense of your choice as long as its not a big time telephoto linse. If you arrive at mid day I would probably use a polarizer to get the most color. It is best to take a tripod and goto the settings where you have manual control for your shutter spead. Leave your apacher to auto if you can at set your shutter spead to 1/5 or slower so you get the soft angelly affect of the waterfall. There are many other ways to take the picture but if I told you everything it wouldnt be that much fun now would it? So have fun with it.