Utah's Pangiutch Lake

 I cannot start this blog without giving a big shoutout and thank you to fellow Youtuber, John Brown. John was kind enough to invite us to do some ice-fishing with him up in Utah. As a South African, we hardly ever see snow; so, it is a completely foreign idea to have an entire lake freeze over. And yet, it almost seems normal in many states here in the USA. This is why we had to travel from the Vegas valley a couple hours high up into the mountains to find Panguitch Lake.

Even as a passenger in the vehicle, it can be hard to take in all the surrounding scenery on the drive up to the lake. Constant awareness and alertness are required to move across this frozen mountainside. The roads do get scraped clean, but some fresh snowfall was yet to be cleared on our approach. We needed to stop for the snowplow when it approached, and the icy conditions forced our party members in a second car to swerve out to avoid a collision. This meant they ended up in a snowbank next to the road.

This was a stark reminder that the dangers on this trip were totally different from our normal Lake Mead adventures.  After digging away some snow, we finally got the SUV free to travel onwards. This was the first indication of how important the right tools were going to be for this adventure. We came prepared for cold conditions with warm clothes, but fortune was on our side with nice, windless, warm weather. The lack of waterproof shoes and socks, on the other hand - let’s just say we lucked out on not damaging anything and spare socks go a long way.

Out on the lake it is once again clear that you need to be kitted out for such an adventure.  Although we did not need it, a popup shed to fight the elements is a smart move. A sled to move around gear, and an auger. An Electrical auger makes a huge difference from a handheld one. And lastly, the small but sturdy ice-fishing rods. These things make the process easier, and ultimately that helps you get on fish. We had a great time out there catching many big Rainbow Trout, but at the end of the day this is a much more specialized style of fishing. One that I hope you will experience if this amazing opportunity presents itself.