By Gaylen Webb

School is back in session, the nights are turning cool, and the hillsides are ablaze with color.

But that doesn't mean it's too late for a trip to the high country. In fact, this time of year is the best time to go. The mosquitoes are gone, along with the summer crowds of people; the fish are hungry and the scenery is simply magnificent.

We recently took the kids to Rock Creek below Stillwater Reservoir on the south slope of the Uintas and erjoyed a relaxing outing and excellent fishing for pan size rainbows and a few brook trout.

We found some spots on the river where the kids could get bites on nearly every cast and we caught plenty of trout for a delicious fish fry and we released many more. While we didn't spend much time fishing on the reservoir, those who did generally had good success. Bait fishing from shore with Powerbait, Zeke's floating bait, worms and marshmallows was at times hot and other times cold. Spinner fishing from shore was also very good at times.

Stillwater is one of the Central Utah Project reservoirs designed to store water and move it to the Wasatch Front. Stillwater is big enough for motor boats, but I wouldn't recommend anything very big.

The river produced well with bait and flies. The kids caught a lot of fish on worms and I got many hits on hopper and attractor patterns. Rock Creek is fishable for several miles below Stillwater Reservoir, and then it goes onto the Ute Indian Reservation. A permit is required to fish on the reservation. There are some very big brown trout on the reservation portion of the stream.

This area is most easily accessed through Duchesne and Mountain Home, in Duchesne County. From Mountain Home, you travel northwest through the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. The road follows Rock Creek to the reservoir. The road is paved the entire distance and is very suitable for passenger cars. There are two very nice campgrounds once you get in the National Forest area.

You can also get to Rock Creek by driving to Francis and Woodland in Summit County and then take the dirt road over the mountain to Hanna. There are a couple of dirt roads you can take that eventually intersect with the Rock Creek Road. These are rugged, rutted roads, however, and you should have a truck or tough vehicle.

All of the south slope streams coming out of the Uintas are great fishing this time of year. DonŐt overlook them if you go out in that area.