Calf Creek

This is an absolutely spectacular place to fish! After a long day of scenic driving, the kids wanted someplace cool and wet, and of course, I wanted to fish. We found both, along with stunning scenery, at Calf Creek. We pulled off the highway at the first pull out we could find after crossing the Escalante River. This creek runs over slickrock between huge, red sandstone cliffs. Jess and Sarah took off their shoes and started downstream, while Mel and I went upstream with my 3-wt. We found plenty of willing brown trout in the 6" to 10" range just about every place you would expect there to be fish and some places you wouldn't. It is a very unique stream, as the creek bottom is pretty much sandstone everywhere, and you can find fish not only in the deeper holes that have been eroded, but in small cracks and even flat surfaces where the stream runs only a few inches deep across a sandstone face. I wouldn't pass by here without stopping and fishing! Just don't do it if thunderstorms are anywhere in the area. The high water marks from flash floods the previous week were about four feet above the normal creek level - you wouldn't want to be in there when that came along!

Sunday after church we hiked upstream to Lower Calf Creek falls (without a fly rod of course) and counted multiple fish in every hole whenever the trail approached the creek. I'd never hike that trail on a weekday without my rod!