Five Waters, Five Fish: The First FishRec Challenge Completed
By Tiafau Purcell
Five different types of water, five trout, and quite a few fishing firsts along the way.
On October 13, 2026, I completed the first FishRec Water Type Challenge, earning my first achievement badge on the platform I've been building. What started as a simple goal to catch a fish in a lake, river, pond, reservoir, and creek turned into a collection of fishing experiences that reminded me why I enjoy exploring Utah's waters in the first place.
Why I Wanted to Create Fishing Challenges
One of the reasons I started building FishRec was to make it easier for anglers to discover fishing opportunities throughout Utah. We have so many lakes, reservoirs, rivers, ponds, and small creeks that it's easy to overlook just how much fishing is available. I'm guilty of that myself. Like most anglers, I have waters I enjoy returning to because they're familiar. I know what to expect, and there's a certain comfort in fishing somewhere you've been before.
But I also enjoy exploring new places, learning different techniques, and catching species I've never caught before. Sometimes the experience of figuring out a new water is just as rewarding as the fish itself.
That's part of what inspired FishRec Challenges. I wanted to create something that would give anglers a reason to get outside their usual fishing routine. Not necessarily to catch the biggest fish or compete against other anglers, but to set goals, try something different, and have a little fun along the way.
The Water Type Challenge is one of the simplest examples of that idea. Catch at least one fish in each of five different types of Utah waters: a lake, river, pond, reservoir, and creek. It doesn't matter how big the fish is or how long it takes you. You just need to catch one in each water type. On October 13, I finally checked off the fifth water type and earned my first FishRec achievement badge. Looking back, what makes the challenge memorable isn't the badge itself but the fishing experiences I had.
Five Waters, Five Different Fishing Experiences
My first qualifying catch came on January 10 at Salem Pond, where I caught a rainbow trout on a size 18 Zebra Midge with my 9-foot, 5-weight fly rod. I'd never caught a fish from Salem Pond on a fly rod before, so it was a fun little accomplishment. It wasn't a particularly complicated trip, but it gave me another reason to appreciate the fishing opportunities close to home.
A couple of months later, on March 28, I caught a cutthroat trout on the Diamond Fork River using a size 18 SOS nymph on a friend's Euro Rod. That trip was especially memorable because it was my first cutthroat trout and my first time euro nymphing. I was learning a different way to fish moving water, and landing a cutthroat while trying something new made the experience even better. By September, I still needed to check off a reservoir, lake, and creek.
On September 22, I caught a rainbow trout at Spanish Oaks Reservoir using spinning gear and a size 10 PowerBait presentation. It was my first fish at a reservoir, and another water type completed.
Six days later, on September 28, I caught a brook trout at an alpine lake in the Uinta Mountains near Mirror Lake Highway. I was fishing a size 16 San Juan Worm on my 5-weight fly rod. That catch was another first for me, actually two of them. It was my first brook trout and my first fish from an alpine lake.
I enjoy fishing Utah's mountain waters, and there's something special about catching a trout after making the trip into the high country. The fish doesn't need to be big to make the experience worthwhile. By the end of September, I had completed four of the five water types. All I needed was a creek.
The Brown Trout That Finished It
On October 13, I went fishing at Hobble Creek. It was rainy, and the fish were spooky and picky. I was using my 10-foot, 3-weight fly rod with a size 22 purple Zebra Midge, trying to figure out what the fish would take. Eventually, I landed a brown trout. It was my first fish from Hobble Creek, and it also happened to be the catch that completed the Water Type Challenge.
After logging the catch in FishRec, all five water types were marked complete, and I earned the Water Type achievement badge. It was a pretty cool moment, especially because I'd spent so much time working on FishRec and developing the challenges. The catches weren't all from one weekend or even one season. They stretched from January through October, and each came with a different experience. Some involved trying a new technique. Others meant fishing a new place or catching a species I'd never landed before. That's what I liked most about completing the challenge.
It's Not Always About the Biggest Fish
One thing I've learned from fishing is that the fish you remember aren't always the biggest ones.
My first cutthroat trout on the Diamond Fork River probably means more to me than a larger fish caught somewhere familiar. The brook trout from the Uintas was memorable because I'd never caught that species before. And the brown trout from Hobble Creek will always be the fish that completed my first FishRec Challenge.
None of those catches needed to be trophy-sized to mean something. That's really what I hope FishRec Challenges will encourage. I want anglers to have a reason to explore waters they've never visited, learn techniques they haven't tried, or catch species they've only read about. Maybe it's a small trout from a mountain creek, a bass from a reservoir, or a fish that completes a challenge you've been working on for months. Whatever it is, those experiences are worth remembering.
Want to Try the Water Type Challenge?
The FishRec Water Type Challenge is free, and there's no time limit to complete it. All you need to do is catch at least one fish from each of Utah's five water types:
Lake
River
Pond
Reservoir
Creek
As you log your catches in FishRec, you can track your progress toward completing the challenge. Once all five requirements are met, you'll earn the digital Water Type achievement badge, which you can share with friends or other anglers.
You can use FishRec to explore different waters, find fish species, and plan trips to places you haven't fished before. And you don't need to make it a race. I completed mine over several months, and that was part of what made it enjoyable.
Explore the FishRec Water Type Challenge
The First of Many
Completing the first Water Type Challenge was a fun milestone for me, both as an angler and as the founder of FishRec. But I'm even more excited to see what other anglers do with these challenges. Maybe someone will catch their first brook trout while working toward the Trout Grand Slam. Maybe a family will visit a new pond to check off another water type. Or maybe an angler will finally make that trip into the Uintas they've been thinking about for years.
I'd love to start sharing those experiences here in the FishRec Journal, highlighting real catches, completed challenges, and the stories behind them. For now, I've got my first challenge in the books, and there are six more free challenges waiting for me to work toward.
Five water types, five trout, a few personal firsts, and plenty more fishing left to do.