So went catfishing with Britt (my wife) and the boys down to Utah Lake tonight for about four hours. We tried Vineyard area first by the bubble up but it was too overgrown for shore fishing so we headed back south. Took a trout rod and my catfish rod. Bad call....couldn't set the hook hard enough with the trout rod to sink the hook. Wound up fishing with one rod and Britt started us off. Then we caught another before she got excited, set the hook and snapped off half my Fireline. I'd never seen it snap like that. Too strong for her own good. I retied the gear, waded out and caught another five or so in deeper water. It was a good night.
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Good day of fishing, thanks for the report.
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Details on the trip.
Lincoln beach area, Genola side by the start of the orchards
Cut carp meat
Fished cut carp, 1 1/2 foot leader under a bobber
Caught a couple right off the bat, really picked up about 630 or so in three feet of water.
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[#0000FF]Glad you found a good spot...with playful fish.
About the trout rod thing. Ever hear the saying "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight"...or however that goes.
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Lmao!! Oh my gosh, that's totally how it felt too. Good solid takes, rod would double over and I'd set for all I was worth, I'd feel the fish and the bobber would pop up. So frustrating. Six pound test on a 6 1/2 foot light action rod does not get the job done. [laugh]
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Was fishing in that area today and spotted a florescent yellow bobber floating freely about a couple hundred yards out. Fetched it up in the net and it had about two feet of leader with a size 6 hook. Could it have been yours?
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Not mine....it'll be a red cigar shaped bobber with probably ten feet or more of white fireline and a red octopus hook. The line snapped about a foot from the rod tip. So weird....had to have a nick in the line I didn't notice or something. It was 20 lb fireline and it was only maybe a month old. We did find one of those plastic yellow lighted bobber and it still worked so that was cool.
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About the whole trout rod thing. I primarily fish for cats using a 6 foot light action with 4 lb line from shore without a net or gripper.
It sure makes every catch an adventure. Rarely have a busted on off, or not be able to get a good hook set.
Still waiting to get one large enough that I can't grab with my hands. I have been close several times.
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How far out are you casting from shore with that setup? I think that had a lot to do with it as well. I was walking probably thirty yards from shore and casting that far at least again. I just think I wasn't able to move that much line firmly to get a good hook set. Using my seven foot medium action Gatorback rod was no problem at all and the hooks were totally buried in the fish.
When I first started fishing Utah Lake, almost twenty years ago, I had a 4 foot Quantum ultra light with 8 lb test and I'd hook carp and cats off the shore no problem. Can it be done? Sure. Was my setup overmatched by bait size and the amount of line I had out? Definitely. Just not enough backbone to get it done. I actually do like catching bigger fish on small gear. I have started all my kids out by catching carp on ultra light gear because the best part is the fight. [cool]
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Typically I am fishing around the harbors, so I can get to water with some depth without wading or casting to far.
I keep my line out 30 feet or less, and I let them swim with it a bit. Between them swimming and the hook set, there hasn't been to much of an issue. If I needed the fish for food, I would not choose this set up.
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