[#0000FF]No pressures. No commitments to meet up with anyone. Just got up when I woke up, loaded up my red ride and headed for the south marina at Willard.
Wanted to rig up and try an old rod I made many years ago while living and fishing in Arizona. It is a 9 foot "dip stick"...made for "tule dipping" along the edges of reeds from my float tube. I have had good success the past couple of years drop shotting and vertical jigging for most species in Willard from my tube. Figured this long rod and the right setup might be fun to try. It was.
I had already made up some of my "fligs"...floating jig heads...in a blue back silver glitter color. That has been good in other lures and jig heads. Tied a drop shot sinker on the bottom and a dropper about 18" up with a few inches of leader tied to one of the fligs. Then I pinned on a chub minnow, dropped it over the side, put the end of the rod in the "quick draw" rod holder and went to work.
Dragged that all the way out the channel, while pitching several different kinds of plastics on my second rod. No love on either...but lots of fishy marks on sonar. Guessing that the larger fish were well fed on the bitty ones.
Got outside the harbor and started working to the north...along the dike. Hadn't had a sniff in almost an hour since I launched. But once I hit the zone it was game (and fish) on. The kitties began voting for both the dropshot fligs and the pitched plastics.
I caught 4 for the smoker within about 15 minutes. Then it got frantic. I almost couldn't even fish with two rods. As soon as I released one fish (over the side or into my basket) and dropped the flig down again the long rod would dive toward the water and I would be bendo on another one. There were a couple of times when I pitched the plastic, hooked a fish and then had the long rod get active too. Some problems are just better than others.
Didn't keep count. Kept 8 cats for the smoker and one silly 16 inch wiper that smacked a white jig only a couple of feet from the rocks. Fun fun. Only non cat casualty of the day. Guessing that I caught somewhere north of 20 kitties. Started out with 2 "long dozen" (13-14) minnows and had about a 90 percent hookup ratio on strikes. Ran out of minnows. Caught several cats on jig and worm. And the wiper.
Not many boats out before the power squadron began to show up as I was leaving just after 11. Talked to several other anglers and nobody seemed to be doing much. I was the only one at the cleaning station and it did not appear to have been used recently.
Lovely morning after last night's storm. Air temp 70 at launch...and no bugs at all. Water temp 78-79. A bit cloudier after this week's weather and the level is dropping a little. A small amount of water coming in from the canal.
Was glad I brought the "dipstick". With the handle forward of the reel it feels like you are fighting the fish with a flyrod. A crotchety cat can put some serious bend on your stick and take some time to coax into the net. Yeah.
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Hey Pat, Sounds like a great trip today.... Thanks for a great report, makes me wish I'd been out there as well... Stupid work anyway... Later J
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[#0000FF]I may have been hallucinating but I could swear a couple of those cats squeaked out "Where's Jeff?". I'm sure you would have had more fun there than you did at work. Just guessin'.
Another month and it should be starting to cool down and the fish should be more active...all species. Hope you are able to get on top of your other duties and that we can do another meetup or two.
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Looks like Willard has produced a few cats for you this year. Great report as always.
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[#0000FF]True dat. The water level being back up into the rocks has been a boon for all species that like to snack on crawdads. Three of the cats and the wiper all had mud bug remnants in their innards. None had any detectable shadlet stuff.
In years when there is no crawdad condo setup the cats and most other fish spread out all over the lake looking for whatever shad souffle they can find. Much better to be able to chase them within a defined area near the rocks.
Even though the average size of the Willard cats is a bit less than Utah Lake they sure do make for good eatin'. I'd put them up against catfish I've had from any other place in the country.
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I'll bet those cats were wishing I was there, they like having someone to steal bait from without getting a sore lip. Hey that meet up sounds great and if I get past my daughters wedding the first part of September I might even get a kitchen pass. Looking forward to that. Till then keep the cats exercised. Later J
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Pat, Since you told me what I was doing wrong cooking them I have decided they are one of my favorite fish on the table, behind walleye of course.
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TD, had a day like that last week. At one point, I had two on at the same time. Seems like the cats have schooled up pretty good.
Larry
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[#0000FF]I thought of you yesterday...and semi sorta wished I had a fly rod myself. The cats were close to the rocks and I got a lot of smacks within seconds of my jigs plopping down right next to them. Also got a lot of tappity taps that might have been bluegills or other smaller critters.
Cats may be "second class citizens" to a lot of Utah anglers...but not to me. I may hope for wipers or walleyes but never disappointed when I gotta dance with the "ugly girls". They are almost always willing dance partners and they put on a fun show. Not bad to invite home to dinner either.
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I can see why some unedimicated folks think they don't like Catfish to eat. They can be some really ugly cusses. But at least here in Utah, I enjoy the fight they usually give. Only topped by the line screamin, reel strippin run of a big Wiper. And I have eaten more than my share, and maybe a few other folks share of deep fried, smoked, pan fried and cut up into fish tacos, catfish.
In south Georgia, fried catfish are on almost every mom and pop dinners menu, and several bigger eatin establishments like PoFolks. Course those cats are commercially raised in fish farms, but they eat just as good. [sly]
And it seems to about the only thing I have been able to catch this year.....[mad]
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Just last week Saturday I was fishing the west side and saw tons of 2 inch shad swimming along the rocks. There were literally schools of them.
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[#0000FF]I think DWR is going to achieve what they wanted...more food to feed fewer predators. That should raise the ratio enough to get some bigger plantings of wipers in the future.
Actually, with the extended spawn this year...with fluctuating weather...the new crop of shadlets are ranging anywhere from less than an inch to almost 3 inches. The wipers, walleyes and kitties have a full feed bag.
Might even see some boils this year. They usually go crazy in August into September. Hope so.
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Thats when its fun. There were times last year, I'd hear them croaking, spot them between the focks and then bounce a bugger off their nose. As far as eatin, i'll invite a Willard kitty home for dinner over a walleye anyday. Guess I better give the west side another try next week.
Larry
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Excellent catch, Pat!
I'm catching a lot more, too. You smoke them and that's great snacks without needing preparation time at the times of eating, so perfect for when busy at work yet wanting a nutritious snack. I do similarly with store bought pickled herring. I've been buying that a lot lately and have a taste for it and it's expensive, so I've been thinking it would be a good idea to make my own.
I have a small amount of fish from my last catch in the freezer now and I've been eating it fast. But, it's too late to stay up late to cook some, so a quick snack ready to eat fish would be welcome now. Instead, I'm going to eat some cheese on corn chips because I'm out of pickled herring again.
But, I hear a lot of different things about pickled herring. I hear it's raw and fermented fish and not typically the canned fish preserved by the heat of pressure canning. That it's sold refrigerated only supports that, so I suspect I need good understanding of the preservation and food safety considerations for making my own.
What is pickled herring? How is it made? Can I make my own equivalent pickled fish product with freshwater fish l catch?
Ronald
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[#0000FF]I'm with you. Preserving your catch in a ready to eat format...for future consumption...is a good way to have it and eat it too.
Last year I did some canned catfish...bottled and cooked in a pressure cooker. Added very little in the way of seasonings. Came out great. Ate some right out of the jar. Okay. But even better was mixing with saltine cracker crumbs, an egg and a bit of salt and pepper...then making patties and browning in a mix of butter and olive oil. Kitty patties.
I have pickled a lot of fish over the years. You can find a ton of recipes online...including the traditional pickled herring recipes. Some are cold pickling. Others require you to bring the pickling mix to a boil and then pour the hot mix on the fish...semi cooking them as well as pickling.
Pickling uses vinegar to alter the fish texture and to soften the bones. The blend of spices along with the vinegar creates the desired end flavor.
Some folks like to fillet, skin and debone the fish they pickle. Some fish turns out better that way. But if you have a bunch of smaller fish...like perch, bluegills, etc....you just gut, head and scale them before bottling and pickling. With the proper mix of vinegar and spices the small bones are neutralized and you can just munch the whole pickled fish.
Smoking fish and meat began as a method of drying and preserving it against spoilage...to last for months until final consumption. But in later times a lot of the smoked fish and game is processed more for the flavor and enjoyment than preserving. True, the salt and smoke do retard spoilage. But anyone who still has smoky fish left over after a month just ain't livin' right...or they don't have many friends to scavenge their production.
The great thing about smoking is that there is such a wide range of options...in brining, spicing, woods used for smoke, smoking temps, length of time in the smoker, etc. With a bit of practice and a good understanding of your smoking equipment...and the options for flavors and degree of dryness...you can turn out stuff just the way you like it best. You can have everything from mildly smoked "lox" to rock hard fish jerky. It's all good.
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Thanks, Pat! I already pressure can and that's one I do with the greatest confidence for keeping fish long. I need to get into the smoking with trying the many variations you mention. I'll look to study up on pickling and even fermentation of fish. That's where I have the greatest concern and lack of confidence because I want to be sure to not get parasites, so I'll need to learn more before I feel confident enough to prepare fish without the high temperature sure to kill pathogens.
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Tubedude
It is nice to have fishing companions but there is something to be said about the serenity of a worry free morning. I have taken a couple people out this year and it was nothing but stressful. Other than fishing with my wife I prefer to fish alone.
Allen
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[#0000FF]I go both ways...bi-fishual. While I enjoy trips with my wife...or with carefully vetted and broke-in fishing buddies...I have to be honest and admit I usually prefer my own company when fishing. I call it my "brain broom".
There are a lot of trips when I am experimenting with new lures or new techniques and I like to concentrate on the fishing at hand. Hard to do that when someone wants to keep yammerin' at ya while you are working new things out.
What's even worse is having someone want to carry on a conversation with you on the walkie talkies while you are either fighting a fish or trying to handle it once it is aboard. If you politely try to answer you risk losing the fish or getting spined. If you ignore them you are a dumb bass...or whatever.
Once had a newbie tuber (first and only trip) who wanted to stay right on top of me while I fished. My style is to make big S turns...working my bait or lures through different areas to locate fish. This overzealous rookie kept ignoring my requests to back off and give me some space...even making circles around me and tangling my lines. He just couldn't figure out that my growling and snapping was his fault...not just me being a crotchety old man.
That being said, when you are on the water with an understanding spouse and/or an experienced fellow angler who doesn't need help tying on hooks or baiting up it can be a good experience. You can both enjoy the trip and appreciate their successes along with your own. But it's even better when you outfish them and can gloat a bit. Hard to gloat when you are by yourself.
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Yup kind of hard to get a hold of you on the walkie-talkie when you don't have a fish on.... But we understand, fish comes first talking later if necessary... It is fun to take the alone trips to just fish... I find when I take company I usually try to get them in on a good trip and don't worry so much about my fishing, so when I go on my own, then it's all about me, so I fish hard then... Found the crappie feeding on the surface again over the weekend and wow that was fun, must have caught 30-40 fish in under an hour, it was like good trout fishing in the high country.. I love panfish on the fly... Nice when they aren't picky and you just have to toss the fly out there and work on the reflexes.. No size for them, but they are still fun... Anyway, Later J
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Now Pat, I seem to remember a time not too long ago when we were fishing a quarter mile apart and I made the mistake of buzzing you on the talkie to see how you were doing. All I got back was something to the effect, ..."I'm tryin' to land two fish at the same time... click." I was innocent... didn't know you were secretly knockin' 'em dead just out of my sight. It was good to hear you sound almost frantic with two bigguns on at the same time and some yahoo buggin you on the radio. Misery to you but I loved it.[
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And then to add insult to injury, you out fished me that day at least 10 to 1 and I seem to remember just a bit of gloating too.[sly]
Lookin' forward to out Sept. hookup and I'm bring my talkie!
BLK
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