Fishing Forum

Here is a picture of a Spotted channel cat and a Mud cat I caught last night. As soon as I land another Blue Channel I'll post its picture also.

Note the deeply forked tail and spots on the Spotted Channel cat, while the Muddie has very lil if any dish in its tail.. Color dont play a factor, I've seen Channel Cat in as many different color's as I have Muddie's,, (or Puddies as i call them).

Btw,, just to give you some idea of scale, thats a mature/adult Mud Cat and that Spotted Channel was 23 inches long and weight was 3 1/2 lbs with LOTS of growing room to go...
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THOSE ARE GOOD LOOKIN CATS!!! WHERE DID YOU CATCH THEM?? WHAT DID YOU USE FOR BAIT/LURE? WHAT TIME WERE YOU OUT FOR EM? I AM THINKING MAYBE I OUGHT TO TRY TO CATCH ME A CAT OR TWO THIS YEAR ALSO....MAYBE SO I CAN CATCH SOMETHING IN BETWEEN THOSE TRIPS FOR WALLEYES!!

LATERS,
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Nice cats.
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Nice fish...but you'll have to travel a ways to get a blue cat...there aren't any in Utah. Sometimes the big male channels take on a blueish tint as spawning time nears.
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Nice looking kittys. If you want some good blues, come on over to Cali or Texas.
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Thanks guys.. I caught them west of Lincon beach last night on (Fresh)carp meat in 2 1/2' - 3' under a bobber. I've found the main trick for channels is to keep the bait slightly off the bottom, and allow it to drift.

Shrimpboy, I live in PG ut. and I've caught plenty of "Blue's" at Utah lake (LOTS). Not to be with White channels back east the Blue's here have much the same shaped head as Whites but a very different shaped head than Spotted.. Blue's have a (Much beefier) head than Spotted witch have a near flat topped, narrow head.. In other words,,often a Big Blue's head can be wider than its body while a spotted isnt.... Whas more, I rarely find a Spotted over 7 lb's while I've personally played tug-a-war with several 25+ lb. Blues in Utah lake. I personally havent caught one over 25 lb's. here in 29 years, but I've been broken off several times so I know their out there to be enjoyed and kicked back.

I might add that over the years I've caught good Cats (over 15 lb.s) along most of the shoreline of Utah lake where I can access 3 or more feet of water depth. Often during mid summer I fish in less than 18" of water for Large Kitties and I fish for them at night only.

At any rate,, come catch em guy's and gals cuz the Kitties are on the hunt!
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My kids have been buggin me to take them catfishing and I haven't been able to find the time. I was going to take them this afternoon, but now it looks like I wouldn't be able get away until about 7:00 p.m. Do you think it would still be worth going out at night. I usually don't night fish until the water warms up a bit more. thanks.
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Has I say,, I fished for Cats last night well after dark and did well.. Good Luck!
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I've also caught a lot of kitties out of Utah Lake. I used to think that I was getting some blues, but a fish and game biologist told me once that the two 10# "blues" on my stringer were male channels and that there are no blues anywhere in Utah.
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there are a few poeple up here in ogden who think that there are "blue" cats in the bear river in tremonton. i just kinda chuckle and say.." there are no blue cats in UTAH"

JOe
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BLUE CATS THAT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THEM HERE IN THIS STATE

SOMEONE TALK TO THE DWR OR TRAVEL TO MISSISSIPPI AND BRING SOME BACK []

BUT TALK TO THE DWR FIRST
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[cool][blue][size 1]Hey Don, as one old fool to another, that argument about blue cats in Utah has been goin' on since I first started fishing Utah Lake in the 60's. It has been debated on every fishing forum in Utah several times.[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]The truth is there are two species of cats in Utah Lake. There are black bullheads...that can vary in color from yellowish to very black. There are also channel cats...but no blue cats.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]The channel cats, as you have seen, will be anywhere from pale and spotted to blue to almost black all over. The females and young males are more likely to be the lighter color, and the spots go away on the larger fish. The ones that get blue colored are usually the males, and like a lot of other species, they develop wider heads than the females.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]The true blue cat often has a head quite small in proportion to it's body size...like a smaller female channel cat. They also have a very long anal fin, where the anal fin on channel cats is almost round.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Ask any fisheries biologist about the blue cats in Utah Lake and they will roll their eyes and say "Oh no, not that old story again."[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]For what it's worth, big channels in most waters tend to get darker colored...especially the males. But some of the big females maintain the golden color and the smaller heads...even into the thirty and forty pound range.[/size][/#0000ff]
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Well its a matter of oppinion. I'm not buying into the old story that the state of Utah has but one species of Channel Cat. Wheather is an actual Blue or otherwise,, the one I'm referring to curtain isnt a Spotted channel..
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You know I've fished Utah lake and the Jordan river extensively for over 25 years. There isn't much water in that stretch I haven't fished. I'm not trying to be a know it all because I'm not and also because I'm wrong more often than not, but this I do know and that is the channellers I have caught. I've caught little cats at 11" that had dots on them and have caught the same dotted type cats at about 6lbs. After that I've caught them from pure black to almost white. They all have forked tails and a slightly narrower head than the muddy's and are more slender(not to mention size). Do these different colors make these fish a different species? I don't think so. The only difference in them all was there color. I was in louisiana at a farm raised catfish house. Again these fish differed in color only. I've heard tails of blues and yellows in the lake but just looking at the body structure of the hundreds if not thousands of cats I have caught over the years there is only one difference in them and that is color. This fish is to me regardless of color is the same hard hitting strip your bail good to eat channel cat!!
INSANE4THEGAME
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Round of applause for insane! you explained it perfectly... couldnt have said it better my self! [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1]This fish is to me regardless of color is the same hard hitting strip your bail good to eat channel cat!!
INSANE4THEGAME
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perfect!

JOe
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[cool]Oh and BTW Pat my freind,, lol,, we'll just have to settle this little disagreement once your back in this neck of the woods, and on the water of course. Float Tubes and Super Soaker's at 10 yards!! Powered tubes are optional, as well as a persons idea of a Super Soaked..

~~~Now where ta heck did I stick the water pump to my gold dredge??~~~[laugh]

Momma said if I'm nothing else I'm hard headed,,lol! Oh but you know that, huh?? LOL!
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[cool][blue][size 1]There can't be any serious disputes between two old reprobates like us, Don ol' buddy. But, if it's super soakers you want, you go ahead and bring your gold dredge pump and I will tune up that old water cannon I got from back in the gold rush days, when they used to wash down whole mountainsides in California to get at the gold.[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]As I used to tell my dad, "You can always tell an old fool. You just can't tell him very much."[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Peace, my brother. Let's go fishing and do some "research" on the matter.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]By the way, some lady got a 35 pound flathead cat in Bartlett Lake down here this week...trolling a Rat-L-Trap. Biggest I have landed is about 30 so I know that one would tow you around in your new craft for awhile.[/size][/#0000ff]
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coldfooter is their anywhere you know of to get instructions on how to get to lincoln beach every time i fish utah lake i dont even get bites I have only fished the what I beleive is the north side marina with stink bait and a couple different mepps and such any help or tips would be greatly apreciated[] thanks theworstfisherman
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Hey Worstfisherman, good to have ya here.. Btw,,lol,, theres no such thing as a "worstfisherman". Its just that some have better luck than others,, but only on some day's.. For instance, last evening I only managed two channels, No Walleye, No white Bass, No muddies, and I fished for 3 hours.

By the "north side marina" I'll assume your fishing American Fork Boat habor witch isnt a bad choice, (my son catches many dandies there including an 18 lb'er two years ago), although I perfer the south or west side of the lake. You mentioned using "stink bait" so I take it your fishing for cats atleast part of the time.. My advice to you would be to drop that crap in the closest trash can you can run to,,lol.. Instead for Cat fishing stop by any super market and pick up a few large or jumbo (raw) shrimp if you cant lay your hands on a fresh carp, I always de-shell my shrimp and use about half a shrimp on a size 2 hook. Also take along a few night crawler's. You could also try fresh chicken live and/or frozen minnow's,, etc... etc.... The point I'm making is, meat/fleshy baits. With any luck a hunry carp will pick up your night crawler and you'll end up with the best cat bait a person can use in the state of Utah, (fresh carp meat), (but thats merely my oppinon).. In any case,, dont get locked into merely one type of bait, leave your options open because kitties like all other fish can be lock jawed now and then so give them a choice of bait. Whats more, I never bait for cats using only a single hook.. I want as much blood and bait juices in the water as the law will allow me at one time..

Just a thought here.. Another tiny trick you might want to try is,, add a lil bit of shrimp or carp meat or night crawler to that trible hook on the Mepp, or jig. In days old old when all else failed the White bass some times couldnt resist that simple trick..

As far as instruction to Lincon beach I dont have any although not to long ago a couple maps where posted here on the forum showing direaction to it.. Its really not that hard to find however. If traveling south from Provo along I-15 simply get off at Spansh Fork and drive south along main street to 400 North and turn to the west/left. Stay on 4th north witch will lead you to the township of Lake Shore. I beleive you'll come to a 4way stop (sorry but I dont recall if its a 4way or 2way stop because I've take a differant route/short cut out there for years). At any rate, continue along that road and you'll note your driving direactly towards West mountain (or "Wess mountain" as us old Spanish Forkers call it). After a couple 3 miles the road will make a shape right turn back to the north witch you'll have to follow but very quickly (say 150 yards) you'll come upon a T and another road leading back to the west, take it out to West mountain and continue to follow it around until you see the Lincon beach boat harbor on your right.. Because of the low water conditions, or unless you plan to fish from a boat, I'd stick to areas you'll have best access to deeper water (2' - 4') from like the end of the dike, points, so on..

When fishing Kitties I always use a Bobber, good weather or bad and for two reasons. Many areas along the West mountain area are EXTREMELY snaggy but more importantly,, I like to keep my kitty bait hunting them as much as their huinting the bait. By floating it slightly about the bottom and allowing the wind to drift my bait it covers a lot of water. I never use weight unless its direactly under the bobber because if my bait comes in contact with the lake bottom I like the bait to bounce along the bottom, not drag. Whats more as I said I use two hooks (both leadered) and tie up so one is hanging 6" - 8" higher than the lowest..

Be sure and lets us know how it works out fer ya! I curtainly dont know it all but feel free to PM me with any question's I might be able to help you with..

Good luck and I hope you nail a biggin'!!!
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Man a 35 flat out of Bratlett??!!! Again I was in the right at the wrong time!!! &&^n, $&!t, !((&,!!!!!!! I best shut up befer momma gets to me with that darn bar of soap again![crazy] At any rate,, a 30lb kitty from a tube would call for water brakes and/or reverse thrusters! ~~note to self, install full vectorizing~~

Tubes and Soaker's at 30 yards sounds like a great way to chill down about noon when the bite slows so's bring it on ol'e buddy!! I drag the cooler along behind the Super jet Kitty and will be the one yelling "Gold, gold , gold, gold , gold, gold, fee, fee, fee, fee, fever!" as we fire up the pumps. Heck we may even get a lil kitty research done too..[laugh]
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