[cool][#0000ff]Whazzup wid da stupid fishies in Utah Lake this year? Guys are still catchin' walleyes and white bass with eggs and milt in them. They should both have been done spawning a long time ago.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Same with carp. There should be clouds of two to three inch baby carp all over Utah Lake right now and the adults should all have spawned. NOPE. They are still going at it around the lake. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I was hoping to find one or two shallow carp for bait this morning. Brought my new bow, all tuned up and practiced up. I couldn't believe my eyes when I drove up to a favorite spot near the Benjamin Slough inlet. Carpkind were thrashing and splashing all over the place like it was late April or something.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I nailed the first three I shot at, using the line attachment. The fish were so shallow and easy to hit, I took off the fish arrow and line and just shot with my aluminum arrows with field points. I went 10 for 10...mostly head shots...before I got too cocky and took a tough shot and missed. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I added a couple more to my homemade plastic clothesline cord stringer and figured I had enough to keep me busy for awhile filleting and processing the carp for bait. I was right. I set up my garbage can with a plastic bag liner and put my heavy fillet board with the hole over the can and went to work. First I scaled, then I slabbed the fillets. I brought the reduced load home to finish slicing out rib cages and cutting into freezing size chunks. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]All the while I was hacking and slashing the ones I had kept, a jillion more kept rolling and cavorting within a few feet of me, as if to taunt me. As the "governator" says...I'll be bach. But, not for awhile. I ended up with 48 one-trip packages. Each package is usually good for an average of 6 catfish. Do the math. I ain't likely to need more carp meat for awhile.[/#0000ff]
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You must be getting soft in your old age! Strong work though.
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[cool][#0000ff]Yessir, I used the TKB "force-feeding" technique just like y'all teached me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Whaddayamean getting soft? It takes a strong will and great conservation measures to allow enough of those beasts to survive for the next onslaught.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I seriously doubt if I did the June Sucker program much good, but I can guarantee I got enough to provide some exercise to some more kitties. When you coming down to play again?[/#0000ff]
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haha nice work TB. carp are fun to shoot. deer creek is almost all tough shots now. thats why its fun. with the water so high, unless you have a canoe, you limited to the areas to hunt, and the water is stil a lot deeper, makes for some fun times i think
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I love the force feeding method! Sounds like you made some uni-carp! Those are the best kind.
I need to get back down that way soon. Been busy at work and such, so I need to break away.
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TD you have way to much time on your hands...GIVE ME SOME!!!! LOL
I have a question. I herd rumors a few years back that you need a license to gig Carp, fishing license that is. Is this true?
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[cool][#0000ff]Too true. Some guys have learned the hard way that you have to have at least a regular fishing license to "harvest" carp, or any other non-game species. That includes catching minnows and crawdads.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Uhhhhh...you have had your license while racking up all those wild stories haven't you?[/#0000ff]
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I just know "back in the day" that you didn't need a license but somewhere along the line they changed the Proc.
Thanks for the clear up on that TD.
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Ok, obviously you had fun, good on ya. Do the hook and line next time bro. They fight good.
Now, I demand a report on your table fare/eating experience! I want to know how you deboned em, cooked em and an honest opinion of their table fare even though they are from"Ut. Lake"!!!! You are going to try em on the table aren't you?[
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Side note, they weren't spawning at the Gorge either. That's always bee kind of an indicator for smallie spawning for me.
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[cool]Holy Kittiebait, Batman!! Nice work, Pat. Looks like you are pretty darned efficient with the bait processing too! I enjoyed your write-up the other day as well, and learned much.
I don't think the wife would like me processing those slimy hogs in our condo, but that's o.k., 'cause we'll be selling and moving in with the in-laws soon till we get the last of our bills paid off (then into a house). If the mom-in law gets me mad I guess I could just "process some kittie bait" in her kitchen (ha ha-yeah right, then we'll be moving out even quicker than even I want...[
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How much did the biggest ones weigh? Those are some real healthy lookin' carpies you got there!
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[cool][#0000ff]Hey Leaky, you know I ain't no fish snob, and that I have dined on "buglemouth bass" before. Slice out the strips of flesh bones and prepare them right and they are more than edible. However, these were destined for the bait freezer and it was enough work to just fillet and chunk them for bait. While they are entirely edible, I do prefer their intended quarry...the kitty fishes.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]Hey Geoff, I only weighed one of the carp. I had three that were about the same size. The largest one I weighed came in at eight pounds. There were several in the five to six pound class and a couple down around 3 to 4 pounds. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I think that in the future I will go for the smaller sizes, for bait. Trying to hack through the heavy rib bones on the bigger fish was a real chore with only those big butcher knives. If I had my electric knife it would have gone much easier.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, the fillets from the larger fish make cross cut strips that are just a bit larger than ideal for kitty bait. Unless you are fishing strictly for bigguns, a smaller chunk will get more bites and more hookups. I will likely end up cutting the strips from the larger fillets in half when fishing with them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, "expired" carp can be weapons of gross destruction. If you do not totally clean up the mess you make by processing them (blood, slime, scales, etc.) the smelly leftovers will run you (and in-laws) out of the house within a day or so. That's why it is a good idea to do most of the messy part outside the house, no matter whose house it is.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I once used a big dead carp as retribution. A neighbor had let the air out of one of my tires early one morning when he thought I was not watching. Ha. I get up early and saw the whole thing. Well, that evening I went fishing after work and kept a snagged carp, which I slipped under the passenger side seat in his truck. I didn't realize that he had left town for a couple of days and when he returned his truck was almost a candidate for being totaled. I did not have any more flat tires on my parked car.[/#0000ff]
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Congrats Pat, you just decreased the Carp population by .0000001%!
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SVPD will be proud of ya for punishing some of the some local herds. You should have enough bait to last well into the next Carp cycle. Ever thought of the Olympic trials for archery?
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First its Arnold then you take on the role of Walter Mathau. what's next the Caped Carp Cru
er?
Hasta La Vista Baby
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[cool][#0000ff]I have no false illusions about single handedly reducing the carp population enough to help the June Suckers come back. BUT, based upon the gallon or so of unlaid roe in the bottom of my cooler, I certainly prevented a lot of new little carplets from ever getting a start in the lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have been shooting a bow since about age 6 or 7, and I have punctured a few wild animals and lots of swimming things over the years. Don't have no idears about shooting competitively. I shoot good enough to bag some bait once in awhile, but no way could I compete with the serious archers of today, with all of the new innovations in target archery gear.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It would be a hoot to have them introduce carp killin' as an olympic event. Might attract a few more of the manly redneck types than synchronized swimming.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We'll leave the superhero action figure thing to Gary. Who else could fill the role of The Caped Carp Punisher?[/#0000ff]
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Just whats called for in "the juice".. [
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[cool][#0000ff]I'm guessin' that "juice" would not make a refreshing drink...for humans anyway. Of course, us cat-chasers might not be thunk of as human.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Might you be referrin' to that wonderful elixir that is "well aged"...well away from delicate noses...and then the oily part that separates being the key ingredient? Seems like I have heerd tell of that potent concoction. Talk about your weapons of mass destruction. Shock and awe and all that stuff. [/#0000ff]
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[#505000]Whao whao whao!!! Wait a minute!! The Carp Punisher doesn't wear no stinking cape!!!!! [
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[#505000]I was out to Lincoln yesterday trying out the new pontoon. I wish I had taken a bow with me. Several schools of carp were hanging around me awful close. One well placed gernade and........ anyway.[/#505000]
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[#505000]Fishluvr found me a nice bow, and with some connections an even better price. I can't wait to get out and do a little carp perforating of my own!![/#505000]
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Yes, that be the stuff. Altho' with this blew Kitties arent the target.. Like Brylcreem, a little dab will do ya.. In fact, a single droplet.
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Sounds like a fun trip TD. Where did you go this trip, is it the same place I went to shoot carp? I can't wait to get out and shoot some more carp.
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[cool][#0000ff]I went by your "killing fields" first, early in the morning. Nothing in the fields and not much in the ditch. Saw some swirls but nothing good enough to shoot at.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I found the "suicidal" carp directly south of the Lincoln Beach jetties, in the flooded grass and brush along the fenceline on the other side of the little pump house. You have to drive up over that hump to get to the prime area. The fish were all over when I first got there but most of the fast shooting was on the other side of the barb wire fence. There was an old tire laying in shallow water and I don't know what the attraction was but several groups of carp came in and rolled all over it. I "re-tired" a few of them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am predicting that with the south winds and monsoonal flow going away this week that the fish will come back into your spot in the afternoons. Real shallow water gets cooler at night but warms up during a warm calm day. Wednesday and Thursday should be good.[/#0000ff]
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