[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe and I hit Lindon this morning. Launched at 5:30 AM from the ramp and headed right out to "THE ZONE"...north of the creek. Fished 2.5 to 3 feet of water with carp meat, chub minnows and crawlers. The "bite" started at 6:30 and didn't last long. We both had two channel cats in our baskets at 7:15, and lost a couple more. Around 8 we each picked up one more and each got our last of 4 right about 9. Then, ZIPPO.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I got most of mine on carp meat and TubeBabe got most of hers on chub minnows...cut in half. My fish were bigger, averaging over 3 pounds to her 2 to 3 pound range. My largest was just over 4. All fish hit hard and took the bait deep quickly.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Couldn't find any walleye today, but did hang a few nice white bass (spawned out) on plastics. Kept a half dozen for the scampi pan.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here's the pics, mostly scenery and stuff, but including a pic of the basket of 4 cats and 6 whities I took home. Check out the pic of the 35 foot "bass boat" that launched and roared out of the harbor while we were coming in. Even if I could afford the boat, I would hate to have to buy the fuel for it.[/#0000ff]
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[cool]Hey, I thought we were about due for another report from you. Glad you guys got into some K's and whities.
It's really strange but we don't seem to be hearing to many reports of whoppers (I mean K's in the over 5 pound club) this summer yet. Maybe the big daddy's just aren't biting yet. It seems like last summer you'd hear about an 8, 10, 12 pounder being caught pretty often. Hope they big 'uns get biting soon! I'll be floating Lincoln Monday a.m. @ 6:00 of the dikes.
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Still sounds like a nice morning. It was a toasty day though, I'd imagine you went out waderless.
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[cool][#0000ff]Hey Geoff, we had our opportunities on some bigger fish. TubeBabe had three run her into the heavy brush and break off. I had one big one that did the same thing only just pulled the hook out, after taking a lot of line off the drag on my baitcaster and heavy Excalibur line.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The big fish should start hitting more now. The spawn is over for kitties and the water is warming. It got to over 75 degrees by noon on Friday. That means that the best action will be night fishing for the bigguns for the rest of the summer. There will still be plenty of good sized fish available early and late in the day too, but the biggest fish from now on will likely come after dark.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Location is going to be a factor too. The past few years of low water in Utah Lake had the big cats showing up around the rocks at Lincoln Beach and off the jetties at the harbors. This year they will be more scattered, since there is more shoreline cover and prime shallow feeding area for their nightime forays.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In years past, with higher water, the west side of the lake and some of the shallow areas in Goshen Bay have been good for summer nighttime cattin'. It looks like they are shaping up to be good this year too. Shallow weedy areas become the nurseries for the newly hatched young of many species, and that attracts the bigger predators.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Speaking of weeds, I was surprised Friday at the big clumps of natural water weeds that are growing in the shallows of the Lake north of Lindon Harbor. There were some areas that you could see large dark patches below the surface in two to three feet of water. That is good for the lake, but made for some pesky problems when casting plastics...or dragging bait. A lot of the weeds were being rooted out and floating to the top by the bajillions of carp rolling all over the place. They were doing what carp do and living up to their reputations for destroying natural weeds. I wonder how long it will take them to wipe out the new crop.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The weedy flooded shallows to the north of the harbor were also full of carp. Some of those big old nasties were leaping clear of the water and others were shooting along the surface with their backs out of the water. We saw some that were easily over 20 pounds. I was wishing I had brought my bow when the catfish action died and the carp got busier.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck at Lincoln on Monday. Hope you relieve some Ks of their "independence". It would also be nice if you could "finesse" another walleye or two. Just clear all thoughts of 'eyes from your mind, and it will happen Grasshopper.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]Hey BeeMan, we WAS "wadin' wet". Water temp was 72 at launch and 75 when we came in about noon. That makes life more gooder when the air temps get up there. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]While we lived in Arizona, it got too warm even without waders when the water was almost 90 and the air temps jumped over 100 by 9 in the morning. Even the fish were sweating.[/#0000ff]
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[cool]Thanks for the info, Sensai. That was good stuff there. Well, hopefully I'll catch some Cat's and whities. I'm now removing 'eyes completely from my mind.[
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I've gotta do my part on carp killin' and take my dad in law out by the slough and put some serious arrow hurting on the slimy nasty's. He's REALLY been getting into archery this past year, and even bought me a decent Hoyt bow, so we better get some of those bow fishing line set up things, and a lot of deet, and head out there soon. I think he'd have a ball! Me too.
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Tubedude, do you ever try for the largemouth in the harbor? And if you do, what kind of success did you have? I can usually catch a couple of them in there and am surprised that you wouldn't stop for a few casts at em. Congrats on your success.
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[cool][#0000ff]I used to be a lot more "bass-happy" than I am today. I fished tournaments both while living in California and while living in Utah back in the late 70's. I dearly love bassin', but it is not my single passion like it is with some folks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I just moved back to Utah in August, last year, while Utah Lake was almost reduced to a dust bowl. I had been following the bass situation while out of state (in Arizona) and felt sorry for the poor largies that had to bring their own rocks into the harbors so they would have some structure to snuggle up against. Some spots, like Saratoga, virtually dried up. And, Lindon was just about too shallow for anything but leeches and mudcats.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This year, with all of the water and the increased habitat for bass around the lake, the largies seem to have spread out and taken advantage of all the new living area. That has reduced the numbers within most of the harbor areas. It is possible to hang a couple by working hard and placing your casts accurately, but you have to work a lot of shoreline to score more than a couple of fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I figure I will try to get acquainted with a few more when they start coming back inside in the fall. Right now, there are too many other fishies callin' me and I just do not care to invest the time and effort required to molest the greenies. In fact, I will probably be spending most of my available fishing time at the higher altitude lakes starting in the next week or so.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After Labor Day, and after the power squadron mellows out a bit, you can bet that I will be pitchin' and flippin' some plastics and pork at those largies. You might even find me running some of my special flattened head buzzers that let me work them slowly across the top. Ya gotta love a good topwater blast from bass in the shallows. I hope there is plenty of food for them and that they get good and healthy this summer.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]What is your favorite method and baits for those lovely largies?[/#0000ff]
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I seem to do really well with the plastics. Tubes, spider grubs, brush hogs. Sometimes I can get em to go on a Jig & pig. I'm glad to know you can appreciate bass fishing along with your assorted taste for fish. I got hooked on bass fishing 3 years ago and just cant stop.
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[cool][#0000ff]Bein' a bass-chaser doesn't make you a bad person. No need to lock up the kids and hide the family silverware. But, it can become somewhere between obsession and addiction. Almost as bad as golf. That's why I never took up golf.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I personally believe that bass were put on the earth to keep fishermen humble. Just when we think we know just about everything there is to know about bass, they hand you a skunkin' or otherwise humiliate you.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you only recently started bassin' you probably did not know Deer Creek in the "olden days". Before smallies were introduced, Deer Creek kicked out some pretty decent largemouth. They are still in there but are only rarely caught.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Pineview used to have some quality largemouth too. Smallies and tiger muskies pretty much chased them off in that lake. In the mid 70's it was not uncommon to have 30 to 50 fish mornings on cranks and spinnerbaits. In the fall you could throw smoke sparkle Garland jigs off the steeper banks and catch a bass every cast in some areas.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Things have changed. But, bass will always be bass and will always be fun to chase.[/#0000ff]
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I agree with it being an obsession. In the 3 years I have chased bass I have baught 2 bass boats 15 poles and reels and way too much tackle to use in a year. I have heard about the "olden" days on Deer Creek from UTBASS. I hope to have our own golden days with all this water. I still enjoy fishing for trout, cats, eyes and anything that will bite, but I am still trying to figure these bass out. Maybe it's a never ending battle.
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