I just had to go see if the fatheads are still around and it was not good.They were non but a tiny group of less than a dozen here and there and they were getting attacked as saoon as they moved away from shore.Doesnt look good for the fatheads this year .Hopefully in the coming weeks they show up in numbers.The bows wont get to big and fat without them fatheads.I talked to some that fished yuba this weekend and the reports i got from them dont look promising.Most of the bows caught were 10-12 planters.We did fish for a bit and bruce caught a 10inch perch and a 12 inch bow.Pretty little thing it was so silvery and not much rainbow colors on it.Sam wasnt in the fishing mood so she just watched.I did end up with a pike though it was 28 inches and fought like crazy.I was using 6lb test though it made it more fun.[
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That's a nice Pike ocean. Thanks for the update.
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[
]Man thats ugly, however you did catch a nice fish
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[cool]Wow, nice northern, ocean!! That's a beaut! I'm gonna hook into one of those some day! I first need to start fishing where they reside, however... How much do you think that guy weighed?
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I am guessing over 6lbs easy.He was a healthy fish and man you should see how big those fillets are![
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nice pike, the perch must be killing the fathead population, not good news for the big bows this year
[cool][#0000ff]Nice pike. Bait or lure? [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Is there still water beneath the bridge or has the water level dropped lower than that?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I are doing a Yuba Safari on Wednesday. We will be tubing all around the dam and across from the ramp. We will fish close in and out in the open water for trout and whatever else we can find. Hope to get some pics of some porky perch and maybe hang both a wallie and a pikie.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We will probably hit the dam around daybreak and then move up to the Painted Rocks area in the afternoon. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]According to my records, the fathead minnows were already swarming by this time last year, and there were only a few perch. The reports I have been getting this year, to date, are lots of perch and very few minnows. Hmmmmm. Wonder if there is a connection there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, I have not heard any reports of big rainbows since early in the summer. The last ones we caught were all under about 14", except for one 16" caught by TubeBabe near the islands at Painted Rocks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have had reports of pike chasing perch right up onto the bank...just like wipers chasing shad. That would be fun to experience if you had a good perch flavored crankbait on your line.[/#0000ff]
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Well i was using a black jakes with yellow dots.There is not enough water under the bridge but you can walk on it then it drops off.Yeah you are right this is the time of year when the fatheads show up but they are non existent unlike the perch.The perch were shallow again about 10-15 feet from shore.I caught my pike about that same distance from shore.He sure wanted the lure because he hit it twice.I am glad i got him in the corner of the jaw otherwise it would have been another cutoff.[pirate] There was one 23 inch fat bow caught by a camper but other than that everyone i talked to cauht only planters.I think fuzzy was right the end of the big bows might be over.
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[font "Times New Roman"][#ff4040][size 3]That's a nice fish Ocean![/size][/#ff4040][/font]
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Great fish. I have to get down there. Do you or anyone else have some info on what kind of habitat Northerns prefer down at Yuba? What should I look for in the way of structure, depth, etc. to target NP?
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There is not much structure in yuba except for a couple of places .Yuba is mostly a desert under water.If you can find the perch i guarantee you there is a northern in the vicinity.And if you are lucky he might be hungry like the one i caught.Any perch pattern jigs or crank baits will probably get hit.I would also try some red and white daredevils.Hope this helps ya.Maybe TD can chime in he knows more about them than i do.[
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what you talking about no Structure in Yuba? the whole lake has Structure all over it.. [
] thats one of the problems with finding the pike. to many places they could be hiding out at..
i have found like any other ambush predoter, pike will get into the weed lines and rocky points and wait for there food to come to them..
so try rocky areas and the sumarged willows around the lake..
find the perch near them areas and work it some..
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[cool][#0000ff]The "Fuzzster" has it right. Lots of pike habitat around the lake. But, if you are limited to fishing one small access area, from the bank, you have to be both good and lucky to find fish and catch them. If you have a boat, and know the lake, you can spend a whole day hopping from one spot to another and still not cover the whole lake. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As the water continues to drop, however, the brushy spots will be out of the water and points and rocks will be about the only spots the fish can hide.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That being said, there are lots of pike that cruise the lake, like walleye, looking for schools of perch. Plenty of pike have been taken off "naked" shoreline and even out on the flats while dragging a worm harness for walleyes. I have caught them on jigs and spinners being cast for trout in areas with little or no structure at all.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you wanna target pike, while they are still actively feeding and focusing on perch, throw large perch colored or fire tiger hardbaits. Use shallow, mid or deep diving, depending on the depths you want the lure to run. Big plastic "swimbaits" (shad bodies) in gold or perch patterns work well too. So do big hair spinners in bright colors. You can even catch them on big streamer patterns on a fly rod. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In short, pike are aggressive predators. They will hit almost anything that gets their attention and looks edible. They are prone to munch first and sort it out later. Finding them is usually more difficult than getting them to bite.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks a ton for the information, I have access to a boat and am very anxious to get down and try out some of the tactics you have described. Thanks again! If anyone else has some pointers, I would sure like to know...
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Did you and Tubebabe make it to yuba wednesday?
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[cool][#0000ff]Just got home. Beautiful day but no trout, no walleye and no pike. One bite-off.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]OVER 400 perch. Obscene. You couldn't fish for anything else. I got them on every lure I threw. Even got a 7" perch on a 6" diving crankbait I was throwing for pike. Even got another 7" perch right on top, throwing a spinner for trout in 50 feet of water. Fished from the ramp around to the south side and then fished all around Painted Rocks. Perch were everywhere.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Will be posting a report and pics tomorrow.[/#0000ff]
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You caught perch amazing![
] At least they keep you busy .I will be taking the boat out there sunday and exploring some spots for pike ansd walleye.
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400 perch!!! Definitely obscene, borderline porn. Looking forward to the pictures, perch meister.
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