Interesting Brett Prettyman article:
[url "http://www.sltrib.com/features/ci_6067590?source=rv"]Click here[/url]
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That was an interesting article.
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In lieu of the wiper derby, maybe we could have a chub derby this year.It would be neat to have a BFT'er in the record book.I think the chub record could be in jeopardy.I caught some nice chubs at Jordanelle the other day.I saw some under the docks that may have been record worthy.I think I might be embarassed being known as the guy that got the state record chub!!!LOL[sly]
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The new CHUB KING.. hehe
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Tubedude caught a state record chub last year at Starvation. Most disgusting thing I have ever seen... LOL. [
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[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe and I both caught several chubs over 15" last year at Starvation. A couple of them were very "chubby" and would have weighed over 2 pounds easily.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We released them all since they are all that is left of the once plentiful chub population. They are about 20 years old and still spawn every year, to add food to the chain. But, between the brown trout, smallies, walleyes and perch, virtually none of the annual spawn lives to maturity.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]See the pics below.[/#0000ff]
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ick! [
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[font "Lucida Console"][#ff4040]That's just NASTY!!![/#ff4040][/font]
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[black]A very good article, but I have one (fish) bone to pick with it. I agree with his assumptions regarding which records are and are not likely to be broken, but with one exception.
I wouldn't doubt that the state record channel kitty fish isn't swimming happily as we cyber-speak at this very moment in Utah County's big muddy pond. The fact that an angler caught a behemoth channel just a few weeks ago just a few pounds short of the record should give us some indication that at least a few 30-plus-pound leviathans currently call UL home.
Maybe that big nasty whisker fish that our illustrious TubeDude lost last month would have been the new state record if he’d landed it (Pat, even if you don’t think so, don’t say anything [
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I am certainly no expert, and that gentleman from Utah County who caught the 28-pounder last week may have caught the biggest kitty there is in UL for all I know, but I highly, highly doubt it.[/black]
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Nice pictures we could call you MR. Johson now[
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But chubs in some lakes are all that keeps the lakes in good fish for us to catch.....
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[cool][#0000ff]If you refer to me in any terms remotely connected with the illustrious "MR. Johnson", I will sue you for slander.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You are right about the need to keep spawning chubs in the system. DWR does not plant "forage species" so the fish have to live on what they got. Once there is a top heavy population of smallies, wallies and perch, the poor chubs can't keep up.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]I would also tend to disagree with the proposition that the channel cat record will never be broken. I firmly believe that there are probably quite a few kitties in Utah Lake big enough to beat the old record.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are two reasons why more big cats are not landed. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]1. Most "tanglers" either do not have tough enough tackle or know how to land big fish when they hook them. Lots of fish smaller than the record are popped off by those who use poor quality tackle, improperly set drags or who get impatient and try to horse the fish in before it is whupped.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. Big cats are not common and they do not feed often. They tend to feed more at night and to eat larger meals. They may wolf down a 3# carp for a midnight snack and then not even eat again for two or three days. They are not as active, before and after spawning time, so they are just not as likely to grab the bait of a fairweather daytime casual fisherman.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]How big will channel cats grow in Utah Lake? My guess is that 35 pounds might be the top end, given the depth of the lake, the food sources and the long cold seasons. In lakes where there is warmer water year round, deeper holes and plenty of varied food sources, channels will grow upwards of 50 pounds.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The large daddy cat I rassled earlier in the year (and lost) would have probably been somewhere between 15 - 20 pounds. I was not geared for big fish. I was using 8 pound line and a small size 4 hook, for the size of the minnows and carp chunks I was dragging. My line did not break, but the small hook was just not hefty enough for the big kitty. It pulled out after several minutes of sustained battle.[/#0000ff]
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The very fact that most anglers are not prepared for the biggest fish is probably one of the reasons the catfish is under the probably won't be broken division. It's true with almost all species.
You are much better at fishing then the above UN person there is other person we both know and have fished with in the past....
I seen him do the same as you on the same water many years ago....
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dude,! that is the fatest chub i have ever seen! whoa!
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[cool][#0000ff]Y'think maybe there might be a big ol' kitty in Utah Lake that could snarf that "minnow" in one gulp?[/#0000ff]
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