[cool][#0000ff]Rode with Bassrods back down to Yuba this morning. Fog and cold. Nobody else there at 8 AM. Air temp 5 degrees. Too cold for Bassrods wheeler. Just groaned and wouldn't start. So, instead of running to some "honey holes" further up the lake, we trudged across the lake back to the spot we fished yesterday.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Drilled out our four best holes from yesterday and started fishing. Instant perchho. Took a whole hour to catch a limit each of porky perch. I had planned to fish minnows more, for some "other" species. But, perch would not leave them alone and even though I used big jigs and big hooks the perch kept commiting suicide. Same for bassrods. However, with only a couple of exceptions, the perch were good sized...8 inches to over 12 inches.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One other angler hit the water just before we headed back in. Otherwise, it was our own private lake. On the way back in we saw a spot where some slobs had left a lot of perch laying on the ice. Cold, but not cool.[/#0000ff]
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Nice job guys, don't thin them out to much the Walleyes & Pike need to eat.
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Thanks for sharing Dude, just so I don't get the "Ignorance is no excuse" ticket - is the perchmeat bait from a perch that was part of your aggregate?
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Looks like a good trip. And the 12'er is a porkey little SOB
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That is a great picture of me in ice station...
The 4 wheeler started when I got home....[crazy]
And if you have a perch with part or all the side cut off it still counts for your 10 perch, but if you have perch peaches in a bag its bait not part of your limit...
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[black][size 3]Good report, It appears that Yuba has the best conditions of any lakes reporting. No slush or heavy snow. The temperature makes it appear a little uncomfortable without some kind of ice hut, but the fast fishing has a way of taking your mind off of the cold.[/size][/black]
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[size 3]Nice pictures, 12 inch fish make a dandy meal.[/size]
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[cool][#0000ff]The perch meat I use is usually from one of the smaller fish I caught on a previous trip....kept, frozen, cut up and "doctored" the night before a trip. It is usually used up by the time we are ready to bag it. I also bring some carp cubes and nightcrawlers...and/or minnows...in case I run out of perch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That is a good question though and may save somebody a ticket. While it is legal to use perch meat under the new Yuba regulations, any perch you keep to cut up for bait counts in your ten fish limit. If you get checked by a CO and have 10 whole perch and one "shredded" one, you are subject to being ticketed for having one over the limit. Or, you can have nine and 1 for bait.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, If you dump your leftover (perch) bait down the hole, technically you could be cited for A. chumming B. wasting resources C. unlawfully disposing of an overlimit fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have inquiries out right now to see what the experiences have been, both from angler and DWR viewpoints, on the compliance or noncompliance with new regulations...and how they are being administered by officers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Anybody care to share observations and experiences to date?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have seen numerous Yuba perch being sent back down the hole to cull for larger fish. I have also heard of anglers who were actually poking the stomachs of perch with knives before putting them back (to pop the air bladders?). Also heard of a couple of dimbulbs who were stashing overlimit fish under the ice sled so the DWR officer on the hill, with the spotting scope, could not see that they had too many fish. Boy, were they surprised when the guys fishing next to them turned out to be from DWR.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]It was cold this morning. About 15 degrees colder than yesterday, and the humidity (fog) made us glad for every layer we wore. It was kinda cool seeing the frost on the tips of the cedars from the frozen fog.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You are right about the conditions. There are lots of places closer to Salt Lake for drillin' and chillin', but unless you enjoy trudging through deep snow or fighting the slush monster, your choices of ice fishing venues are limited. Unlike some of the favorite perch holes in Utah at present, the edges of Yuba are solid. Easy access for humans and wheelers (that start). Only enough snow on top of decent (6 inch) ice to help keep it from being too slick. And, you can catch a bunch of fish within an easy trek for youngsters...or oldsters. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Even better is that the perch are in fairly shallow water at Yuba. You do not have to wait forever for your jig to reach the fish zone, and the fish you catch are not bloated from the sudden release of pressure. Too bad you have to keep the first ten anyway.[/#0000ff]
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Didn't they make a couple of movies about you two a few years back......[crazy]
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No that was you on Gun smoke.....[
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[cool][#0000ff]Grumpy old men? Or Old Man and the Pee? Or TubeNook of the North?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not sure. When you get to be my age, there are no such things as reruns. All movies are new. And I remake new friends every day. And, I can hide my own Easter eggs.[/#0000ff]
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So it is OK to haul your gear with an ATV at Yuba?
That would make things alot easier.
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[cool][#0000ff]Welcome aboard. Yes, you can use a snowmobile or ATV on the ice, as long as their are no individual lake restrictions on it. Yuba is a state park, and a few state parks closely regulate the use of motorized transportaion on the ice. Unless is is specifically stated in the printed info for the lake, however, you can use them. Just be cautious and use good judgment. Also, please exercise good sportsmanship and do not buzz other anglers.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks.
Long time reader, first time responder.
I was on Yuba that cold chilly friday you guys were out. Thats my Chevy truck on the left side of the ramp, second one over, in your pic. We set up our shack on the far right side of the island, you can see it also when looking at your pic. We arrived after you, and had our limit rather quickly. I notice you fish Utah Lake once in awhile. I have an open seat in my Bass Boat if your ever looking. I live close to Provo Harbor. Anyways, Thanks again.
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Here's a question that makes you go "Hmmmmm?" With the perch limit at 10 fish, and you have to keep the first 10 you catch. Does this mean that you cant fish anymore? Or can you still fish for walleye & northerns? If you catch a perch I understand it has to be immediatly released, but isn't that the whole reason you have to keep the first 10 any way, so you don't send injured fish back into the water? Where in this case, you would have no choice. Sounds like a catch 22 to me.[crazy]
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I'm pretty sure the officer my boy and I talked with the day before the new regs went into affect said you have to stop fishing on the lake when you get ten. Gave us a list of other lakes to move on to but you had to stop at Yuba for the day.
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[
]Well that bites the big kahuuna! Thanks for the update.
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Hmmm....we pay the $26 plus any two-pole permits, and now they say we have to stop fishing after we've caught "X" amount of fish.
I understand they're trying to protect the lake.
I see their point, but do they see ours?
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[cool][#0000ff]DWR is babying the perch population in Yuba...in anticipation of some potential day in the future when there will be abundant walleyes and pike to feed upon them. So, they have enacted the current set of regulations designed to protect their precious perchlets from any added mortality.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As anyone who has fished for perch through the ice knows, perch are usually deep water fish during the winter. It is also widely known that perch jerked up from water over about 25 to 30 feet deep suffer from the "bends"...changes in blood chemistry and the protrusion of the expanded air bladder. Perch that suffer this malady have a high mortality rate when stuffed back down the hole. Even if they are able to power their way back down and repressurize, they may not live more than a short time later.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]THUS...DWR does not want us releasing any perch at all, since those from deeper waters are potential casualties. They made no provision for releasing fish from water shallow enough to not make a difference to the fish. THUS...perch we catch in 15 feet of water cannot be released either. We still must keep the first ten we get.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And, since there is a NO RELEASE regulation, you cannot legally keep fishing. Otherwise, if you do catch another perch, you will be in violation on either one of two levels...overlimit or illegal release of perch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This regulation has been in effect on Deer Creek Reservoir for a long time. It makes sense there. Very few perch in the lake and virtually all winter caught perch are taken from deep water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Under the current set of circumstances, it makes no sense at all in Yuba. An overwhelming perch population, with a high percentage of small fish. Plus, most of the fish are being caught in water shallow enough that there is no problem with the air bladder.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On a humorous note, Bassrods suggests that if you want to fish for walleyes or northerns you should fish for them first, rather than after you have your limit of 10 perch. What makes this funny is that 99 percent of all anglers are secretly or openly fishing for the larger species...but the perch keep chomping on whatever is being fished for the bigguns. Even using big lures, with big hooks, and large chunks of bait will not keep the perch off your line. It is amazing how some of those little perch seemingly commit suicide by forcing the point of a large hook into their mouths.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]Send me a PM when the soft water returns and I would be happy to join you in your boat. I got no pride at all.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the meantime, a personal request. Please reduce the size of your cute avatar pic. Maximum size allowed in 150 pixels wide. Yours is 206. Thanks.[/#0000ff]
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