Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]Had some shiner minnows left over from our trip to Scofield yesterday. Didn't want to waste them by freezing them. They are lousy once frozen. So, we took them fishing to Utah Lake.

TubeBabe and I launched near "The Knolls" a little before 7. First time we have tubed "wet" (no waders) this year. Water temp 65.5 at launch and just over 68 when we quit about noon. Felt good. Hate waders unless ya gotta wear 'em.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Started off throwing lots of plastics, in different sizes and colors. Wanted to see if I could find a walleye or two in the nice green water. NOPE. I did find a gazillion bitty white bass though. Probably caught 30 or more in the first hour of casting along the shoreline. There was nothing I threw that they would not hit. Kept a few 10 -12 inchers for some whitie scampi.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe took a while to bring in her first whitie. She loves to catch and eat them, but they do not always cooperate with her. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The SE wind had been pushing a little when we first got there. Only a bump or two. Nothing serious. But, by 9 the lake laid down and it was mostly smooth for the rest of our trip. I took advantage of the lull in the breezes to kick up around the corner to the east to fish another area. Found a few more small whities, but nothing else. Tried putting on a bobber and a small minnow and fishing near the weeds. Bangity bang. Mudder city. Landed a couple and lost several small minnows in a row to bait stealers. 'Nuff of that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Oh yeah, in that same area, I was tossing a plastic and hooked something that felt "interesting"...but not THAT interesting. Brought in a dead mudder on a wild looking sinker rig that someone had broken off. Couldn't help thinking of Bassrods. Now I was in his league. Of course a dead stinkin' mud cat on some 20# line and a big sinker is not quite as good as recovering a fancy lure in the mouth of a big ol' live brown trout. But, it is the principle. Right?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finally got around to dragging a minnow on one rod while pitching plastic with the other. Good move. First customer was a big ol' daddy cat. Beat me up for about 15 minutes. Thought it was bigger. Measured about 27 inches and estimated weight 8-9 pounds. Got it to purty for the camera and turned it loose to make some baby kitties. Daddy cats are usually not as good eating (as females), and I wasn't sure I wanted to keep any cats anyway.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hardly got the new minnow out in the water when BANG....ZING. Got another customer on bait. Only about 3 or 4 pounds, but fought bigger. Know what I mean? Started thinking that it might be time to make some smoked kitty. Put the new arrival in the basket.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]For the next half hour I could not pick up my plastic rig before something smacked the minnow. I landed several more nice cats in quick succession. Since TubeBabe was whimpering about her lack of action, I hollered her over on the walkie talkie. She wondered if she could get the money back on her fishing license. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Two bad days in a row had her kinda snarky. I had caught the first, most, biggest and last fish on our trip to Scofield yesterday. And it was shaping up to be the same kind of day today at Utah Lake.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Being the gentleman I am, I coached her into the prime area...where all the cats had been hammering my bait. But, as usually happens when I do that, the fishing shut down. She has really jinxed a lot of formerly productive spots. Nevertheless, I left the area to her and went back to tossing plastics exclusively. I had kept 4 cats for the smoker. That was enough.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]A while later, as I was heading for the take out spot, to go get the car, TubeBabe announced that she had caught a "Willard Bay" cat...a 17 incher. So, just like yesterday, the only honors she could claim were "SMALL FISH" for the day.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Very few bugs. A few midges but no bloodsuckers. The water level is as high as it ever got last year. Plenty of water for the kitties to be playing in the weeds around the shoreline. Should be some great bobber action when the weather stabilizes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, the water was pretty clean and green. I would almost have bet money on a walleye today. We both had fish on (briefly) that acted like walleye. And, unless you land them, they can be anything you want them to be. Right?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The white bass were in shallow...from 2' to 5'...over rocks and near brush. Full spawn mode.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The channels we caught were in 5 feet of water. I never did try the bobber and carp meat next to the reeds routine today. Only took those leftover shiners. They stayed good and firm and the kitties appreciated them. [/#0000ff]
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36204"][#212126]KNOLLS LAUNCH.jpg[/#212126][/url] (266 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36205"][#212126]PESKY WHITIE.jpg[/#212126][/url] (243 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36206"][#212126]CHUNKY MUDDER.jpg[/#212126][/url] (189 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36207"][#212126]BENDO ON BIGGUN.jpg[/#212126][/url] (165 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36208"][#212126]BIGMOUTH DADDY CAT.jpg[/#212126][/url] (209 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36209"][#212126]4 LB. MAMA.jpg[/#212126][/url] (191 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36210"][#212126]ANOTHER SMOKER.jpg[/#212126][/url] (201 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36211"][#212126]TUBEBABE IN DA DISTANCE.jpg[/#212126][/url] (267 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36212"][#212126]TUBEBABE & TIMP.jpg[/#212126][/url] (188 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=36213"][#212126]SMOKER AND SCAMPI FIXINS.jpg[/#212126][/url] (359 KB)
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Looks like for the most part it was a great outing. Tell TB I know how she feels this year is not treating me very well either. But hey when it starts out slow it can only get better right.
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[cool][#0000ff]Your "theory" is sound, but based upon optimistic reasoning...not reality.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One of my old favorite sayings is "Things started out bad...got worse...and went downhill from there." I think we have all had days like that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In fishing, we all pay our dues. Each trip brings new challenges and (hopefully) teaches new life lessons. After many years and many fishing trips we (hopefully) have a greater mental database and make (hopefully) fewer mistakes and false starts. That is when we have fewer skunk days and get more enjoyment out of every excursion.[/#0000ff]
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[mad]I'm trying to be a good sport ... but am on shaky ground!! As TD mentioned, the thought came to me that I might want to try to get a refund for my fishing license. I guess the best thing to do is swallow my pride and keep on trying. I like your theory better than TD's!
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Nice report Pat, glad one of ya put the smack down on um at UL. Give TB my condolences I share her pain (grinning).

Like the looks of your new chatter bait the whitie is hangin onto. And I told ya the mudders were bigger than usual this year. Heck they even had some fight in them.
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks Bro. Yes, the lowly mudders were active...except for the one in the picture below. It was dead when I hooked the rig it was on. Apparently some bank tangler broke it off in the rocks and I got lucky enough to snag and retrieve it. YUCK.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The lure in the pic is actually a mini spinner bait I started making last year and it does well for perch and walleyes. Since white bass got no pride, they hit it too.[/#0000ff]
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Sorry for the sloa/late reply. Seems the site has a few bugs still. Sent your notice to a rat bike account I haven't used in years.

As far as the spinner .... it looked way to nice!! You need to chip the paint job on it LOL
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[cool][#0000ff]You need to check your email listing with BFT. Click on "Forum Settings" and see what they have listed for you. Part of the changeover was that the system went back and picked up old email addresses for many of us that have had changes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Those little mini spinny baits work on "other" species too. Can't chip the paint job on the spinner blade. I know the guy who paints those and he makes them tough.[/#0000ff]
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Yeah Bro I figured that out last night. All is good in cyberland again. That email addy was from a very long time ago. Good thing I still use it once in awhile.
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