Fished Starvation Friday night and Saturday. Walleyes and Smallmouth are finally on the prowll. Crossingeyes joined us for a great bite. Fish were deeper than normal ,but were biting good.. Water is up to 65 degrees and depth was around 20' to 25'. Perch are still deep and not biting. Honors of first and last fish went to Nansea.Crossingeyes caught a Wallye and lost it at the net and I promtly caught the same Wallie and promtly returned his lure on the same fish but the fish it was mine now.. Fish count 20 Walleyes 14'' to 20'', 5 Smallmlouth 2' to 3' Lbs and a huge Chub of 11/2 lbs .We also saw two pair of Ospreys with chicks. Thanks Crossingeyes for the good time, half to do it soon.
[signature]
Nice report and pics! You guys slayed em'! [cool]
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]Great report and super pics (right size too). [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Nancy looks like she has the touch on the bigger smallies...and chubs. That was likely a state record chub. TubeBabe got one like that last year and I got a couple over 15 inches. Wouldn't think of trying to knock Ray Johnson outta the chub record box though.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Dunno about the fish lure story. You guys musta been up all night...or snorting smelly jelly...or both. [/#0000ff]
[signature]
Way to go looks like all of you had a great time. Weather looked good and did not seem to be any boats out there. Did you troll or jig for the eyes?
[signature]
Trolled cranbaits, one fish on bottombouncers and none on jigs. They were tight early and deeper later.
[signature]
thanx jim and nance i had a great time. dude look at the 2 poles see the dark pole has no line thredded threw the guides. did happen we both got to fight that eye. when i lost it at the net all i said was i dont about the stupid fish i didnt want to loose that lure. it was the hot lure and i had only one. then the fish gods gave it back with jims assistance. his hooks were hooked to mine. we split a gut about it and said no one will ever beleive it. back to the fishing fishing i good right now. many ways i saw eyes caught. boncers cranks pitched into weeds and trolled but by far i saw moore taken on jigs than anything else. the turey was going on the whole time we fished saturday. decided im going to enter next yr with my boy. its for charity. alot of father son teams looked like fun was had by many this weekend. jim and nance thanx again. [
]
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]Hey Ken, you know I would never dispute the word of a fellow fisherman. And when two fisher guys and one fisher gal all tell the same story...well, it has gotta be the truth. Right?[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Not to try to outdo ya, but I once caught two fish at once on flies, while throwing a spinner? Someone had been fishing a tandem fly setup and hooked a double. The line broke at the leader connection and there were two trout swimming around pulling against each other. I hooked the tandem rig, with two trout.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Glad you got your hot lure back. Sometimes you would be willing to pay ten times the price for a lure that works. And it always seems that the hot lure you lose is the only one like it in your tackle box. Whatever you have ten of, they ain't bitin' on.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff]"Wouldn't think of trying to knock Ray Johnson outta the chub record box though."[/#0000ff]
[#400080]Now that is funny....[/#400080]
[signature]
Did you campout or did you just stay late? After seeing the fish you guys caught my wife wants to go to starvation next weekend .But if i go i have to campout .Is there areas that you can campout there that are close to fishing areasor do you have to go to the state park and campout there? I just thought if i go iwould do some night fishing if i was to spend the night.
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]Hey Cesar, I know that Jim launches at the main ramp and runs his boat up into Saleratus Wash. That is where TubeBabe and I have been fishing also. You can drive there by taking a 4 mile dirt road north from the Phillips 66 station, where the road also turns off to go to the state park. Instead of turning left on the paved road, go up over the hill on the gravel road. A good road most of the way.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]You will be looking for the sign that says Knight Hollow. There are two or three outhouses and "primitive" camping, with no running water. But, there are decent camp sites next to the water around that whole bay. You can go around to the north side of the wash and fish off the rocks at night for walleyes. That is where we got all our fish the last two weeks. You can also fish in the channel where the water is pouring in from the pipe. Sometimes some decent fish in there. And, it gets over 20 feet deep by the end of the channel.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Send me a PM if you need a map or more directions.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
Can you launch a boat from there or is it better to launch from the state park?
[signature]
Slept on our Trophy. Fished and got tired and woke up and fished. Good areas to camp and fish. PM Tubedude.
[signature]
Ramp at park, water is real high and rising.
[signature]
state park. dirt roads trash gell coats.[
] hey tubedude i have a question. maybee you might have some info i and the genral public could benny from. here it goes. can a stunted fish come out of a stunt? i was pondering this while night fishing. if so way cool but if not there are fish that should be removed to assist in some moore yr classes being replaced of chubs. you know, no differnt yr classes show up in gillnets. the spawners are old and we need them to be in the res for the bigger fish to return. you remmember the bigger fish i talk about. the late fall huge female bite in shallow water of steep cliffs. i bet you took part at least one time. i saw pic,s and read aticals about in 2 national mag,s. wish i would have went but it was durring hunting seasons. maybee if you dont know you might ask for some moore info from your resources. the public should know which fish to keep to assist the lake for some even better fishing while on it. i know the small walleyes play hell in the shallows on the minnows. thanx ken
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]There is no ramp at Knights hollow. But, quite a few folks launch at the main ramp and then take their vehicles and camp stuff around to Knights Hollow while someone drives the boat over. You will need to know where you are going though. There are several places you can slide the boat up onto soft sand or light gravel. [/#0000ff]
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]Can a stunted fish come out of a stunt? That is a very generalized question. There are a lot of differences in species...and the age of the fish at the time it is considered "stunted". All fish will grow only as fast as their food supply allows. If a fish with a six year age cycle is only 1/3 normal size at age 5, it is probably not going to grow any more...even if it gets a lot of food. The fastest growth with most species is in the first 1/3 of its life. Then they taper off.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The big mamas of the olden days were chub fed chubbies. That started to drop off when the chub population went downhill. And, as you know, for awhile there were very few decent sized wallies. In fact, there was a bounty on walleyes and a commercial interest was paid to net out thousands of them. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Then, some scoundrel dumped in some perch. Now the perch population is replacing chubs in the walleye food chain...to some extent. And, the walleyes are showing up in larger sizes. There are now some over 10 pounds and who knows what the top end is now...or will be in a couple of years. As long as the perch population stays ahead of the toothy critters, there should be good fishing for both.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have heard varying reports that some younger age class chubs are occasionally seen in the Strawberry River arm, but nothing small turns up in any netting surveys. Only the old dinosaur chubs. It is amazing how long they live and how big they get. But, the productivity rate drops off as they get older. They still spawn a lot of eggs but I have been told that the fertility is not as great. I don't know.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]What I do know is that young chubs don't have much of a chance with all the predators in that pond.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]What are you suggesting? No limit on small walleyes? Heck, most people are happy to catch two or three on a trip...of any size. I don't think angler pressure alone will have any affect at all on the walleye population.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you clarify your question and your concerns, I will run it by Drew and a couple of the biologists and see what is going on "behind the scenes".[/#0000ff]
[signature]
Great report and terrific pictures. Got to get out there!
[signature]
Thank you. Pat knows were to fish them.
[signature]
i dont want to see a no limmit o no. but if it will serve the fishery to remove small stunted fish i would kill just the small fish when i go back.
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]My personal opinion is that there are NO stunted fish in Starvation right now. All species seem to be producing and growing well. Plenty of food for all the fish. All the walleye we have kept and filleted...from 12" to 19"...have had ribbons of internal fat inside their body cavities. They are getting plenty to eat, with no danger of stunting.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Keeping the bigger fish will remove bigger "eating machines" from the system. It takes a lot more groceries to sustain a big walleye than it does several small ones. But, again, fishermen are not going to change the ecology of Starvation much. With the price of gas, fewer anglers are driving over there and very few anglers can even catch a 10 fish walleye limit.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Like all Utah lakes, Starvation will find its own level, through the changing populations of predator and prey. The chubs are just about history. The perch are abundant now, but the walleye are exploding again. Just like with Yuba, if there are one or two low water (poor perch spawning) years, the perch could be cleaned out and the whole lake could crash. That has not happened at Starvation yet, because the perch have not gone through a complete cycle of boom and bust like they have about every ten years at Yuba.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Could happen. Then, just like Yuba, Starvation would be turned back into a trout fishery. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The smallmouth would not be nearly as affected as the walleyes because they rely on crawdads for much of their diet. And, as long as the mudbugs are there, the smallies will do fine, thank you.[/#0000ff]
[signature]