Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]BFTer Waljustia became a float tuber when he bought my H3 Freestyle (Rojo). We have been trying to get together for a tubing trip for the past two months, but wind or personal commitments had not allowed us to syncronize our schedules. We took care of all that today, in fine fashion. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I had introduced Dave to the Knolls area a while back and he has caught some fish wading and bank tangling. But, he wanted a proper intro to the kitties from his new (to him) red float tube. So, TubeBabe and I brung some extra minnows and carp meat and got him properly launched and equipped.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The smoke from California fires made a cool sunrise. I got a shot of Waljustia looking out and anticipating a good day, with the red sunrise in the background.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Air temp was 65 at launch. A light breeze and no mosquitos...until later. There were the usual clouds of pesky midges, but they added some protein to the launch. Water temp was a comfy 76 and we were all fishing without waders.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Tried plastics and crankbaits early, but no white bass or walleye in the vacinity...at least none that wanted to get some exercise. Once I got out into at least 5 feet of water, I rigged a bobberhead jig and piece of carp meat under a bobber, and dragged a large whole minnow on the second rod. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Talked to TubeBabe on the walkie talkie. She had power kicked further east along the shoreline, and had a couple of "inexperienced" fish that didn't know how to hang on and arranged an early release. Saves a lot of work at the fillet table.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Dave would not admit that the once abundant white bass in the area had moved on. He whipped the water to a froth with his plastics. Nada, zip, zilch.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I had two unsuccessful "inquiries" on the bobber rig before something took it down with authority. A nice 22 inch phat mama kat beat me up for awhile before getting an urge to spend time in my basket. I had worked out into over 7 feet of water and the bait was only about 4 feet below the bobber. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The depth of 7 to 7.5 feet turned out to be the best place to find kitties for all three of us today. Once I told TubeBabe (on the radio) to move out a bit she began getting action too. And, once Dave decided to start fishing for kitties, he also began to score a few. In fact, he ended up top rod for most cats today...even though he "rookied" his biggest fish by trying to stuff it in his basket tail first. Ever see a catfish missile come rocketing up out of the water...and a fish basket?[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I ended up with several between 20 and 24 inches. The largest weighted about 6.5 pounds when we weighed it at the Pelican Bay cleaning station. Kept a few for the smoker.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeBabe got several good eater kitties...but all except one was smaller than the "cookie cutter" fish of Willard Bay. Must have been a good catfish spawn the last couple of years because there are sure a lot of the smaller fish showing up this year. Between the small cats and some hungry mudders we went through a lot of bait...I ran out. We had constant hits but were unable to put the hook in most of the munchers.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Not too long after we launched we all turned to look at the ultralight aircraft we could hear whining (like big skeeters) around the edge of the lake. They were not very high off the water and I got a couple of pictures. Sure would hate to meet up with some REAL skeeters that big.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Light breezes off and on all morning. About noon the forecast NW wind turned into a stout SE wind that brought up a chop and made returning to shore a bit more difficult.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Great day on the water. Really glad we could show Dave some good kitty action from the float tube. But, wouldn't you know it. He still complained. His shoulders hurt from fighting the fish. Sheesh. You just can't keep some folks happy.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

Nice pictures, But I think you may need a bigger fly swater for that size of skeeters...
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]It is tough to find those 50 caliber flyswatters at Smith and Edwards.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

Nice reportr TD
[signature]

Good report and pictures.
Those cats look very healthy, (consistant coloring).
Looks like that one "skeeter" was after Dave's hat.
[signature]

Nice report and pics, Pat. Looked a little windy out there. Do you notice a big difference fishing for those kitties with wind vs. no wind? I guess it probably doesn't matter a whole lot to those big boys.
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]Good question. Wind and catfish?[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When fishing from a tube, I hate strong wind but often appreciate a "fishing ripple". A bit of surface disturbance breaks up the direct sunlight and fish that are light sensitive become more active. We almost always see an improvement in fishing as soon as the surface is broken up a bit by a breeze.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]But, strong winds make it impossible to fish with any finesse. If you are throwing light lures and need to maintain "touch", you are out of business when the wind puts a bow in your line and pushes your tube around so that you cannot maintain position.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Stronger breezes do not adversely affect the feeding of most fish...if they ARE feeding. In fact, many species become more active in the wind because it tumbles and disorients the prey species and make it easier for the predators to capture them. White bass, walleyes, bass and other predator species often feed right in the "slop" along a wind-blown shoreline. These predators have well developed lateral lines and good vision that helps them locate prey in the dark or in muddy water. They have all the advantages when the wind stirs up the water and smaller fishes get beat up in the choppy water.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]If catfish have been hanging out in shallower water, like they do in the reeds around Utah Lake, a strong onshore breeze with big swells will push them out into deeper water until it calms down a bit. Maybe they get seasick in bumpy water. Sometimes it takes a day or two of calm water before the fish return, but they usually do.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]A light breeze is good for fishing cats from a float tube. I let the breeze drift me along, if it is not too fast, while dragging a bait on one or both rods. If the breeze is slightly too strong for drifting, then I kick back against the breeze, at a speed just fast enough to make some progress against it. That is, if the breeze is blowing from a direction that allows me to stay within the "zone"...the right depth and bottom contour. But, if I want to move parallel to shore and the wind is either directly offshore or onshore it pretty much ruins the fishing. You have to spend too much effort to stay in the right zone and it becomes "UN-FUN". Time to go home and wait for a better day.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Yep. I hate wind when fishing from a float tube. But, until it gets unmanageable, you can still continue to enjoy "hands free" fishing by using your fins to maintain position while you cast...or to guide your drift while you drag bait. That is not as easy when in a pontoon...with oars or electric...or in a boat where you have to constantly work the trolling motor.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

Thanks again Tube dude and babe.. Yesterday was fun.. it's really cool to fight a cat with decent pull from a float tube. Tubedude didn't mention that he got a double hookup. I was watching him fight a big one then his second pole went off.. I look over and he has both poles in hand and both are bent over.. kind of cool.. he managed to land both.. When the same happened to me.. I only got one in.
[inline TubeDudeDouble_Bendo.jpg]
At least I was able to get a picture of the one that swam out of the fish basket. I think he was the luckiest catfish on the lake that day ... If he didn't have such a big head(or if I hadn't been so clumsy), he wouldn't have made it out alive.
[inline UtahLakeCookieCutter.jpg]

I measured my net out at 24 inches on the inside to give a reference to the length of the above fish. Probably was 25-26 inches.. and full of fight.

Those cats really started beating me up toward the end. 3 big ones in succession will do that to a guy I guess. Not to mention kicking back against a stout wind.

The fish story of the day for me was catching a little cookie cutter on an empty hook. I had just caught a decent female, and finished putting her in the basket. I stuck the rod in the rod holder and just let the empty hook dangle in the water.. as I started rigging up a drop shot rig I was going to try out on some rocks I found. Next thing I know.. that pole in the holder went down and I thought for sure it was a carp or something that just ran into it. I was surprised to lift a 10" channel cat out of the water, hooked right through the mouth.
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey, you are a fisherman (sorta). And we are all fishermen (and women) too. How could we ever doubt your bare hook story? Everybody knows that catfish are notorious for cruising near the surface, looking for bare hooks to attack.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[signature]