Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe wanted to get in her first tubing trip of the year and picked Willard Bay as her venue. We had planned to launch at the campgrounds, at the north marina but changed our minds and launched at the south marina...about 7 AM.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Calm, clear and 34 degree air temp at launch. Water temp in the inlet channel was 46 degrees at launch and 48 at 1 PM...murky but not chocolate. Water temp in the main lake went from 48 to 53 and then dropped a couple of degrees when the west wind kicked in about noon. Main lake water is clear and green. Clean water and warming temps. Look out folks. Willard is ready to take off.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fished plastics and dragged a minnow all the way out the channel. Nary a nudge. Switched plastics and kept working shallow to deeper...8' to 14'...as I worked along the dike to the north of the marina channel.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had a couple of pop and drops on minnow when I started gettin' into the "kitty zone". Finally got the hook into a hard fightin' 17 inch cookie cutter kitty. Great skunk repellent.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Then came a series of "invasion robberies". Fish would pick up the minnow, run with it and munch the heck out of it...but would get the bait without getting the hook. I went through several minnows without putting my second fish in the basket. We each started with a "long dozen" bag of minnows and my bag was about half empty. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In panic I started cutting the minnows in half and using only a half minnow at a time. BINGO. As I got further into the ZONE I was getting more and more inquiries...and most of them turned into hookups on the half minnow. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe had started down the dike in the other direction and still had not had her first bite. Over the walkie talkie I convinced her that even though it was a long kick down to where I was catching fish...especially on her first tubing trip of the year...it would be worth the effort. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Trooper that she is she motated in my direction and slowed down where I told her to start dragging a half minnow. She soon went bendo and kicked the skunk out of her tube. Waytagogirl.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Now we had to make some decisions. Whenever we cut a minnow in half we had to decide..."HEAD OR TAIL". Which end of the minnow should we put on the hook first? The good news is that it didn't really seem to matter once we found some active kitties.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I had a head start. I netted about a dozen kitties before I ran out of bait...keeping the legal 8 for some more grilled kittyfish...a la camaron (shrimp). TubeBabe ended up with 5...not bad for her first outing of the season and better than anybody else on the lake that we observed or talked to.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]AND...there were plenty of bozos keeping us company. Everytime we caught a fish all of the boats within a half mile would change their trolling course and run right over the top of us. Had a steady procession of yoyos troll right between me and the nearby rocks. I was dragging a bait a few yards off the rocks and casting plastics on the other rod in toward shore. But, since I am polite, I withheld my casts to allow the boats to troll on by. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One dimbulb almost snagged me with his planer board. I heard him approaching from behind. When I turned around to look his boat was on one side of me and his planer board on the other. He sure was upset when I asked him "NICELY" to get the &%#% away from me. He moved away just in time to almost bounced the planer board off my tube and I had to reel in my bait line to keep him from snagging it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One boatload of not-so-enlightened tanglers asked me if I was catching any perch. I did not even know how to reply without seeming as rude as they were stupid.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Never can figure out why everybody has to come take a look at the silly folks in the float tubes, with all the rods sticking in the air. And the way they drag their lines around us you would think that there is a book somewhere that tells people we are the marker buoys for all the fish in the area. A great big lake and the dummies have to run over the only other folks out there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Anyway, it was a nice "sprinter" day (spring/winter) and TubeBabe got to bend her stick and stretch her string. Better than staying home and doing taxes...like some deluded folks.[/#0000ff]
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Quote:[#0000ff]Never can figure out why everybody has to come take a look at the silly folks in the float tubes, with all the rods sticking in the air.[/#0000ff]

Hmmmmmmmmm........

I got some thoughts about that one......but I will glady keep my mouth shut.


Congrads on the catchy watchy!
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Lookin good but the eggheads that think they need to get close to you need to find new marker buoys. I think I will get that ooga horn to use as a wake up call anyway.[pirate]
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tube dude i think i would carry a flare gun,that last guy with the planer boards id have put one right in his chest.[sly]
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[quote BigBuck3333]tube dude i think i would carry a flare gun,that last guy with the planer boards id have put one right in his chest.[sly][/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]In my younger days I was more "proactive". After a couple of slingshot episodes the ranger (laughingly) explained that I might get into trouble if I kept perforating the perpetrators. None of them could ever explain how it was that they were close enough for me to be that accurate.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also tried the "yellow liquid" filled plastic bags. Deadly at that close range. But you don't wanna have one break as you are chucking it at the dummies. Double points for them if you get it on you.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I just keep bringing up the camera and taking their pictures as they pretend I am not there. When someone asks why I am taking their picture I explain that I put out a magazine entitled "(orifices) of America"...and that I needed a picture for the cover of next month's publication.[/#0000ff]
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Utah’s Speed and Proximity Law states that a wakeless (idle) speed is required within 150 feet of another boat, a person in or floating on the water, a water skier towed by another boat, a shore angler, a launch ramp, a dock, or a designated swimming area.
So, they can idle right next to legally.....but it ain't cool[mad]
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thanks for the report tubedude glad you tubebabe caught some nice fish and had a great day for the the most part. I need to get the boat ready to get down there soon.
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good thing im a loud mouth over sensitive a'hole........ but only when i need to be, and so far for 2010, it has been one time on the provo FF'ing. even in my boat i steer clear of every one, even if i know them! better safe than sorry i always say
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Looks like you had another good outing. Surprised that they haven't left a little more room in Willard for the spring run off.
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Looks like you and TB had a great trip, I just hope the weather holds for sunday. Hey next time the planer baord dude gets that close just snag it up cut it I will pay ya for it. Or sell it back to him or ask if he wants to explain why he was closer than 150 ft.
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It's just people in general, Pat.

it's not just the boaters that have no "cooth". last weekend I pull to the south side of Lindon BH. There was an elderly (appeared to be elderly) couple on that point. I stop the big motor, 75-100 yards out, flop out my trolling motor and go in "stealth" mode. Stayed out and came into casting distance of the shore just north of him.

He proceded to chew my ass and tell me i just ran right over where he was fishing, throwing his arms up in the air. I am so far away, i had to ask him "sorry, what was that?" then i got another set of arms flailing.

I am still polite and respect people, I said "sir, i went way out of my way to come in here quiet and stay away from your lines. he proceded to tell me how i "ran right over him. now we are yelling at this point, because i am so far away. i can not see his face or his wife's. i was honestly that far away. I feel bad, but i am pissed by now. i yelled back about being nice and if i am going to get my butt chewed for being nice, then he can expect i won"t be so nice next time.

SI continue North to the guy camped on the north point. i went around him, came back into shore, then asked if i swung out wide enough not to bother him. He said i was way out and no where near him. and we were actually close enough to talk without much of a voice strain at all.

It's people in general Pat. Our world is defiantly in a downward spiral..
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You should tell the perch searchers that you got some perch, but the winter must have been hard on them because their stripes have faded and they all have a couple leaches stuck to their mouth. As a result, you've just been throwing them all back and keeping the catfish. Don't forget to add in that

"You've been fishing for a lot of years and you'd never seen anything like it before"

I am sure they would have been grateful for the wisdom shared and continued on their way scratching their heads with you at the new "mystery" you shared with them.
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[quote kentofnsl]Looks like you had another good outing. Surprised that they haven't left a little more room in Willard for the spring run off.[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Willard is still down a couple of feet from high water. But, there is no problem with excess runoff. The level is controlled by the amount they let in from the Weber and Ogden Rivers. Exess is simply sent directly into the Salt Lake. It does not have to go through Willard. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The lake can be maintained at full level as long as there is enough runoff coming in from the gates. But they can shut off the valves when it is full...or open the outlet valves when they wanna drop it.[/#0000ff]
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"or ask if he wants to explain why he was closer than 150 ft."

[cool][#0000ff]The 150 foot rule applies only to watercraft that are going above wakeless speed. Trollers and other slow boaters are perfectly within their right to get as close as they want. It just ain't sportsmanlike. But then there are unsportsmanlike anglers everywhere you go and it ain't restricted to boaters.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have had cases in which I was the ONLY angler on the lake besides the guy in the boat...and they actually brushed my tube with their boat...and pretended like I wasn't even there. I sometimes say nothing, just to see how stupid they will be or how far they will go. And when I make some noise it is surprising how many times I get comments like "You don't own the whole lake"...as if they did.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]PS...I HAVE cut some lines or deliberately snagged their trolling gear. I ain't THAT passive.[/#0000ff]
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Some people never learn about being rude and having no manners.
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I found it amusing at Jordanelle having two full size boats following "ME".[cool]

People do stupid things as well. Had a boat full of people cruise right next to us at a lake in Idaho. Not wakeless and about 30' away. Best part, he cruise really close to the dam. People were fishing on the dam...what a mess[mad]
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[cool][#0000ff]Y'know, now that you mention it, they weren't specific about what kind of perch. Maybe they were referring to the abundant supply of NILE PERCH in Willard...like the picture of the one below that I caught out of the north marina last year. Glad I had those two locals there to help me show it off before I released it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Then again, I could have held up one of the saber-toothed catfish from my basket. That might have gotten me some extra space.[/#0000ff]
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Now I feel Stupid. I completely forgot about the Nile Perch in willard. That had to have been what they were referring to and not your leach infested perch. You always said your favorite pattern on many lakes is the "Pale Perch" who knew you were actually mimicking the sickly perch of spring in Willard Bay[cool]
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I'm no expert and i have only fished Willard a couple of times but we did make a quik stop this past winter on the way back to cache valley from a pine view trip. During our half hour of fishing we did pull up one nice 12" perch, and I had heard of other people also catching them while talking to anglers on mantua. But maybe you are not refering to the fact that there are None in there, but the time of year or specific location. like I said before I'm no expert.

Thanks for the great report!!! I'll have to get out this weekend
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[cool][#0000ff]I did not mean to imply there were not any yellow perch in Willard. There ARE quite a few, and they get good sized. I know of several over 14 inches that have been taken from Willard...mostly during the winter, under the ice, when the water clears and the perch school up more. I have caught them all during the year, all around the lake...but especially in the north marina. (See attached pic)[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I was dumbfounded by the question about deliberately fishing for perch because there are so few of them in comparison to the other species that virtually NOBODY actually targets them...even though they occasionally show up on baits or lures being fished for other species.[/#0000ff]
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