Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]Finally got a working draft completed on Utah Lake Kitties...for my "book in progress". Reluctantly, I am attaching it here for EVERYBODY to pick off if they want...including non BFT members. I have tried to restrict this stuff to members only but BFT admins have not addressed the problem with PMs and I cannot attach large files for members only.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This chapter is a compilation of several smaller writeups I have put together for sharing over the past few years. It has been greatly updated and pictures have been added to help illustrate the more important points. Hopefully a few folks will find something of value in it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]So, if you are reading this, but not a BFT member, be properly grateful that we all share our good stuff with you...member or not. Better yet, jump in and register. Share your stuff with us too.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks Pat!

Here is a suggestion about attaching large files for members only. Instead of doing that, you can either email it to each person who PMs you their email address or you can upload the PDF to a free site like www.drop.io and then send the drop link as a reply to the PMs.

Let me know if you need help with either of this.
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks. I weighed the options. On my last writeup I started by being able to attach the file to PMs. Then BFT made some "tweaks" to the system and I can no longer do that. So, I DID ask for email addresses and I sent out over 100 emails to those who requested them. That takes a lot of time and it also puts my email address in a whole lot of other places I would prefer not to have it. I am already getting tons more of unwanted spam emails just because phishers have found my email address in the files of other folks who did not delete it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This will be the last writeup I put out for the masses. Unless the PM function gets fixed there will be no more.[/#0000ff]
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Tubedude,
Thanks a ton for your write-ups! I have learned a ton from them and appreciate you being so willing to share your knowledge and experience with us.
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[cool][#0000ff]I appreciate your appreciation.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Happy to share my experiences and observations. Of course the disclaimer is always that none of that stuff should ever be considered the final word on any subject. Lots of other good anglers in Utah who have had plenty of experience and who have plenty of opinions of their own. Nobody is 100% right and nobody is 100% wrong.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I just throw this stuff out there to help a few folks who are where I have been myself...on the outside looking in...and hoping to get some help from someone who is willing and able to take their fishing pursuits to the next level.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Caring and sharing.[/#0000ff]
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Great write up Pat
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[quote TubeDude][#0000ff]So, I DID ask for email addresses and I sent out over 100 emails to those who requested them. That takes a lot of time and it also puts my email address in a whole lot of other places I would prefer not to have it.[/#0000ff][/quote]

I figure you had already done that. But wasn't sure you remembered since you do like to work with that PVC dust. []

[quote TubeDude]
[#0000ff]This will be the last writeup I put out for the masses. Unless the PM function gets fixed there will be no more.[/#0000ff][/quote]

I guess this means we all have to get on the admins to fix this feature. I know that I have benefited a lot from your past writeups so I don't want to miss out on future ones.

Thanks again for sharing!
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i give that a 5 star and a grammy. Very well said. It's people like you is why i go fishing. Pineviewfisher
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You are so generous!! I just spent some time brousing throught the draft---stopping to read various parts. I can't wait to do some serious studying of the document. It is full of wonderful information and pictures regarding catfish fishing at Utah Lake. Thank you so much!
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thanks for sharing some of your knowlege of them utah lake cats with us. It was great infomation. I was just wondering do you fish for them kitties anywhere other than utah lake and willard?
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As always another great write up. I really enjoy reading them. I learn something new everytime. I'm glad you are willing to share them with us. I hope something gets fixed I would hate to miss out on your great wisdom and long time know how. Thanks []
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[quote hppyfshrmn]thanks for sharing some of your knowlege of them utah lake cats with us. It was great infomation. I was just wondering do you fish for them kitties anywhere other than utah lake and willard?[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]There is some great cattin' to the north...Cutler Reservoir and the Bear River. But it has been years since I last fished either one. Why? Can't say...other than when I have good fishing a few bucks worth of gas closer...well, you get the idea.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Used to catch some good kitties in Yuba. They have been coming back since the big drain but still not in the numbers of Utah Lake or Willard.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Actually, on most of my trips that turn into catfests I am targeting walleyes or wipers as my primary quarry. But, when they don't come out to play the kitties usually will. And I ain't proud. I love 'em all. I go fishing to catch fish and have a good time. I am not a species snob. Heck, I even have fun rasslin' with an old carp...or even a trout. But carp fight better.[/#0000ff]
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Once again thanks for the writeup. You do have a lot of knowledge to contribute. And it is nice to have one so knowledgeable to fall back on when things go awry.
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Great writeup. I assume I know the answer to this, but similar techniques at Willard? I have yet to get anything out of there, but with it only 5 minutes from the front door, it will become a popular destination. Still trying to find the places they hang out there.
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Thanks for sharing, it is very generous of you! Although you are taking away my excuse for not catching fish! []
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[cool][#0000ff]The species are the same in both Willard and Utah Lake. But over many generations of adaptation in each of the two waters the catfish have adapted/evolved into fish that behave differently...based upon water depth, water clarity, forage base, co-predators and other factors.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That being said, I fish exactly the same rigs and same baits and lures in Willard as I do in Utah Lake. The big difference is that in Utah Lake 8' of water is deep. In Willard it is shallow. But I have caught catfish from 8' of water in both lakes in the same week.[/#0000ff]
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"Still trying to find the places they hang out there."

[#0000ff]Actually, with all of the catfish in Willard it is probably more difficult to find an area there are NO catfish than finding where they DO hang out. Of course there are factors that bring in more cats or cause them to go elsewhere. But usually you can catch them if you can find them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have fished Willard Bay almost as long as I have fished Utah Lake. I have gotten to know just about every rock around the perimeter and every hole and bump on the bottom within a reasonable distance from shore. Naturally I tend to go back to the areas in which I have had the greatest success...but those spots change throughout the year and from year to year...depending on water depth, temperatures, food resources, etc. There is a definite advantage to having a mental database accumulated over many years of observing the changing conditions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Still, there are some generalities that mostly hold true most of the time. One is that the cats will swarm into the rocks and brush in May, just as they do at Utah Lake...to make baby catfish. And, just like Utah Lake, a lot of the cats hang in or around those same areas a good part of the warmer months for feeding. Besides lots of crawdads there are young bluegills, crappies and of course grundles of shadlets in season. Not unusual to catch cats on lures meant for wipers or to have them come up and hit topwater in the middle of a boil.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I would like to claim that I can fish any 100 yard stretch of the dike...any time of year...and catch a limit of cats within 100 yards of that dike. I would like to...but I can't. What I can claim is that by using good search techniques (dragging a minnow or crawler) I can find where the cats are holding on any particular trip. THEN I can usually score pretty well on them once I find them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On any given day you can guess what depth will be best and what area. But, even if you know the lake pretty well you still have to make big S turns...shallow to deep and back again...until you score a few fish. Then, if all your bites come at 11 to 12 feet you watch the sonar to keep yourself in the ZONE to catch more fish with less searching.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are days when I have caught fish from 6' to over 20' deep. Other days they hang at exactly 8' and I can't buy a bite any shallower or deeper. The cats play by their rules...not my fishin' wishes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My 3 favorite areas? [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]1. Along the dike north of the entrance to the south marina. Best area is from about 100 yards south of the hog farm to the bend in the dike. Also a great place for wipers...and there are some great bluegills that hang in the vegetation next to the dike. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. Eagle Beach area and across to the NE corner. Lots of humps and bumps with a few flat areas. Sometimes the kitties hole up in the low spots. Other times they are up on the high spots.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]3. Inside the north or south marinas. It is amazing how many boaters blast off into the open lake without really fishing the inlet channel or the back part of the north marina. I have had days in my float tube catching grundles of wipers and kitties all by my lonesome...watching boat after boat blast off for the light pole on the other side of the lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Of course I can't give up all of my secrets but maybe we can meet up a time or two and do some show and tell. Much better than written rhetoric...especially mine.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]Well, if you are really looking for excuses I can probably help out there too. We fisherfolk become pretty good at rationalizing (excuses) and I have had a lot of years of experience.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I prefer to use the Thomas Edison philosophy. When he finally perfected the electric light bulb he revealed that he had conducted over 1000 experiments before succeeding. When someone asked him how it felt to fail 1000 times, his response was something to the effect that he did not consider that he HAD failed 1000 times...but that he had merely found 1000 ways it would not work before finding one that would.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fishing is definitely a pastime to which we can apply that logic. Sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error before we get it right. But, if you are like me, the journey is its own reward. It has been a lifetime obsession with me to match wits with those wascally scaly denizens of the deep. And even when they get the best of me I still have a good time trying. Of course it is always more enjoyable when they let you win once in a while.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Okay, now, let's start with the basics. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This is a hook. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Am I going too fast for you?[/#0000ff]
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[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff]The [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Of course I can't give up all of my secrets but maybe we can meet up a time or two and do some show and tell. Much better than written rhetoric...especially mine.[/#0000ff][/quote]

I would certainly be interested in this. I have already been told that my (hopefuly early) fathers day gift is a float tube of my choosing. So as soon as I find something affordable, yet up to snuff, I may have to take you up on that. Need something that can handle a 6'4" 250 lb manual motor.
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I have an [url "http://www.outcastboats.com/outcast/products/default.aspx?id=2"]Outcast Fat Cat LCS[/url] and it handles my 265 lbs plus gear just fine. I pretty much love it and I'm one of those guys who swore he would never fish from a float tube. It is NICE and I highly recommend it.
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Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out and see if I can find one.
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