Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]For two weeks Mama Nature has pitched a hissy fit when I planned a trip to Starvation. This morning I sneaked out under cover of darkness and boogied for Knight Hollow...hoping to get on the water before she knew I had outfoxed her. It worked.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Air temp a cool 45 at launch. Water temp a cool 63...especially cool without waders. Ya gotta be tough. Only warmed up to 65 by quittin' time at noon, even with calm wind and warm temps.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I was more than ready. Luckily, so were the fishies. I used the trolling motor to head out into the lake, watching the depth and looking for fish on the sonar. Shut down and started fishing in about 20 feet of water. Started dragging a worm-baited "flig" (floating jig) on one rod while vertical jigging and bottom bouncing a small jig on the other rod.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Got my first inquiry on the pale perch colored flig in about 24' of water. Good scrapper. Took line off the drag. Was thinking smallmouth. Fooled me. It was a PORKY PERCH...14 incher. Way to start the day. Biggest perch of the day too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Then I started alternating. First a perch and then a mini walleye. Got into an area that was covered with wall-ettes...nothing over about 10 inches. Caught a grundle of them, along with perch that were longer and heavier.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Loved the perch but had come for the toothy guys. Kept moving around and trying different jigs. Finally tried one of my new ultra minnow jigs that I had modified to have a spinner blade...kinda like a Roadrunner. Fished it a while and was just getting ready to change again when THUMP. My biggest walleye landed of the day...a nice 16 incher. It was followed soon by a 15 incher. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After a long dry spell on both the flig and the jingle jig things got busy. I changed to my deadly "RC Killer" (red & chartreuse tube jig) and started getting fish again. At one point I was five for five...five drops and five walleyes. Only a couple were over the "teen incher" size limit I had imposed upon myself. All the foot-longs or smaller still swim. And there are lots of them for future reference.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Two times my flig rod took a sudden deep bend and the surface erupted with a head-shaking rainbow. Landed the first one after a spirited tussle. 16". Just right for my sis in law. The second one was larger. A lot larger. Of course he arranged a "professional release". I was just a spectator as he tore up the surface, twisted free of the offending sticky thing and then swam off.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had a similar situation on smallmouths. Tried throwing cranks over a shallow hump and got thumped good. A 3 pound smallie came up for a look at me, decided he didn't like what he saw and gave me back my crank. Got a couple of other bumps but no more hookups on hardbaits.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The RC Killer put several more teen inchers in the basket for me before the combination of low wind and high sun sent them...somewhere. Suddenly it just died. I moved around and tried different depths to no avail. I had nine perch and nine walleyes in the basket. That seemed like a nice round number on which to quit. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There was a boat with a couple of other guys fishing near enough for conversation for a while. They were spanking the small wallies pretty good too and said they had one about 20". Also said that they were told by some buddies that there is a crankbait bite starting for the walleyes if you hit them right. But the wind has been blowing hard over there most of the day...every day. I told them I brought the calm. I don't do wind very well in my tube.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water level seems to have peaked and is starting to drop. Down a foot or so from high water but still pretty high. Good clarity.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not much water coming in the diversion pipe. And it is pretty clean. Didn't seem to be holding any fish. I talked to a couple of boaters who had fished it. One caught a small walleye and a perch but nobody else got bit.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Final tally: 9 and 9...plus a slimer. I caught perch from 12' to 30'. Ditto for walleyes. Best areas were in water between 10 to 15 feet deep. Baited with worms on fligs and jigs...except for the few times I tipped with 2" chub minnows. Caught both perch and walleye on minnows as well as worms.[/#0000ff]
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TD - hey buddy nice hog perch! dang looks like you had fun! Good story and nice fish!
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[cool][#0000ff]Gonna hit 'em again next week. PM me your schedule.[/#0000ff]
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nice 20incher! []
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I think you cheated on that 20" by about 10". LOL Looks like you had a great day!
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[cool][#0000ff]Looks like I caught a couple more.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Y'know it really torques me that folks can't just accept a picture that CLEARLY shows the length of a fish. You'd think I Photoshopped that or something. Or something.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just having some fun. That's what it's all about.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No complaints about the way I'm holding the fish?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Unbelievable some of the "discussions" we have had on this board about something just as silly.[/#0000ff]
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TD,
I am going to try to hit the Starving pond next Tuesday. If you're over there that day, I'll stop by to chat. I think Pete might join me for the day. I enjoyed your report and your pictures. Some folks just don't know funny when they read it!
Mike
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It should be all about fun! Also, the way I figure it you deserve a little literary license once in a while! Right! It wouldn't be fishing if you couldn't stretch the size of a fish or two, you just need to be careful with the photo evidence when you do.
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You are a fishing machine!
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I would wager that you could predict my reaction to your Starvation fishing report and pictures. Thanks for the detailed report and the informative pictures. I recognized all of the lures you used, and I was vicariously there with you. I can't wait to get out there myself.
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Wow Tubedude, nice catch!! I have been trying without success to catch those elusive eyes. You seem to always get into them. Nice fishing
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You know it's a big perch when you catch bigger perch than eyes! Nice job, dude! I always love your reports! It's nice to know there are actually fish out there.
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awesome report as always if i ever see you fishing i am going to lasso your tube and make you fish with me so i can learn a thing or two!!! just kidding!!!!!!!
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[cool][#0000ff]A couple of us are semi planning a trip next Tuesday. But still haven't decided on Knight Hollow or Bunny Gulch. The former is usually best early in the summer but I like the latter better for tubing...and it usually treats me pretty good.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]Yes, you were there with me in spirit. Everytime I released a sub-teen incher I thought to myself "Lloyd would probably keep this one". (Sorry, old friend) If you had been there and if you enjoyed the same degree of success I did you would have probably beaten your previous numbers record several fold. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Thinking Tuesday of next week...weather pending. But it will be a long summer. We shall return.[/#0000ff]
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"It's nice to know there are actually fish out there."

[cool][#0000ff]In my opinion that is the healthiest lake in northern Utah for multi species fishing. It can be tough during the winter but once the water warms up over 60 degrees in the late spring the fishing gets hot and lasts well into the fall.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are some HUGE perch in there...and lots of them. I catch several 14 inchers each year and have lost a couple that were probably a couple of inches longer. Scary. Great smallies, wallies and slimers too. Big browns and now lots of healthy rainbows. Now if DWR doesn't overmanage it we are golden. [/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]I hate the two hour drive each way, but the fishing makes it well worth the effort. Anyway, I sleep all the way home...even if I am driving.[/#0000ff]
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[quote panfish1422]awesome report as always if i ever see you fishing i am going to lasso your tube and make you fish with me so i can learn a thing or two!!! just kidding!!!!!!![/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Those who know me will verify that I will share when I can. But, the quickest way to get on my bad side is to mess with my fishing while I am on the water. One of those rod holders is really a small surface to surface missile. Get too close and you get a dose.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Seriously, we have a pretty large tubing contingent in Utah and we often have mini floatillas where anybody who can show up is welcome. Spend some time on the tubing board or PM anybody you would like to fish with and work it out.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I really do get a lot of "attention" from boaters...especially when I am catching fish and they ain't. The guy in the picture "14 INCH COOKIE" just about drove me off the water. He first motored right up almost on top of me and started a barrage of questions. I politely answered and refrained from bashing him about ruining my stealth approach with his noisy motor. As he drifted off and I kicked away I caught a couple more walleye. He started back toward me with his trolling motor this time...just as a big rainbow took my flig and rocketed up out of the water almost into his boat. When it came off, he DID apologize and I "let him off the hook". But, for about two hours he had to keep coming back over to ask more questions every time I caught another fish. I am sure I would have done even better if I did not have him to contend with. He almost got the deadly missile. But, he was a sincere fishermen and seemed to be properly appreciative of whatever I could offer...short of letting him raid my tackle boxes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]What a lot of boaters do not really understand is that I fish from a tube on purpose...not just because I can't afford a boat. I have owned boats. I just plain prefer fishing from a tube...mostly for the silent but deadly approach. That is important when fishing for spooky fish in skinny water. And tubing with sonar and now an electric motor gives me most of the benefits of a bass boat. However, I can't get it up on plane or tow a water skier.[/#0000ff]
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TD<

Cool report. Yes, your equipment is the ultimate stealth vehicle. btw, Ive got your PT. Loma fillets I promised.
congrats on the Starvation sucess.
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[cool][#0000ff]Hope you had a good trip. PM me the details.[/#0000ff]
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Tubedude love the reports on your adventures!! I get a kick out of the genius ways you fit all that on your tube. You have got it down to a science!! I might have to steel a few of your ideas and incorporate them onto my tube!! Thanks, keep the reports flowing.
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