Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]Like most anglers I am pretty good at coming up with excuses when the fishing is not stellar. Had a slow day at Starvation yesterday and decided to try a new one. We really had a tough time finding any fish at all in Bunny Gulch...which is rare this time of year. And there had been an apocalyptic thunderstorm over the lake the night before. Ergo...the fish all got scared and headed for deeper water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I caravaned over to Starvation with fellow tuber Hnaf. Hit the lake right at sunrise and snapped a purty picture as we were unloading the vehicles. Got launched a bit after 7 AM with the air temp 63 and water temp just under 70. Only a very light breeze. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It was perfect...except for the lack of decent sized fish. We all got into grundles of dink perch, and there were large schools of them in several spots both in shallow water and out in the deeper areas of the channel. Lots of food for predators but no predators. Sure not like the YEEEE HAWWW day I had a week ago on Monday.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We all covered a lot of water...from shallow to over 35 feet. Dinksters everywhere...including some 3" yearlings that could not get the hooks on our jigs but many ended up being snagged because they were so thick and swarmed around our offerings.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Thankfully, we all caught a few filleting size perch to keep us motivated...and to grace our tables. But it was one here and one there...no schools of bigger fish anywhere. There were also a few small smallies. We each ended up with 8-10 basket fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also got to play with about a half dozen wee wallies...nothing over about 10 inches..."under footers". However, there was one that reached to the 19 inch mark on my ruler (see pic). [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Oh yeah, I did luck into one of the lake's famed "chubosaurs" too. And both Hnaf and I lost brief battles with hyperactive rainbows.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We had originally planned to exit the water about noon, since that is when the daily storm was forecast to roll in. And, a pretty stiff breeze started to blow up about then. But it died down and we got in another couple of hours of so-so fishing. We all caught at least one or two more basket fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Headed for shore about 2...with me towing Hnaf back across the wide channel, from where we had finished our fishing. Love to show off my motorized Fat Cat. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Wonder of wonders...just as we were reaching our launch site there was a loud crash of thunder from the west and the wind started blowing for serious. We all agreed that it had been a good day on the water, even with slow fishing...and that our timing was impeccable.[/#0000ff]
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Another great post T.D. Beautiful sunrise. Even on the slow days you find a few to invite home for dinner. A dayfishing and tasty fillets aint a bad way to pass the time. Thanks for sharing
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Lots of food and no predators. Last weekend they were in the river channel.
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[cool][#0000ff]I figured that is probably where they went. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But...not much of an option for float tubes.[/#0000ff]
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No it was breezy too.
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Was a spectacular day on the water for sure. That single thunderclap as we headed to shore was epic. Even though the baskets didn't fill up as I had hoped the sheer number of ~7" perch that wanted to come play made for a very fun day. I was happy to also find some willing small mouth of modest size willing to play. Basket at the end was full enough to feed the family though. Bit of butter (slightly browned for extra flavor) in the pan, cooked the fillets till they had a bit of brown on the surface but nice soft tender flaky flesh. Then seasoned with a bit of salt, pepper and dill to cut the butter a bit. I think my 2 year old ate 4 fillets just himself and I gave him some from the larger perch. He kept handing me his plate back saying MORE!.
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Nice pics, especially liked the 19" Walleye.

Glad that thunderclap missed!
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Sounds like you are teaching the 2 year old well![cool]
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Fine looking fish Pat....well done. Starvation looks like a nice place for some awesome fishies, I will have to get up there some day.

Shawn M
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Again you've done it - even a bad day for you is full of fish Pat! And yeah - that walleye is really something. Did you photoshop that?

I was lucky enough to be finding some Idaho fish at that time up by the Sawtooths. But you've again got me wanting to venture out to check out this canyon. Maybe I'll make a labor day weekend trip out there. Coming up fast.

Do you expect it'd get busy there over a holiday weekend - after schools have started?
So once more - thanks for the story, pix, and a nice post. You're an inspiration!
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks fer the kindly words.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You had your fun in my old home state of Idaho. But, there is plenty to be had closer to the Wasatch Front. Starvation is a bit of a drive, compared to Willard, but it really offers some great fishing for perch, walleyes, smallies and trout. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most weekends and holidays see a lot of camping and boat traffic on Starvation. Labor Day is usually a biggie. But, if you hit the water early and late you can usually find some decent fishing...if the wind does not get too huffy. It is a big enough lake that you can generally find some temporary solitude...of sorts. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The fishing will hold up as long as the water temps stay above 60 degrees. After that most species start heading to deeper water and get harder to find. The flip side of that is the trout. They will move shallower and will be easier for trollers and tubers to find and catch. Should be some doable bank tangler action on some spots too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I will be hitting it a couple more times before the end of the month and I am sure others will too. Shouldn't be hard to keep tabs on what the lake is doing and to make a game plan before you go out. PM me if you need some inside info.[/#0000ff]
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