Fishing Forum

[#0000FF]Didn't know how the weird weather might affect the fishies but TubeBabe and I decided to do some research. Launched at Lindon about 6ish. Air temp 52 and water temp 66. Water level in the harbor is down to 3.5 feet. No action inside on the way out.

The Kitty Queen wanted to bend her sticks on some whiskery fish. So what else is new? I did not even take catfish gear. Rigged her up with the right stuff and some minnows. I took all light rods and a few crawlers. Figured I could play with a few white bass and maybe a stray walleye. Figured right, kinda. More on that later.

After going biteless inside the harbor and out along the rocks I headed for the bubbleup. Dragged some cranks and larger plastics on the way. Arrived at the buoys unmolested.

About my third cast near the end buoy on the bubbleup I got a nice whack and a spirited tussle. It turned out to be the cutest little footlong kitty. Took his picture and sent him back to grow a bit.

Moved along the pipeline, throwing larger plastics and then smaller plastics...and some crankbaits. Nada, zip, zilch until i was about halfway to shore...at the 4th bouy. Then I started getting some hits from whities. Brought in a few but all were under about 10 inches. Kept a couple for bait.

After the white bass left me I got two more fish...ugly mudders on the same small jigs. Hit hard and fought well on the light gear though.

TubeBabe had caught one 20 something channel cat on minnows and had a couple more missed inquiries. Then a long dry spell. Me too. So I started working small plastics in big S curves on the way back to the harbor...trying to find something substantial.

I changed plastics and tipped with fresh bait every few minutes...trying to repeat my catch of a nice walleye late last month. I was finally just about even with the channel entrance when I got a THUMP...followed by the characteristic head shakes of a walleye. Anybody who says walleye don't fight much has never hooked one like that one. It bored down and ran line off the drag on the light reel. Then it turned me around two or three times in my tube. I finally got it up near the surface and got confirmation on species. And WOW! It was a big fat mama. Guesstimate 28 - 30 inches and between 8 and 10 pounds. As I was lifting it to the surface for a final pull over the net it looked me in the eye, opened its mouth so I could see the little jig deep down inside, shook its head, cut the line and swam away with my jig...and my breath. I actually was able to reach out and touch the lower jaw with the end of my net before it pulled the Houdini routine.

Hey. I didn't cry. I consoled myself by saying I would have probably released it anyway. Prolly. But it didn't have to steal my jig to make a point.

TubeBabe and stayed in an area between the bubbleup and the harbor. She was getting some more bites and had landed a couple more cats. She finished up with 4. We have done better but that was respectable on a slow day. Oh yeah, she got a 7" crappie at the bubbleup too...but no whities for her.

The forecast breezes were starting to whisper up so we made an early day of it. Tried again inside the harbor and got no love later.

With the already low water levels it looks like another tough fall and winter on Utah Lake. Hope the white bass got off a good spawn. The ecology of the lake needs some more baby whities in the food chain.
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Nice work Pat. Nice report and pics. Always good to see your adventures. You made the best of a so so day. Thought it was going to be clear and hot today. Pretty good breezes right from the start. Sorry for the shy eye. He did not want to temp you. Big fish sounds like. A net touch counts as landed in my book.

Let me know the next the trip to Starvy. I am done with back yard wedding tomorrow and will have some time to fish - finally.

Thanks
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[#0000FF]PM me about Starvy. Tuesday might work.

Weird weather.
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Good report Pat. Glad you hung into the walleye. Too bad she wouldnt pose for a picture taking sessions but sometimes girls get shy. Glad you made the best of a breezy day.
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Bummer on the wascally walleye. I would have loved to seen the photo of that one.

Thanks for sharing as always.
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Love your interludes[cool]
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Hows that rule you have go? If its gets away, it can be as big, or whatever species the angler claims, and no one dare refute? At least she got your blood pumping. Did she purse her golden lips at you, blowing a big kiss goodbye before taking her departure[crazy][]

Always fun for tugs of one flavor or another

[quote high_n_dry]Bummer on the wascally walleye. I would have loved to seen the photo of that one.

Thanks for sharing as always.[/quote][#0000FF]

Yeah, I really would have liked to get a picture. That was easily the biggest 'eye I have hooked for some time. But I know there are a lot of big ones in that lake...and some a lot bigger than that one.

I have been doing a rewrite on my jig fishing writeup and adding pictures. Going back through my archives and adding more narrative has taken me on some trips down memory lane. That has reminded me of how well I have done in the past on Utah Lake walleyes...and how I caught them.

Funny how we sometimes quit doing what used to work. Time to get back to the future this year. Look for me to post more pics of big walleyes from Utah Lake starting in early fall. And I might even break the 10# mark a couple of times.

Wanna join me?
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[quote CoyoteSpinner]Hows that rule you have go? If its gets away, it can be as big, or whatever species the angler claims, and no one dare refute? At least she got your blood pumping. Did she purse her golden lips at you, blowing a big kiss goodbye before taking her departure[crazy][:p]

Always fun for tugs of one flavor or another[/quote]

[#0000FF]Golden lips? 'Twern't one of those toothless golden walleyes you always catch.

Otherwise, you got it right. The angler's third law applies. Whatever another angler claims is truth. And unverified species and weight are not subject to question. So be it.
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I had a vision that a school of Utah Lake carp found you in your tube, they ganged up on you and poked a hole in that lovely PVC'd tube of yours, and then they dragged you down for a once in a life time"gill-ectomy".[:p]

Be wary my friend!
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[#0000FF]You had a vision? Maybe you need to change your meds...or cut back on workouts.

Carp are not too bright. They just don't get it that I am not their friend. In fact, on many tubing trips they come up and try to "get friendly" with my black fins. Something about black that appeals to them. I have even seen them rolling all over sunken tires in shallow water. Don't think it is a racial issue. But then I don't really know carp that well. Dumb fish.
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[#0000ff][#0000ff][b]"Funny how we sometimes quit doing what used to [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_reply_write;quote=1;parent_post_id=887683#"]work[/url]."

[size 3][#000000]Yeah, maybe I'll go up to Deer Cr and fish with Velveeta cheese. [/#000000][/size]
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[#0000FF]I'll bring the Pokee Bait.
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Hey Pat way to go on the big walleye.
It hurts to lose a fish like that before you get a mug shot but the good thing is you got to see it, up close and personal. He now has a[#0000ff] TubeDude[/#0000ff] original piercing to remember you by. I hate it when you hook a good fish, fight it for a long time, and it gets off before seeing what it was or how big it was.
Thanks for your report.[fishin]
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[#0000FF]Thanks, Tom. You and I are beyond the stage where we have to land and keep all we catch...just to show off when we get home. But, I agree with you. It is better to at least get a good look at a fish before it arranges an early release. Even better yet if you are able to tenderly touch it and then release it...and watch it swim away...but as your choice and not the fish's.

I put a little extra drama in my report but the truth is that I was a bit glad that I didn't have to try to net and handle that fish. Difficult to fight a big fish to exhaustion on light tackle and then stress it out even more with a net and photo session. Walleyes are tougher than wimpy trout but the better you handle them the better the chance for survival if you release them.

Not only that but those wallies got lots of sharp edges and pointy stickery things all over them. Those things don't get along well with inflated stuff like float tubes.

Okay, I've rationalized it enough. I still wish I had a chance to get a good picture for my collection. Hard to fillet and eat a picture but the smaller fish are better anyway.
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Been awhile since I heard pokee bait. It did work, as did velveeta cheese. Like you said amazing how we quit doing what used to work.
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[quote fish_fear_me2]Been awhile since I heard pokee bait. It did work, as did velveeta cheese. Like you said amazing how we quit doing what used to work.[/quote]

[#0000FF]But at least when we get older we got an excuse. We forget.

I do remember that a lot of folks used to use those small white marshmallows too. Got some big trout on them along the rocks below the railroad tracks up by the dam just as it was getting dark. Heck fire, we even used to be able to fish off the damn dam. That was before 9-11. Thanks Osama.
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