Went to Lincoln beach saturday. We lost 2 large cats from a boat. I had 8 ''b flourocarbon leader. I've lost so many fish cuz of broken "freshly bought" line, I have now resorted to braided 25# plus 12lb flourocarbon leader. Maybe its the way I tie my hooks. Anyone else with that problem?
Also, I appreciate the tips on hooks. I use treble hooks and now will use circle type ones. Hopefully my catch ratios will go up.
The Lincoln beach harbor smells like sewage. We hit it when the power squadron was out but they didn't bother us any. Big lake so everyone kept their distance but I think it does disturb the fish with so much activity. We fished 4-6 feet and got hits. We went to 2 feet but nothing so we went deeper.
After looking at a Utah Lake aerial, I thought that Lincoln beach was on the south side, not so. There is a long way to the southern end. Has anyone went down from Lincoln beach to the south to fish. The aerial on KSL feature shows a lot of trees in the water. I figure the less people, the more and bigger fish. I did go a few blocks over but got nothing. Theres a road and a couple of possible launchable inlets but are they really accessible and are they on public property without those HUGE spiders?
Thats my spew.
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As one of our illustrious members has pointed out before.... Fish don't break your line, you do. Either because of knots, drag, or technique. Many fish have been landed that outweigh the test strength of the line by a magnitude of ten times or more.
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There are a few spots you could launch a small boat at the access points, tubedude has some good maps, the very south end will be very shallow this year,
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I'd love for the member you referenced to tell me how adjusting my drag or using a different knot would've kept a pike from biting through my metal leader and casually swimming away.
I don't think you're giving enough respect to the fish.
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its rare but it happens! i've seen them chomp through 50lb flouro as well
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[#0000FF]Fluoro is not a good choice of lines for catfish. You don't need clear line...especially if it does not have good abrasion resistance or knot strength. I have found that most fluoros are lacking in those areas. You did not say where the line broke. If it was on the main line you need better or stronger line...or a better drag system. If it was the knot you need to study your knot tying to find one that will not slip or be weaker than the line.
Catfish are not line shy. Some guys tie their hooks right to their braid and don't seem to suffer fewer bites. I have seen some ungodly rigs used by some catfish anglers and the fish apparently got no class and no scruples. They bite anyway.
Hooks. Big circle hooks are preferred by some cat tanglers. I use regular ring-eye J hooks...#84 Eagle Claw...in sizes 4-1/0, depending on the size bait I am using. I have caught lots of large cats on small size 4 hooks while fishing minnows.
The south? You are no doubt referring to Goshen Bay. (see attached map) Continue south on Lincoln Beach road until you run out of POSTED signs. There are several turnoffs with parking. Only problem is that the water is pretty shallow these days. But there are still fish coming into fairly shallow water. Just move around and try casting to different spots until you find depth and fish.
Some of those pump channels hold white bass and occasional largemouths.
The shoreline in the better areas is a mix of cobble rock and some brush during higher water. Mud and rocks now. Here is a pic of higher water times.
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The water level in the south end (Goshen Bay) of UL low but there are still people fishing beyond LaBaron's Point. I was down that way today letting my crew pick up a few carp and there were fishermen in every pump channel and every accessible point along the shore. The "posted" areas seemed to be the most favored spots.
I'm sure one of those "ungodly" cat rigs TubeDude referred to was probably one of mine.[
] I use 12 lb. mono and I tie directly to the hook -- no leader, no swivel, just a Palomar knot at the hook. The weak spot in the line is the knot and that is where I want. I fish a lot in rocky areas and snags are common. When I have to break off I want the break to be at the hook rather than some weak spot mid-line. It takes a lot of grunt to snap 12 lb. line and I have never had a cat break off unless I got careless and neglected some abrasions near the end of the line. A good drag set is probably my best friend. I admit to being a chronic cataholic so I use what works for me.
Good advise from TubeDude. He is a fisherman and he knows his stuff.
Good luck to ya,
BLK
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[#0000FF]Your rig is fairly common. Use it myself sometimes. But if I am fishing with minnows I usually add in a #7 swivel a couple of feet ahead of the hook...to provide just a smidge of added weight to help sink a buoyant minnow. It also allows me to use a HEAVIER leader of abrasion resistant Excalibur copolymer. Most of the cuts and scrapes on lines come from the jagged pectoral fins of the cats and from the rocks they roll around in if they get the chance.
The scariest rig I ever witnessed was a bank tangler fishing off the end of the south dike at Lincoln Beach. He had a surf fishing outfit...with a long heavy rod. To the end of his heavy line he tied two or three heavy sinkers...at least two ounces each. Then, protruding from that cluster of weights was a short heavy leader (about 6") and a big meat hook. The two hefty cats on his stringer confirmed that cats are not too picky sometimes.
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Surprised he caught the cats with all that saltwater gear.
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[#0000FF]Sometimes us more edumacated and suffistercated anglers start to think we knows it all. That's about the time some doofus with wacko tackle shows up and outfishes us.
Just goes to show ya that catfish are not all that finicky...most of the time. I have had sessions in which they wouldn't really take the bait well at all. And if they felt any resistance they would drop it. But on other trips they are "gulp and go".
When I codgertate on it I realize that cats are used to finding and picking their food out of sticks, stones and weeds. A piece of bait resting in or on a cluster of sinkers can't be any worse. Ditto for heavy line. They just ain't smart enough to recognize the difference between line and a stringer of weed.
There are a lot of places around the country where cataholics routinely use surf casting gear to fish for kitties. Even if the fish are not all that big you sometimes need the long heavy rods to chuck a heavy sinker out into a river that is deep and swift. And even fishing from shore on a lake you will often need the extra distance you can get from a surf rod and a heavy sinker. It ain't always just about the size of the fish you are after.
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[quote TubeDude][#0000FF] ... And even fishing from shore on a lake you will often need the extra distance you can get from a surf rod and a heavy sinker. It ain't always just about the size of the fish you are after.
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I'd like to be able to cast large swimbait far from shore past a boil of minnows being prey to a large fish and swim my lure into it on the retrieve because I suspect the big fish is territorial and will attack smaller competition that comes too close. But, I wonder if that's even the case because perhaps predator fish might have greater effectiveness as a pack and not be territorial at that moment.
It sure looked like there was only one large fish attacking because one would knock bait fish into the air as it jumps out of the water presumably stunning a few from the bait ball to then be vulnerable underwater. But, I don't know if it was a lone fish or working with others in a pack.
If territory intrusion doesn't work, then a smaller well weighted swimbait imitation of the minnow of the baitball being separate from the baitball will be a target of the big fish.
I've cast to the boils from shore by running around to get closest to them and by time I'd get close, it would be gone and a new boil would appear somewhere else and sometimes right where I was previously. Those fish had me running along the shore and dodging trees for two days just to occasionally get close enough for a few good casts to the boil that doesn't last long.
Now I have good surfcasting equipment that could allow me to pick a clearing to stay put yet cast far to distant boils provided I learn how to cast with it.
If anyone is an experienced surfcaster, then please teach me your technique. I have plenty of high quality equipment and plenty of vacation time.
I bought and read surfcasting books and watched it on YouTube videos, yet that hasn't translated into me learning to do it.
Once I learn how to cast far with my surfcasting equipment, I'll go back to Little Reservoir at the same time of year to cast to the boils as they appear without all the running and dodging trees and determine which lure works best.
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Dude, I ha a channel cat on several years ago at the area just below the roll gats where the Jordan River leaves the lake that was too big to keep in my boat net. I'm guessing it was 40+ lbs. I handled it with an ultra light rod & reel spooled with 10 lb. test, 2 lb. dia. Spiderwire line. Got it to shore several times but a doofus there kept shining his flashlight on it & away it would go. I finally gave up trying to fight mosquitos and the fish at the same time and broke it off on purpose. I tell you this to support those that told you about knots and drag settings. Be sure you use recommended knots when tying your rigs and be mighty sure you test your drag setting by pulling your line through your rod where it bends the rod a lot. Set the drag where it will begin to slip only after the rod has a good bow in it and before the line or knots break. Good fishing.
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It is true that cats at U L are not line shy! I use ten pound main line and twelve or fourteen pound leader with no issues. Eight pound just may not have enough abrasion resistance or strength to get some good leverage when fighting the good size cats. Don't be hesitant to jump up a line class or two the fish won't care. Good fishing to all and Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. Sincerely John R
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Thank you for all your input and tips. I broke off many a fish on my "unwise" hook tying. I have been using flourocarbon line and its been breaking off at the hook. As per your all tips,, I started hooking the hook directly on the swivel and used braided 25 lb and 12 lb line. Also, used 4/0 & 2/0 gamakatsu hooks.
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2 years ago I lost a very big fish in the Jordan river. I was about 20 feet from the pole I wasn't paying attention and I heard my drag start screaming I grabbed the pole and cought the line in my hand. It was stripping so fast it burned into the skin. I was using strength 14 pound mono I put on that day. I kept tightening the drag until I thought the pole would snap. I never turned its head or had it slow or change direction. Being impatient got the best of me as I was concerned about how for it would get in the river and ultimately the trees and weeds. One more click on the drag and the line snapped. When I got the line in I could see it broke at the hook. That day I started to search knots on the Internet and came across a sight that listed each knot and the percentage of line strength lost with each not. I was really surprised at how much is lost. I don't remember the site but it would not take you long to find it with a little help from Google.
I have landed a few cats around 29 inches and I never had any of them come close to what this fish did assuming it was a cat. I have even wondered if it was a beaver. About 3 weeks after that I went to the same area to try for Ole Big again and was telling the couple what I experienced and they showed me a picture of a 36" cat they cought 2 weeks earlier at that same spot. It had 4 hooks its mouth. I would like to believe one was mine. In short knots do make a difference. Many of the knots I used before that lost 10 to 30 percent of the line strength.
I am still a novice so thanks to all who posted there tips. I am going to change line type now as well.
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TD said it on the fluorocarbon line... Cats don't care if the line is invisible or even if the hook is exposed for that matter. Their diet consists of bony decomposing meat so they aren't line shy. Fluoro is notorious for knots slipping and I'm not a fan if it anyway.
I do like braid. It can be a bit pricy, but I have found that the Spectra straight from china (1/2 the price on ebay) is just as good as any Spiderwire or Powerpro. I guess its all made in the same factory, they just add different coatings or whatever but the actual filaments are all the same and I have yet to have a problem.
As far as best all around fishing line, for me, it's hard to beat good old 6lb mono! The key here is smooth drag and patients! I have caught 40 lb halibut, 20 lb barracuda, and 20 lb tiger muskie on straight 6 lb mono with no leader.
Fishing structure like you are for the cats, I would probably go spectra, just resist the temptation to set the hook at the first bump because a small bump feels like he swallowed the hook and is running with braid!
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