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Fellow BFT tuber "Pa" is finally recovering from some health issues and is once again water-worthy. Seeing a window of forecast forbearance...weather-wise...we decided to revisit one of our FORMER fave spots.
Launched at Bunny Gulch (Starvation) about 7ish. Lovely morning. Only a slight ripple on the water. Water temp 68. Water level still almost full. Campground was also well attended for a Tuesday. Looked like it might be some kind of family or group gathering. At least not a lot of PWCs or ski boats, until later.
Pa threw up a rooster tail with his Minnkota (yeah, right) and headed off to the east. I poked along fishing for the bottom blips I could see in 16 to 20 feet of water along the south side of the channel. Picked up a couple of dink perch and fed others some of my worms without inviting them to visit my tube. Rude.
Headed across to the north side of the channel, to an area I have done well on all species during past Julys. That was ancient history. Been dismal the past couple of years...including this one. I saw quite a few potential customers on sonar but they all had the proverbial middle fins upraised. And every time I saw a dense school of "something" my jigs were immediately assaulted by "rattlers"...little perch pecking at the worm sweetener. Most failed to get hooked. But a whole bunch did get to make a thrilling ride up to my tube. Some even got to ride around in my basket so they could go home with me and become kitty bait. They were all cookie cutter 8 inchers. Boring this year but next years fillet size and jumbos in a couple of years.
Had a couple of hard thumps that felt like trout...on Gulp minnows. Also had a teen incher smallie make one jump and give me back my jig. As far as I can tell I did not disturb the equilibrium of a single walleye today. No married ones either.
Pa caught a small rainbow early and that was it for him until about an hour before we left. That was when he made a cast to a surfacing trout and was rewarded with some super tugs...and a couple of jumps. Almost made him 
. At least he had a goodun to take home to the grill.
Pa had been zooming around on the lake a lot more than I had. Then, about 11ish, his battery got the blahs and he was powerless. But, nice guy that I am I hooked him up to the same rope I always use for TubeBabe and towed him back to the truck. Sheesh. You'd think folks would learn how to charge their batteries and take better care of them.
A fun day on the water with an old fishing buddy. Woulda been better to score a couple of tasty walleyes. But I ain't complainin'. Not much. But I ain't goin' back until fall. Starvation has been nice enough to me in the past that I believe in giving her another chance.
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So you've become one of those guys pulling tubes around that we all love? Next it'll be a wake board!
I haven't made it to Starvie yet, and these reports are not building the proverbial fire under me.
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what lb thrust motor do you run on your tube?
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Great report and photos, Pat.
I'm sorry that the fishing wasn't as nice as the weather. Wow the campground looks like the 4th of July!
I'm headed over there tomorrow to fish with a friend and his wife. The Blue Ribbon Advisory Council is having their meeting at the State Park on Thursday and I think he is doing some "research" for the group.
It sounds like I had better plan on a slow fishing day based on most of the recent reports or lack of reports from there.
I hope I'm fishing with you when my battery dies.[
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I have been missing starvy the last couple years. But hey from the amount of perch you found it sounds like the next couple years it will be hopping again.[cool]
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I haven't had much luck in Rabbit Gulch this year but other places I have found some pretty big schools of perch. Mostly 3-4" but hundreds of them. If I stick it out I can find some predators nearby but it's a lot of work. If nothing else it's a good sign of a forage base that still exists.
It's never too late to put a bigger outboard on your tube and expand your fishing areas. Just sayin' [
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[quote wyoguy]So you've become one of those guys pulling tubes around that we all love? Next it'll be a wake board!
I haven't made it to Starvie yet, and these reports are not building the proverbial fire under me.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Wait til I get the new Verado mounted up. I'll be skipping those tubes behind me. Maybe get some air. Yee haw.
I keep telling myself "It used to was good. Maybe it will be good again." But since that last good winter and the perch die-off afterward the fishing has been different. Fewer fish and more "recreational" boaters and PWCs. The esthetics are just not there and the fishing is not good enough to suffer through it.
It always pains to see the deterioration and/or demise of a former close friend.
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Hey Pat,
Thanks for a fun day and the tow. Rest assured next time out I will make sure of my gear. hehe. Matter of fact the battery problem is being taken care of as we speak. thanks again brother.
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Im running a 30lb thrust. Always been enough for me.
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[quote utahgolf]what lb thrust motor do you run on your tube?[/quote]
[#0000FF]Running a 40#...but a 30 or even a 24 will do the job. I started with a 30 and I think I got as much top end speed as with the 40...with less battery suck. The main reason I got the 40 was for the extra 6" of shaft length. I got a long/tall upper body and with the 30 inch shaft on the 30# thrust I got cavitation if I raised the motor up high enough for the control arm to be easily accessed. The 36" shaft is just right for me but probably not necessary for folks of lesser "stature".[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I'm sure that your inimitable skills with the fairy wand will coax a few of those recalcitrant rainbows into munching your feathers.
We saw a LOT more fish on sonar than on the ends of our lines. And if I had to guess I would say that a lot of the larger mid-depth marks were troutkind. As you well know, they act according to their own set of rules and feed on their own schedules. If you get to put in a full day under reasonable conditions you should be able to enjoy at least some measure of success at some point in the day.
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[#0000FF][#000000]"I hope I'm fishing with you when my battery dies"[/#000000]
And just where are you keeping that battery...and for what purpose? Sonar battery. No problem. Just stick your head underwater. Hearing aid? Don't stick your head underwater. Motation and propulsion battery? Eat better burritos.
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[#0000FF]As I told Gary, I'm working on upgrading to a Verado. But first comes the second deck with the barbecue and surroundsound.
I bet I saw at least 20 schools of perch today...most of the ones I caught were 6-8 inches. And I also noticed larger marks hanging around. But If I listened closely to my underwater hydrophones I could hear the sounds of little fishy burps. Those bigger fish got plenty to eat so they don't need to commit sideways with the silly stuff us angler types drop down to them.
I too am encouraged by seeing the apparent return of the food chain. Should result in more and bigger smallies and wallies. Trout are doing okay by their ownselves.
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[#0000FF]The pleasure was at least half mine. I ain't so competitive that I get thrashed when someone else gets more or bigger fish. (YOU S.O.B.) I was glad you scored the nice bow.
By the way, even after towing you my battery was still 82% power when I put it on the charger back home. But I didn't try to see how many times I could cross the lake either...and I didn't have to go back and move the truck so that silly boater would be able to get his boat out of the water. (After he had launched it just fine after we were already clear across the lake.) Just think. If we get bigger tubes we can lord it over the guys with smaller tubes.
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When the perch are not so big, just add more potatos to the chowder.
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My wife uses a 30 but she will be using my old 34 which has a 36" shaft. The 30 has a 30" shaft.
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It always pains to see the deterioration and/or demise of a former close friend.
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I hear ya, Pat. I keep hoping the rumors of Starvies demise has been greatly exaggerated.
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Pat and Gary,
I blame the demise of Starvation solitude on the trout.
Once rumor of big trout was out, trouters everywhere pounded that puddle. Fisherman brought their families along and had such a good time that multiple repeat trips were put on the docket and now you have what you have.
Dang trout....
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[quote WaveWolf]When the perch are not so big, just add more potatos to the chowder.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Or a couple of nice walleye fillets...if you got 'em.
Actually, if you need an extender for any fish recipe for which you don't gots enough fish, just add a few shrimp. Been doing that for a long time whenever there just ain't quite enough for a full batch. Really adds some extra flavor too.
I almost regretted keeping the dozen or so perchlets I kept for bait yesterday. I had to first scale them...leaving the skin on...and then filleting and de-ribbing them. Takes longer than filleting and skinning for chowder. But those little perch strips really do make good bait for kitties and walleyes. Hopefully my labors will be rewarded with fish of larger size.
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[#0000FF]You may be on to something...or just "on" something. The overly noticeable increase in lake popularity among the camp-boating contingent seems to coincide with the recent practice of loading Starvy with rainbows. It used to be rare to have to share the lake with more than a few other anglers, even on most weekends. Now it is tough to find a lakeside camp spot even during the week in summer. And you see a lot more bank tanglers soaking "bottle baits" along the shoreline.
Yep. The proliferation of troutkind has polluted the lake with the three Ps...popgear, powerbait and power squadron.
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You don't think that the nice new camping and beach area they have at the boat ramp have increased the use of the park? I kind of thought that may have played a big part in the population explosion on the water. I'm sure that having some nice trout in there to catch also plays into the picture. I noticed the walleye fishing was starting to decline a couple summers ago, that's why we decided to move our trailer to the Gorge for a couple summers, just wish there was a good walleye/perch water close by.
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