Hookngrinin, and a friend from Vernal and I fished Rabbit Gulch today beginning at about 0830. Based on some of the reports from the weekend we decided to try shallower than we fished last Thursday. We got into the perch in 13 to 15 feet of water in the upper end of Rabbit Gulch. There were some other fishermen in the vicinity and across the bay who appeared to be doing OK.
Success was pretty good and all three of us caught lots of perch in the 4 to 9.5 inch range. Mealworms and perch eyes and belly strips were the baits of choice. Ron and I kept around 20 fish each. All of my 20 were 8 to 9.5 inches, plenty porky to fillet and enjoy. Ron and my friend caught a few rainbows but I didn't get any on this trip.
Ice thickness where we fished was 8 to 9 inches and solid. The ice was making some popping and cracking noises but it's good noise because it means the ice is getting stronger. The lake is rising and there is a little water coming up around the edges. When we came back to shore we had to cross about 10 feet of 4 inch water over the ice. The ice hadn't weakened but I urge caution when crossing the edges until they have a chance to freeze up again.
Mike
edit to correct Hookngrinin's spelling......sorry Ron. I know you don't do any "ginin".
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Water rising that fast already? Wow! Be safe out there.
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thanks for the report I can't wait to get up there again my self.
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Good job on the perch, Mike. It's good to see them coming back and with some size to them.
You were probably tired of trout after your last trip.[
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My buddy and I must have been just east of you guys. We were in the red quick fish 6 tent. We also found the perch, around 11-15 FOW. We also took home a beautiful 20" rainbow. The ice was 8" plus and is good healthy ice. We left around 11:15, there wasn't any water on the ice when we left. there was a guy riding past on a four wheeler and appeared to be confident about driving around out on the ice. It was our first time ice fishing Starvation, and we'll definitely be back. My hand auger crapped out on me today, and my arms were tired drilling with dull blades. I stopped at the Heber Sportsman's on the way home and purchased a gas auger for the next trip!!!
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I saw your tent yesterday morning. It appeared you were very close to where I fished last Thursday. I'd say we were about 400-500 yards west of you guys. The folks with the ATV came and talked with us later and they ended up fishing a little west of us and they found some perch in 14 to 16 feet of water. Since the back end of Rabbit Gulch is fairly flat, the depths are pretty much consistent all the way across except where the old stream channel is located.
I think folks can find the perch all over the back of Rabbit at the same 12 to 16 foot depth. There is some old vegetation on the bottom that provides cover for the smaller fish to hide them from the larger trout and the walleye. I was surprised we didn't catch any walleye, but they've got to be around somewhere.
My brother works at the Heber Sportsman's Warehouse. I'm sure they appreciate your business. You'll love the new auger, it makes moving and searching for fish much easier. Good luck in the future.
Mike
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Good report Mike. It was a fun day on Starvy. We'll have to get after them again soon. The 20-ish perch I kept were 8 - 9" and all females. I kept two smaller ones to use as bait on the next trip and they were both males.
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I may try to get back this weekend with my kids. I just finished filleting the 25 perch we brought home, all of the 8-9" were females as well. I ended up buying an Eskimo Stingray 33. Pete Milburn was the guy who sold it to me. Now the anxiety of moving to find fish with the hand auger should be long gone.
Thanks for the report
Conner
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thanks for the report. We got out last Friday and had similar success to what you reported. However, about noon the perch disappeared on us. We drilled quite a bit but never found them concentrated again. Anyone fished the bridge area that has a report?
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Hey Conner,
Peter is my brother. People say we look and talk the same. The truth is I'm older, wiser and much more handsome. He's supposed to be selling guns, he must have poached the auger.
Good luck out there next weekend. I just finished a perch dinner and it was absolutely great! You just can't beat the taste of those spinney criters.
Mike
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That's cool, he's a nice guy and very knowledgable about fishing. I'd ask for fishing tips from him when he worked at the Midvale store, and he was always good about helping.
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I'm sure Peter will be flattered by your comments. He lurks on this site once in a while and a bunch of his friends read every post. He does know a great deal about fishing, tackle and places to go. I taught him almost everything I know. [
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Mike
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Fished the bridge area on Wednesday. I was after rainbows so had on bigger jigs and did not catch any perch, but the guy fishing near me pulled out a few. We were between the first bridge support and the shore - 21 FOW. The perch were probably concentrated more even more shallow.
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Did you get into some rainbows at the bridge?
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Yes, bows at Starvation are always nice. Got 3.
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[quote TopH2O]The truth is I'm older, wiser and much more handsome.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]That's funny; Pat says the same thing about you. [
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[quote dubob][quote TopH2O]The truth is I'm older, wiser and much more handsome.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]That's funny; Pat says the same thing about you. [
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Yeah, but Mike says it with a straight face.[/#0000FF]
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Not trying to be a jerk or troll on this thread, just curious... is an 8-9" perch a good sized perch here? Personally i would never keep one that small. 10-12" at a minimum where I am from.
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they get a lot bigger. but we are desert. so low water yrs take a toll and eggs get left high and dry. as well die offs. perch have it hard in ut.
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To go along with what Crossineyes said, It depends on the water and the year. Three to four years ago we had a lot of 10 - 12" perch in Starvation. When 10 - 12" inch perch are available, that's what I keep. I really like to eat perch, so if 8 - 9 inchers are what is available, I'll keep some. There are still some larger perch in Starvation but they are not very abundant.
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