Met up with TubeDude today for some early morning fishing. He has been hounding me for some pointers on how to catch big cats. I taught him well. I was wrestling in a couple of serious mudders when he hooked into a really nice fish. Ii was an ugly fight and the fish bolted every time he saw TD's face. We finally tamed the beast and he measured out at 29 1/2 inches. My best for the day almost made 22 inches.
I'm not a complainer but, I have fished that same area for the past 3 months and never caught anything over 26 inches. TD comes down here for the first time and hauls in a near 30 inch cat. There is no justice in the world.
Great day on the water even if TD out fished me 10 to 1. Beautiful weather, calm seas, and good company. I'm sure TD will have his own version of the day when he gets back home but my version is the more accurate accounting of the day.
Let's do it again.
BLK
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That's what you get for putting TD in your boat buddy! [sly][sly][sly]
Nice cat!
Thanks for sharing, Can't wait to see Pats version.
fnf[cool]
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Yup TD is a fish magnet. Always finds a couple of playful friends.
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[#0000FF]Hey Lynn, thanks for the boat ride and the "lessons". I especially appreciate you "training" the fish then sending them over to bite on my line. I'm sure a lot of them wondered why you pulled the bait away from them early...just so they could sample mine.
We did pick a good morning. But we got off the water at the right time. That morning gentle south breeze was picking up to be a stronger north breeze as we left. And you were right. There was some weather coming into Salt Lake. A big storm up in the mountains to the east. And when I got home there was a fair amount of water left over from the thunderstorm that tried to get me...but "mist".
Sorry I was not a more gracious guest. I should not have insisted on catching the first, last, most, most species, biggest and smallest fish. Mighty selfish of me. Hopefully the smokitty package helped a bit.
Excellent guide service and a comfy boat...even for a broken down fat old dude who whines a lot when he is not in his comfy float tube.
Here are a few of the pics I snapped. Really had to Photoshop the ones with you in them. But at least the fish look good. Some of us want justice. Others want mercy. I oughtta know.
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Way to go Mr. Lucky! You two seem to have that area really figured out!
Now, if I could just get a little time to start putting some northern monsters on the board[
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Mike
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[#0000FF]Ya just gotta know where they plant it.
Best big cattin' is still ahead. Plenty of time to put some respectable whiskers on the board. Hope your holiday weekend is not too full of crises.
I get my biggest fish every year by fishing the same way I do for the smaller fish. I just get lucky and drag the bait in front of a big one once in a while. There are a lot more small ones than big ones. Put in the time and you will find a few.
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Very nice fish Pat. You want me to enter that one in the contest? Looks like everything is in order for a big score. I know you don't like contests, but we like big fish showing up on the board and that's one of the top 3 caught so far. Glad you guys had a great day. Sure sounds like fun. Guess I'll cut hay tomorrow if the weather will hold. Wish I was fishing. Later J
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Now I'm envious.[cool]
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[#0000FF]I'll post it up in the contest.
I took my BFT official sheet yesterday, anticipating I might score something worth entering. I have released several cats this year, while tubing, that might have been entry-worthy. But in order to do the photo stuff I would have had to kick in to shore...from a few hundred yards out...and then get out of the tube and all that. Not worth it for measly 27 inchers.
Lynn inspires me. I might go out with him again to catch a couple of 36 inchers.
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Thanks Pat for entering that fish, although being from the other team, I should be discouraging you. Very nice fish, I hope I find one that size this season. I'll bet that was a fun day with two cat masters razzing each other over a fun morning of cat fights. Fun times. Thanks again. J
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Sounds like you guys had a good time! Glad you found a good one for TD. I feel a lot better after hearing he out fished you 10-1, when we went to Willard he only out fished me 6 -1[
] Normally I don't count fish during a trip, but they were really easy numbers to track on that one, especially my lone crappie.
I think maybe there is something to this thing about him catching the biggest fish in the boat. When he went along on a trip last year he did the same thing only it was one of those measly 27's. Come to think of it, my largest cat last year was when I fished off my buddy Dave's boat. Maybe the captain is just too distracted trying to be a good host[
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I think next time I go it will be on Dave's boat again. Maybe you should come with me sometime and we could test the pattern.
Glad you had a good trip!
Pisco
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Awesome! That biggun looks good in the picture with you. I could work with that, but you let me off easy at Willard so I'll leave it alone[
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Keep up the good work, I know we can get those northern boys on the run again!
Pisco
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[#0000FF]We talked about you yesterday. I told Lynn I thought you guys could probably stand each others' company for at least one trip. You really should have a meetup.
To test the captain vs guest biggest fish theory, you need to trade off whose boat you fish from. I promise I will not join you to skew the results.
I admit to enjoying fishing with both of you. But I still prefer my solitary ride. And I just got a new model to get tricked out and initiated.
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You got a new tube? What kind did you get?
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It was a good trip and we sure picked the right day... perfect weather all morning with thunder and rain after we left. Fun to fish with TD, either with him in the boat or just on the same water with him in his tube. I'm looking forward to zooming past him in my boat just close enough to rock his tube pretty good and get him riled up. On second thought I seem to remember him saying he sometimes packs a .45 with him so I might have to reconsider that plan.
I drove out around Lincoln this a.m. just to see what was going on. Thought I saw Ice Sled out there in his mini-boat... a few other boaters fishing off the springs and lots of bank tanglers. Nice day with calm water.
I decided to take the day off and get reacquainted with the lady who has lived with me for the past 53 years. She is very tolerant of my fishing addiction but a marriage needs a little nurturing attention to maintain peace and harmony in the home.
My crew is out of school now so back to full time "work" next week.
BLK
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[#0000FF]I got one of Scadden's ESCAPE tubeless "tube-toons". I used to have a larger Renegade. Liked it but it was just a bit large for my style...mostly kicking around all day...using the motor for longer runs and almost never using the oars. The escape is closer in size to the H3 Freestyles we used to have.
Got some new ideas for tricking out the PVC goodies. Will have it ready for the water in a week or so.
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Wow! It looks like it will be a busy week! I hope it turns out better than the current one, even though I wouldn't have thought that was possible!
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[#0000FF]Like BLK, I have set aside some time this week for my spouse...TubeBabe...the kitty queen. She has been busy the past couple of months with "projects"...family and friends...flitting all over the country. Now she is plunked down for a while and wants to go play with the kitties. So Wednesday or Thursday will be her day on the water...her first fishing trip of the year. News at 11.
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Nice new ride. I look forward to the new version. Later J
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How are the carp? Any thrashing around and shootable yet? I need fresh bait and they drained Mona res last year so a mess of fish died. Were there wads of carp floating the surface if they weren't tangling in the shallows yet?
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