Saturday Stealth Siege at LB 7-16-05

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Met up with Carp_Punisher and fishluvr before dawn...5:30 AM. Had my Super Fat Cat aired up and loaded already so I beat the two 'tooners on the water. They gots more speed and range than me, but they gots more setup time.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I started by throwing plastic, to see if there were any early whities or wallies. Second cast had a thump and got beat up pretty good by a nice channel cat, about 3 pounds. Released the first one as an appeasement to the kitty gods. It worked.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The 'toon duo rowed up and commenced to chucking bait. I moved farther east and did the same. Wasn't long before we all had "inquiries". There were some good sized kitties waiting for us today. We all got at least one over 5 pounds. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My first few fish came on chub minnows, and I couldn't get bit on carp meat. My last three or four were all on carp meat and I couldn't get any interest at all with minnows after about 9 AM. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I got my last of 9 cats right about 10 AM. That was when some shorebound folks fired up their little radio controlled speedboat and started running it around in the area we were fishing. I don't think any of us got another bite after that toy boat started whining zipping around over the water. There were also a couple of radio controlled model airplanes zooming overhead, like a couple of mosquitos on steroids. All in all, it really added nicely to the peace and tranquility of our morning.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I did not catch any mudders today. Hooray. I did catch one white bass on plastic, and had a couple more on briefly. Saw some hitting the surface and saw a couple of areas of ripples where minnows were being herded by something.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I released three channels, all in the 3# range. I kept six for the smoker. Smallest was 3.5#, two were right at 4 pounds, two at 5 pounds and my largest was 5.6 pounds. Stretched my string good and had a good day on the water with Carp_Punisher and fishluver. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I drove off about 11:30 after steering the lads to a carp killing spot. They had one bloody carp on the bank and were stalking more as I put Lincoln Beach in my rear view mirror.[/#0000ff]
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[Carp_Punisher]

[#505000]Ahh an excellent sequel to "Men in Black the Clandestine Lincoln Beach Floatilla". Thanks to me remembering to bring sunscreen I managed to avoid the "Most Improved Sunburn" award (my knees still hurt from thursday). [/#505000]
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[#505000]I ended up with 3 nice cats 2 of them pushing 5.5 pounds I would guess and a smaller one at around 3.5 lbs. I began to toss a little plactic and managed to score a small (11 inches or so) skinny eye (I'm the king of small walleye. I haven't caught an walleye over 13 inches since early spring). In the process of unhooking him I began to see a runner on my bait pole and scored one of the two biggies. In the process of netting him I released the eye (it was quite intentional I swear). I also hooked into a white bass, and then another larger version of the first at the end of the jetty on my way back in. [/#505000]
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[#505000]Before wandering out of the area we took our bows out to replensih the bait supply. We managed to shoot a handful of carp and took three of the slimy goldfish home. [/#505000]
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[#505000]I got home straped on the butcher outfit and went to work. A few hours later I ate the whities for lunch. I am tired and still smell like fish. I guess it's better than eating beans for lunch and smelling of methane emissions. [][/#505000]
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[Stickfigurefrank]

Nice day guys! Sounds like it was a bunch of fun... I would love to tag along on more of your "outings" so to speak if you guys would have me... I still have yet to hook into anything other than mudders this year. I was given $250 in cabellas bucks and need a bit of help with what I need to buy as far as tackle goes for this are and some stuff in prep for ice fishing. any help is appreciated.

Frank
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey Frankie, nice goin' on scorin' the Cabelas Bucks. You should be able to get some good mileage out of that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]What we need to do is to first take inventory of what tackle you already have, and then figure out what you need to fill in the gaps or add new dimensions. I get the impression that you are ready to get serious. Hope you have an understanding wife and a flexible budget. Getting serious about fishing can put a dent in the bank account, or scorch marks on the plastic.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Seriously, it does not have to hurt to become reasonably well outfitted. Heck, when we go out after those kitties, we can get by on a single rod and reel outfit, good line a few hooks and some bait. We COULD do that, but as you have seen, we usually take somewhat more than that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am assuming that you live in Utah County. If you can ever get away and come up to Salt Lake some evening or on a weekend, I would be happy to go over your current tackle with you and to help you put together a starter kit of some of the basics you will need and with which you can practice.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is also more to it than just owning tackle. The way we fish for the cats on Utah Lake may seem simple, but there is a lot to it. Sometimes it is possible to just pull up any old place and chunk out some bait and catch a few fish. More often, you have to know where the fish are hanging, and then what to serve and how to serve it. If a fish accepts your offering, there are at least a grundle of ways you can blow it and not make a solid connection to the fish. Even if you (supposedly) know what you are doing, those fish can humble ya. I have lots of catfish humility.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Then, once you get "bendo", your tackle and your skills must both be capable of rasslin' a cantankerous cat that knows how to through its weight around. And, when you finally get your customer up to the bank or your tube, you have to have a good (large) net and know how to properly scoop the fish to avoid spooking it or knocking it off the line.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Let me know if you are interested in coming up and working on your tackle supply at my place. I will work out the details with you by PM.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We are still planning for the Gorilla Flotilla next month, on the 19th of August. Maybe some folks might like to have a kittyfish confab (seminar) sometime before then, to discuss baits, rigging, presentation techniques, hooks, etc. Carp_Punisher volunteered his garage at one time, for another program, but we never did get together for some reason. Anybody else have a garage or room large enough to hold a dozen or so cataholics? We could probably do one in both Salt Lake and Utah Counties.[/#0000ff]
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[Carp_Punisher]

[#505000]My game room invitation still stands a dozen folks should fit great. Usually when I go floating with advance notice I will post and try to turn it into a floatilla (much to tubedude's dismay I'm sure). Now and then it is nice to plan a small trip with a few special invites. That has been what the past two trips have been. [/#505000]
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[#505000]In a week or so I am taking a bunch of vacation time which means a bunch of fishing which means I will likely tell a bunch of people, a few people, and even take a trip or two by my lonesome. No matter how the carp collides with the water there will be some serious loss of man hours to fishing involved.[/#505000] []
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Gary. If you can figure out a day and time when your garage could be available, post up an invite and we will put something together. You and I can work out the schedule and the format before you post it up.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also have a big garage in Salt Lake. Or, Mike and Al have been good about making their warehouse facilities available. We should have no problem with finding space up here.[/#0000ff]
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[fishluvr]

Here are some more pictures from our trip. The sunrise the morning of the trip was beautiful and there was no dreaded "W". It was a beatiful day to be on the water.[inline Sunrise.jpg]

As TubeDude said he beat us out on the water in his porcupine tube and had a great day fishing. It was great to put a face to the reputation and thanks for the smoked catfish.[inline "TD in tube.jpg"]

I caught the fewest fish of anyone with a total of four cats. Maybe not great for the other guys but to a newbie to Utah Lake it was a good trip. Here are the two I kept.[inline "Two cats.jpg"]

And here is a shot of the fish Carp Punisher kept. He really enjoyed his day especially with his surprise walleye. It was a good trip and can't wait to get out again.[inline "Carter's catch.jpg"]
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]Congrats on a nice day on the lake, guys. I'm jealous, but I got into a few cuts at the berry and the scenery was great, and the crawdad dinner wasn't too shaby neither! Can't wait for the gorilla floatilla next month!
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