Utah Lake catfish July 3

[SkinnyLynnie]

The champ and I launched the boat at Lincoln Beach this morning and were anchored off the west side of Bird Island by 10:30. We fished in 10' of water for a while without success. Then we moved closer to the island in about 4' of water and started catching fish. In a couple of hours, we caught 6 fat white bass, 5 bullhead catfish, and 1 big channel cat (24 inches, 4-1/2 pounds). We used worms, shrimp, and minnows, and the shrimp and minnows seemed to work best. We just cast our lines out, let the bait sink to the bottom, and waited with the bails of our reels open until the line started pulling out. The weather was almost perfect--warm with no wind. It was a good day fishing, but then what day fishing is not good?

One word of warning to others who go out around Bird Island. The water in the lake seems to be higher this year, and that means that the island above water is smaller but the "island" under water is larger. What you think is safe open water may actually have a rocky arm of the island just a foot or two below the surface. That can be dangerous to propellors.
[signature]

[IMHooked]

We were to the northwest of Bird Island from about 11:00 till 3:30. Found a ridge where the depth went from 7-8 feet down to 4 ft. Used worm and chub pieces. Wound up with 2 mud cats, multiple white bass of all sizes and 10 channels. My largest kitty was 6 lbs and the wife's top was 5 lbs. The rest were all 3 lbs or more. The two largest were both caught on worms. Best day of fishing we have ever had at Utah Lake. I was surprised they kept biting right up till the time we left.
[signature]

[2fishon]

I was fishing on the north end starting about 6am. Fishing was pretty consistent until I left at 9am. Ended up with 6 channels, 5 largemouth and lots of pick-ups. 1 channel went 9.5 lbs, but the others were about 3. Caught one nice largemouth, 4.2lbs. No pics, I was by myself and haven't mastered the one man show thing. I'm going again this morning.
[signature]