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Hey I caught a bunch more chubs the other day at straberry and I am wondering what the best way to use them for cats would be. Should I cut up the sides or just put hook through them and throw em out. Also where are the best places on utah lake to use them as bait. I have fished the bubble up a few times and lindon boat harbor. I was thinking of hitting linkon beach, but don't know it very well. Where should I cast out from shore to get the best luck with my minnows.
jed
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Just a thought, but I was talking to my dad about getting some chubs from strawberry and he mentioned that maybe its not a good idea to use them on different waters...could spread disease like whirling disease or others. Not trying to tell you what to do, just mentioning it for consideration.
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You shouldnt worry about spreading whirling disease to Utah Lake when fishing for channel cats useing chubs from strawberry, its a warm water lake that has no trout/salmon in its waters. Whirling Disease only affects fish in the Trout and Salmon family.
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Yes, I realize that. I also realize that Whirling disease has already been found in the Provo River, but has not been detected (yet) in Strawberry (I think). I was thinking more of in principle, we should be extremely careful using nongame fish for bait in waters that are different than the one we caught them in...same for crawdads. If we clean our waders, boots and boats, but then take fish for bait on a different water, then we can just as easily pass it on. I'm sure Utah Lake doesn't matter, it already has it in it, plus it doesn't have trout. Just my 2 cents.
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I've caught cutthroat out of Utah Lake at the Provo harbor in the last 10 years. they are there, but are very few and far between.
When I have fished chubs for Channel Cats, I have made up my own steel leaders. I used to fish Utah Lake a lot but now live out in the Uinta Basin. The Green River, up until a couple of years ago, had a good population of Northern Pike in it. The rig worked very well for cats as well. See attachment.
I used Berkley steelon 30-40lb wire cut into two pieces. The first was about 8-10 inches in length, and the second was about 6 inches. I just made a loop at one end of the longer piece and crimped a sleeve on. I added a 1/0 Mustad treble on the other end and made a loop, and crimped another sleeve on. I then added the second piece with just a loop and a sleeve on the attached end, and either another Mustad treble or a Mustad Salmon hook on the other end with another sleeve. The ending result is a steel leader with two hooks that don't slide and bunch up the bait when you cast, and is about 12-14 inches long.
It sounds like a pain, but it really is simple once you gete the hang of it. I can make about 1 every other minute. I have made the same rig using 20lb mono and palomar knots. It worked just as well.
I use heavy line when fishing these rigs. That way I can rip it through weeds and debree. I didn't use any weight because I fished the entire chub (4-6 inch fish) on the rig. Upper hook in the tail and lower hook in the head. When the cat takes the chub it is usually head first, this way your hooks are aimed the right direction. Most of the fish I caught using this rig end up with both hooks in their mouths. Hope it helps.
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