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[#0000FF][cool]Rode over to Indian Bay (Starvation) yesterday with BFTer high_n_dry and his wife. Met up with Wavewolf and Pikeman and we launched an assault. Shoulda stood in bed.
We found the FORMERLY "hot" area and started punching holes. Found the fish but they were not having any...or at least very much. Had fish on our sonars all day from the bottom (40-45 fow) up to about 30 fow. But we saw a lot more than we caught. Very few light bites. I even tried fishing the spot that TopH20 had "G-Pee-S" marked for me. (see pic)
Our group caught a total of 3 small slimers and about a dozen perch among us...with pro Pikeman catching the most (as usual). A couple of other small groups did better...fishing over a 35' hump that had some active fish. Even caught a couple of small walleyes.
At one point I took off on a search mission...shooting through the ice with my Showdown...to check different areas and different depths. Only saw a few isolated fishy flashes over a big area...checking from less than 20 feet to over 60 feet. Went back to my original holes and there were still fish there...all with their middle fins upraised.
We were on the ice by 8 am, with air temps at 4 degrees. Left about 2 with ice still freezing in the holes. Pretty calm all morning but a light chilling breeze came up about noon.
The highlight of the trip was the super sandwiches made for us by Patti...HND's lovely wife. Always easier to endure a fish snubbing if you got some good eats.
I was glad Wavewolf could join us for his first Starvy encounter. Sorry it didn't treat him better. Good to see Pikeman again. Even though he caught a few fish he too was grumbling about the slow fishing. Glad he didn't make the rest of us look too much worse. Probably fished without a hook after he caught a few and we were struggling. What a guy.
I've long held Starvation in high regard, as my favorite Utah fishing hole. It has not been kind to me this winter. It better treat me nicer after ice out or I may not fish it more than once a week during the summer.
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Still better than work though, a buddy of mine had the same kind of report on tuesday. thanks for the post
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Dang tough day.
Love the pic's, and write up as always.
I've never fished Starvation, someday i will make it out there. Hopefully.
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[#502800]The day and the friends were diamonds. The fishing was a stone. It was good to get out and enjoy the day even if the fishing stunk, As the farmers say, if you get some for seed, you are ahead of the game.[/#502800]
[#502800]The friends you meet out fishing from this site are allways great people.[/#502800]
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[#0000FF][cool]Great philosophy.
We all gotta learn that stuff for the days when we don't get to brag.
Looking forward to getting you out on the soft water. Hopefully you don't have to turn around in Heber and go back home before you get to go fishing.
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Gee, Starvation is living up to it's name sake for you lately, huh?
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[#0000FF]I've had plenty of good trips in the past. And I have also had enough of the other kind that I appreciate the good days and shrug off the bad ones.
This has been a weird year at Starvation. The water levels were low going into ice season and the fish were setting up a lot deeper than during the previous 3 winters. I really do not like having to fish so deep for them but will do what I gotta do. Then the harsher winter has blown up storms almost every time I have planned an outing over there.
That lake is definitely more productive for those who know it well and who fish it often enough to stay on top of where the fish are and how they are acting. Pretty tough to go over one time and expect to kill it. Some folks get lucky and hit it right, but the best fishing is usually enjoyed by Starvation regulars who have put in the time to learn it. Not always. And it has been knowed to humble even those who should be expected to do better. It got me...but I ain't gonna cry about it. Well...not much anyway. Always another day ahead.
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Nope, not worth crying about.
I have been fortunate to have a great father, who when we came back from a trip, would emphasize that it was a "successful trip" simply because we got home safely. Any fish, rabbits, deer, etc were "icing on the cake". I count myself blessed to have been able to adopt and truly absorb that attitude. Life is much more enjoyable that way.
Glad you had a "successful trip" with good company as "icing on the cake"!
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Now that is my kind of G-Pee-S marker. I'm usually nice enough to just leave it in someone's hole, but it's certainly easier to see just outside as well.
I've still never fished over there. Shame, really.
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So TD, what do you think is the reason the perch have lockjaw right now on most reservoirs? Sure would like to understand why they do this, is it weather related or fishing pressure or maybe even spawn related. You seem to be the one who might be able to answer this mystery.
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[cool][#0000FF]I don't claim to have any foolproof definitive answers. But I have fished through enough ice seasons to observe that a late season lull is not that unusual.
At least 99 percent of the larger perch we catch are females. Earlier in the ice season their eggs are not quite as developed and do not crowd their innards as much. So they feed more actively and aggressively. By the end of February they are nearing their annual spawn and the egg skeins put on their final growth surge...distending the stomach and making it almost impossible to hold any large food tidbits. The pregnant perch will still mouth a small jig...out of instinct or wishful thinking...but they only suck it in and spit it out. No hard chomps or munch and run.
A lot of other fish are slowing down now too, but for a different reason. After several months under snow covered ice the oxygen levels and pH of the water gets out of whack. This slows down the activity level and metabolism. Once the ice comes off and wind reoxygenates and stirs up the water the fish will "light up" again. Not as much of a problem in lakes where there are good stream inflows, living weedbeds, etc. But in other lakes it contributes to winter kill.
The other factor is that the active cycle seems to change from day to day and week to week...at least on some lakes. Your trip last week found you really getting into the fish from daybreak to about 10 am. You go back this week at the same time and don't catch diddly before leaving in mid-afternoon. But the next day you hear from your buddies who stayed after you left that the fish turned on at 4 and they tore it up until dark.
Bottom line is that the fish pretty much act however they want...according to their own schedules. We can guess all we want but the truth is that there can be a lot of factors that get the fish active...or inactive. In the case of these perch, remember...they are mostly females. Need I say more?
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Pat, It was damn decent of TOP H2O to leave you the G-Pee-S, too bad it didn't work out for you. The shot of your screen was how it was when we were all over there, only they were biting. I had never seen perch 20 ft off the bottom like that before, strange that they bite one day and not the next, but they only have a small brain so no telling whats going on up there. I think we are going to try it again next week, you are welcome to join us.
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[fishin] i hate to say it but it makes me feel a little better knowing that u pros cant get them to bit.anyway u will always be the man.really enjoy ur post.
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It was a beautiful day out on the lake, and our first time on the ice at Starvation.
My wife and I both enjoyed meeting new friends, sharing some laughs, and being schooled in the art and science of Ice Fishing. I take solace in knowing I was only a fish or two behind Master TD by days end.
With UL Soft Water around the corner I don't stand a chance, yet[  ].
Great Fun!
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[cool][#0000FF]Maybe. Lemme know when. I was thinking that maybe I am through with the ice for this year but I'm just enough of a masochist that I might do it again.
Are you sure you want to risk having me show up to shut down the hot bite again?
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[#0000FF][cool]Thanks for the kindly comments. I hope you realize that I actually caught a lot of fish...but I put up a bad report just to make others feel better. Yeah, right.
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[cool][#0000FF]Thanks again for the ride-share. Enjoyed the prolonged visit with you guys...even if the lake was stingy for both of us.
You are right. Not long until we can launch our tube and toon. Come on open water.
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I'm afraid you have mistaken someone else's pit stop location for mine. We haven't fished that area for over two weeks. I also drill three holes in a triangle pattern for my Showdown and two poles.
Like Wyoguy said we will probably try it again on Monday. Weather looks OK after Sunday's showers. I juggled some duties around to free up the day on Monday. I think Indian Bay can still produce. The trick now is to go verrrrrrrrrrry small with jig and bait. Very subtle jigging also.
Mike
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Been looking to fish Starvation myself, would you be up for some company? And what day would you be going?
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Any fisherman is welcome as far as I'm concerned. We are heading to Starvation on Monday morning and we'll be at the Indian Bay area. We will be there around 0800 and we will be there all day until around 5:00 p.m.. It was good a week ago for loads of perch but very few rainbows in that area.
Mike
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