Lincoln Beach 3-18-21

[TubeDude]

First shot at Utah Lake this year.  Saw a brief wind window for today and jumped in.  35 degrees with a light but cold breeze at launch.  Glad for the gloves and hand warmers.  Water temp 47 in the main lake...but a couple of degrees warmer in the channel.

Main purpose of the trip today was to check out my new Garmin Striker Plus 7 sonar...with DI, SI, speed, GPS, split screens and a whole lotta other stuff that is gonna make my tube blush.  Howsomever...as I was getting ready to set it up for the day, I got a mental image of the mounting bracket that was still on my workbench at home. &$%#@

At least I had the foresight to bring my trusty Helix that the new unit is to replace.  Got it installed and went to plan B...actually fishing.  Devoted the first hour to working from 3-5 foot depths along the rocks off Lincoln Point.  Lots of casting practice and learning a lot about the "bottomfront property" (rocks) that attracts the toothy critters.  But none of those heathens came to church today...no matter how religiously I worked for them.


The next hour was devoted to making big S turns...dragging bait and fligs from 6' out to 10'...off the point down to the L and back.  Only an occasional blip on the sonar and nary a twitch on either rod.  Never seen that area so barren.

Cranked up my big (electric) motor and roostertailed (yeah, right) over to the flats out off Benjamin Slough.  Watched the sonar all the way and there was no disturbance in the force.  The smell of striped kitty was beginning to filter into the air already filled with the sounds of lovesick geese and cranes on shore.

I initially ran the motor all the way into about 3-4 feet of water...since I have found some early cats that shallow before.  Not today.  Motored back out and S turned from 6-8 feet.  AHA!   A couple of "bottom anomalies" in the 8.5' zone.  Slammed on the brakes and put out a couple of rods...one with a whole 6" chub on an open bail rig...the other with a fire tiger KONG flig with a whole 4" chub minnow.

I probably hadn't moved more than 50 feet on low speed when the line popped out of the clip on the whole chub rig.  I let the fish move off a few feet, flipped the bail, allowed the line to come tight and it was game on.  The smell of stinky kitty disappeared as I put the net under that first fish...a healthy 25" mama cat.  Took her picture and sent her back home.


I had hardly finished wiping the catfish "essence" off my hands than the flig rod took a bounce.  I reached down and took it out of the holder and waited...until something tried to take that rod out of my hands.  Yeee hawww.
This fish had some shoulders.  Nothing flashy but lots of power and attitude.  I figured it would be a "measure" fish.  It was.  28.5" without being able to stretch it flat and pinch the tail.  Another purty lady cat.  Sent back to the lake after posing for a picture.


Caught both fish within about 10 minutes of each other and it was all over by 11 AM.  I worked the heck out of that entire area until after noon before I finally accepted that I had already been overblessed. 

Only saw one boat leave the harbor this morning.  Looked like it headed for the orchards.  There were a couple of bank tanglers fishing inside the harbor as I came in and the lady caught about a 7-8 inch perch fishing under a bobber as I watched.  No other fisherfolk observed.