04-15-2024, 04:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-15-2024, 04:51 PM by Piscophilic.)
Launched out of Provo Thursday 4/11 about 3 P.M. w/Julie. The water temperature was 55 - 58, rising to almost 60 on the main lake by 6 P.M. Julie and I tried to find a willing bait bass (white, not black) in the harbor and had two hookups that came off and several light taps. They must have forgotten how to hold on over the winter? At 5:15 we were back at the dock. Jon got in and Julie got out to go with Jon's wife. No fish were harmed during Julie's time, but it was great to have her back in the boat.
After Jon got in, we went down by the bubble up and tried deep and shallow for anything, but again not takers on the cat gear and only nibbles on the other gear. Finally, Jon got a fresh bait, but it was a whitie less than 6" long! They were that size last September? Must have been a later spawn because these fish were healthy, not skinny like they had barely survived the winter.
![[Image: IMG-2421.avif]](https://i.postimg.cc/qgRkZyPW/IMG-2421.avif)
![[Image: Little-Whites.avif]](https://i.postimg.cc/yg6VKZkg/Little-Whites.avif)
We downsized some hooks and ended up with 10 whites before it got good and dark. 7 were younguns and 3 adults. We had seen lots of fish marks down 3-4 feet both in the harbor and in the main lake. Now we know what they were and it looks like the predators still have decent groceries this spring!
![[Image: Great-Sunset.avif]](https://i.postimg.cc/y3gC6XBd/Great-Sunset.avif)
![[Image: Little-Better-White.avif]](https://i.postimg.cc/kDBmy98m/Little-Better-White.avif)
In the darkness, we just pointed the boat west and let it go. Even with fresh bait, we only had one hit in the first 90 minutes. Jon got a 26-inch cat. We saw lots of suspended fish, likely whites and carp, but never saw a catlike mark the whole evening.
About 9:30 we headed halfway back to the harbor in hopes of finding a group. In the last hour or so we got two more cats. Jon got a 29 and I got 2-footer. Since we didn't find any concentrations of fish, we called it a night and went home. Unlike last time, he out fished me by a lot.
![[Image: Channel-Cat-29.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/5HWbkvxW/Channel-Cat-29.jpg)
![[Image: IMG-2435.avif]](https://i.postimg.cc/gxGtNq5Z/IMG-2435.avif)
10 whites and 3 cats makes an unlucky number. We probably should have stayed to catch one more, but we made it home without incident.
After Jon got in, we went down by the bubble up and tried deep and shallow for anything, but again not takers on the cat gear and only nibbles on the other gear. Finally, Jon got a fresh bait, but it was a whitie less than 6" long! They were that size last September? Must have been a later spawn because these fish were healthy, not skinny like they had barely survived the winter.
We downsized some hooks and ended up with 10 whites before it got good and dark. 7 were younguns and 3 adults. We had seen lots of fish marks down 3-4 feet both in the harbor and in the main lake. Now we know what they were and it looks like the predators still have decent groceries this spring!
In the darkness, we just pointed the boat west and let it go. Even with fresh bait, we only had one hit in the first 90 minutes. Jon got a 26-inch cat. We saw lots of suspended fish, likely whites and carp, but never saw a catlike mark the whole evening.
About 9:30 we headed halfway back to the harbor in hopes of finding a group. In the last hour or so we got two more cats. Jon got a 29 and I got 2-footer. Since we didn't find any concentrations of fish, we called it a night and went home. Unlike last time, he out fished me by a lot.
10 whites and 3 cats makes an unlucky number. We probably should have stayed to catch one more, but we made it home without incident.