03-27-2007, 12:23 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Hope this answers Kaiyuh's question too. Welcome to the forum to both of you guys.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]First, I am attaching a writeup on Utah Lake Catfish that I put together to provide this information and more besides. It should cover your questions in detail.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]1. I seldom fish from the bank...or a boat. I fish almost exclusively from a float tube. My tube has sonar, to help me maintain the right depth, once the fish let me know what they prefer for the day. That can be critical. Yesterday the fish were biting in 4-5 feet of water. Last week it was in about the same zone, but the week before that it was 6.5 feet. In a shallow and slow-sloping lake like Utah Lake, that can mean being many yards further (or closer) to the shoreline. And, if you are not fishing in the right depth, you WILL get skunked.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. Also, since the fish are often widely scattered, you need to cover a lot of bottom to find them. Sometimes you will find areas where you catch several close together, but often the fish will be a long time and a long way apart. Thats why I drag my baits slowly behind my tube...sometimes stopping for a minute or so to allow cats following the scent trail to catch up.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]3. The bottom of the lake in that area is fairly clean, with few snags. But, I do not use any weight besides the hook and a swivel a couple of feet up the line to reduce line twist...both from dragging the bait and from fighting big fish. As shallow as I fish there is no need for weight anyway. I simply cast out about 50 feet behind my tube and let the bait settle to the bottom, and then keep moving just fast enough to drag the bait, without raising it off the bottom.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]4. There are times when I want the bait up off the bottom...when there are rocks, brush or other things that would keep snagging my rig...or when the fish seem to prefer something a bit higher in the water column. That's when I will fish below a bobber...adjusting the bait to ride at the right depth above bottom. this can be especially effective during the warm months of the year when the cats hang in and around the reeds and brush around the lake. You cast your bobbered bait right next to the cover and it usually doesn't take long for the bobber to disappear if the kitties are home.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]4. There is another way to fish bait off the bottom, if there are not too many rocks or weeds. One is a "drop shot" rig, with a dropper hook a foot or more above a sinker on the bottom. This is used mostly for vertical presentations in deeper water, but can also be effective while drifting or "bottom bouncing" at a little higher speed. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]5. Still another rig I use from time to time is the "Korky rig". this consists of adding a brightly colored (or glow) little floater between your hook and sliding sinker...on 8"-12" of leader. It adds color and raises the bait up to eye level for walleyes, cats or other predators cruising near the bottom but not feeding on the bottom. That rig is popular for chucking minnows for walleyes while shore fishing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short (who...me?) I change my rigs around to try to find a pattern on most trips. Usually the "plain vanilla" approach...unweighted minnows...works best for a variety of species. But, it is always good to have other tricks up my sleeve. And, with the two pole permit, I can keep changing around to find the pattern faster. It also helps to go out with one or more fishing buddies, with walkie talkies, so you can gang up on the fish. Makes it faster to find the depth, bait and method that works best.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]WHERE DO I GET MY MINNOWS? I could tell you but then I'd have to....no, wait, it ain't that serious. Since you are new to the board, I will attach the piece on minnows again. It will not give away any trade secrets but will give you some more info.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Chubs are found in many Utah waters. But, they are not as plentiful in some of them because of efficient predation by other species. The best "chubbing" is usually available in small canals or ponds where there are no hungry predators. Good spots are closely guarded by those who know about them because we have all experienced having our minnow spots cleaned out and trashed when somebody we told told somebody who told somebody else. It is worse than some little trout streams being destroyed by overfishing just because you tried to be a good guy and tell a buddy about it. Even good buddies blab too much sometimes.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Spend some time with a minnow trap and/or a cast net wandering around in farm country. Stop and talk to farmers and ask if they have any ponds or canals on their land that has minnows in them...and if you can net some. That's how to find the best spots.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Otherwise, Strawberry Reservoir used to be money in the bank for both redside shiners and chubs. No more. The big cutts have just about cleaned them out. Same with Starvation and other lakes where there are now perch, walleyes, smallmouth and big trout. The minnows don't last.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Electric Lake and Scofield are still two pretty good minnow spots. They are both full of redside shiners that swarm the shallows and are easy pickins for both traps and cast nets. Make a combo fishing and minnow gathering trip and stock up for the year.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There are several warm mineralized springs out in the west desert that have populations of chubs and are good for getting a bunch in a hurry. You can take the kids and catch them on tiny jigs under a bobber...one or two at a time...or you can catch hundreds with a good cast of a cast net.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Got it?[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]First, I am attaching a writeup on Utah Lake Catfish that I put together to provide this information and more besides. It should cover your questions in detail.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]1. I seldom fish from the bank...or a boat. I fish almost exclusively from a float tube. My tube has sonar, to help me maintain the right depth, once the fish let me know what they prefer for the day. That can be critical. Yesterday the fish were biting in 4-5 feet of water. Last week it was in about the same zone, but the week before that it was 6.5 feet. In a shallow and slow-sloping lake like Utah Lake, that can mean being many yards further (or closer) to the shoreline. And, if you are not fishing in the right depth, you WILL get skunked.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]2. Also, since the fish are often widely scattered, you need to cover a lot of bottom to find them. Sometimes you will find areas where you catch several close together, but often the fish will be a long time and a long way apart. Thats why I drag my baits slowly behind my tube...sometimes stopping for a minute or so to allow cats following the scent trail to catch up.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]3. The bottom of the lake in that area is fairly clean, with few snags. But, I do not use any weight besides the hook and a swivel a couple of feet up the line to reduce line twist...both from dragging the bait and from fighting big fish. As shallow as I fish there is no need for weight anyway. I simply cast out about 50 feet behind my tube and let the bait settle to the bottom, and then keep moving just fast enough to drag the bait, without raising it off the bottom.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]4. There are times when I want the bait up off the bottom...when there are rocks, brush or other things that would keep snagging my rig...or when the fish seem to prefer something a bit higher in the water column. That's when I will fish below a bobber...adjusting the bait to ride at the right depth above bottom. this can be especially effective during the warm months of the year when the cats hang in and around the reeds and brush around the lake. You cast your bobbered bait right next to the cover and it usually doesn't take long for the bobber to disappear if the kitties are home.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]4. There is another way to fish bait off the bottom, if there are not too many rocks or weeds. One is a "drop shot" rig, with a dropper hook a foot or more above a sinker on the bottom. This is used mostly for vertical presentations in deeper water, but can also be effective while drifting or "bottom bouncing" at a little higher speed. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]5. Still another rig I use from time to time is the "Korky rig". this consists of adding a brightly colored (or glow) little floater between your hook and sliding sinker...on 8"-12" of leader. It adds color and raises the bait up to eye level for walleyes, cats or other predators cruising near the bottom but not feeding on the bottom. That rig is popular for chucking minnows for walleyes while shore fishing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short (who...me?) I change my rigs around to try to find a pattern on most trips. Usually the "plain vanilla" approach...unweighted minnows...works best for a variety of species. But, it is always good to have other tricks up my sleeve. And, with the two pole permit, I can keep changing around to find the pattern faster. It also helps to go out with one or more fishing buddies, with walkie talkies, so you can gang up on the fish. Makes it faster to find the depth, bait and method that works best.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]WHERE DO I GET MY MINNOWS? I could tell you but then I'd have to....no, wait, it ain't that serious. Since you are new to the board, I will attach the piece on minnows again. It will not give away any trade secrets but will give you some more info.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Chubs are found in many Utah waters. But, they are not as plentiful in some of them because of efficient predation by other species. The best "chubbing" is usually available in small canals or ponds where there are no hungry predators. Good spots are closely guarded by those who know about them because we have all experienced having our minnow spots cleaned out and trashed when somebody we told told somebody who told somebody else. It is worse than some little trout streams being destroyed by overfishing just because you tried to be a good guy and tell a buddy about it. Even good buddies blab too much sometimes.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Spend some time with a minnow trap and/or a cast net wandering around in farm country. Stop and talk to farmers and ask if they have any ponds or canals on their land that has minnows in them...and if you can net some. That's how to find the best spots.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Otherwise, Strawberry Reservoir used to be money in the bank for both redside shiners and chubs. No more. The big cutts have just about cleaned them out. Same with Starvation and other lakes where there are now perch, walleyes, smallmouth and big trout. The minnows don't last.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Electric Lake and Scofield are still two pretty good minnow spots. They are both full of redside shiners that swarm the shallows and are easy pickins for both traps and cast nets. Make a combo fishing and minnow gathering trip and stock up for the year.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There are several warm mineralized springs out in the west desert that have populations of chubs and are good for getting a bunch in a hurry. You can take the kids and catch them on tiny jigs under a bobber...one or two at a time...or you can catch hundreds with a good cast of a cast net.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Got it?[/#0000ff]
[signature]