02-15-2014, 07:25 PM
ratnest- I just never have had a problem finding carp for bait. It is especially easy after they start their spawn, they almost become a nuisance while fishing for cats. As said above I like to carry a small bow with a fish arrow and I have never had any trouble getting carp. If you can hit a 50 gallon drum at 10 yards with a bow you can have all the carp you need.
I also pick carp up on Bird Island. I usually have a couple of kids with me and I just drop them off on the island with a net and they scoop up some monster carp. I never do this when the birds are nesting and I tell the kids to stay away from the nesting areas. Still, no trouble picking up loads of carp.
Carp meat is my favorite bait with wb a close second. I like what Coldfooter said about being in the right place at the right time with bloody bait. I fish mostly with no weight and I seldom use bobbers even in rocky areas. I lose a lot of hooks but I still like the trigger pull when I fish weightless.
My very favorite way to get after the cats -- and this is a super secret method that I would not want to become common knowledge, is to fish at night (thanks TD) while dragging a whole 4-6 inch long wb along the bottom. I establish a half mile or so track with my Minkota I-pilot and fish at my slowest speed. The bites when they come are vicious and the average cat is bigger than those usually caught during the day. I think some of the bigger cats hang out in deeper water during the day and then slip in closer to shore for a night of debauchery chasing the ladies and snarfing up almost any unsuspecting carbon based critter.
When I first started dragging wb I would hook them through the eyes with a big hook. I was missing a lot of hits and would often find an empty hook with two wb eyes. I think the cats where coming in from behind and ripping the wb off my hooks without touching the hook . I started using a hook behind a hook rig and started getting more hook ups.
I tie a palomar (sp?) knot with a 6-8 inch tail and them tie a second hook, usually a treble, on the end. Works great. I believe the cats come in like a blood hound on my baits and hit from behind. Give me a nice summer night with a full moon and glassy calm water and I can fish for the cats all night and be in heaven.
Again, this is my super-secret method, so don't share it with anyone.
Now, I would just remind Coyote and those other northern type fellows that the state record channel cat was taken from Utah Lake which is in the south part of the state. Look for that record to be broken this year.... yep, by me.[
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Let it begin.
BLK
[signature]
I also pick carp up on Bird Island. I usually have a couple of kids with me and I just drop them off on the island with a net and they scoop up some monster carp. I never do this when the birds are nesting and I tell the kids to stay away from the nesting areas. Still, no trouble picking up loads of carp.
Carp meat is my favorite bait with wb a close second. I like what Coldfooter said about being in the right place at the right time with bloody bait. I fish mostly with no weight and I seldom use bobbers even in rocky areas. I lose a lot of hooks but I still like the trigger pull when I fish weightless.
My very favorite way to get after the cats -- and this is a super secret method that I would not want to become common knowledge, is to fish at night (thanks TD) while dragging a whole 4-6 inch long wb along the bottom. I establish a half mile or so track with my Minkota I-pilot and fish at my slowest speed. The bites when they come are vicious and the average cat is bigger than those usually caught during the day. I think some of the bigger cats hang out in deeper water during the day and then slip in closer to shore for a night of debauchery chasing the ladies and snarfing up almost any unsuspecting carbon based critter.
When I first started dragging wb I would hook them through the eyes with a big hook. I was missing a lot of hits and would often find an empty hook with two wb eyes. I think the cats where coming in from behind and ripping the wb off my hooks without touching the hook . I started using a hook behind a hook rig and started getting more hook ups.
I tie a palomar (sp?) knot with a 6-8 inch tail and them tie a second hook, usually a treble, on the end. Works great. I believe the cats come in like a blood hound on my baits and hit from behind. Give me a nice summer night with a full moon and glassy calm water and I can fish for the cats all night and be in heaven.
Again, this is my super-secret method, so don't share it with anyone.
Now, I would just remind Coyote and those other northern type fellows that the state record channel cat was taken from Utah Lake which is in the south part of the state. Look for that record to be broken this year.... yep, by me.[
] Let it begin.
BLK
[signature]