02-02-2013, 01:03 PM
[#0000FF]BFTer Waljustia and I decided we better get in our annual trip out to the "Abyss" on Utah Lake before the current warm spell made it impossible to get on the ice. He did some reconnaissance Thursday afternoon for a place to get his wheeler safely launched. After going through the ice up to his thigh in our usual spot he found a place where the ice was still solid right next to shore.
We loaded up one sled with our combined goodies, hooked it on the back of the wheeler and headed off across the trackless snow. At 7:30 the air temp was a cool 14 degrees and there was freezing fog in the air. Cool runnings indeed. A whole new meaning to "wind chill" as we motored out to the spot.
A cold-slowed GPS had Dave over-shooting the area we wanted to fish and we had to backtrack a hundred yards or so. But when we drilled our first holes we were in the magic 20 to 25 foot depth zone that has treated us well in the past. The center of the football field sized thermal spring has been measured at over 50 feet but the fish seem to prefer shallower water near where the sides rise up quickly to 8-10 feet.
We used our Showdown and Vexilar to shoot through the ice and map out the contours in a large area. Then we started drilling a series of test holes and sending down our jigs.
There were lots of fish on the sonar screens. My Showdown would go from 24 feet up to 16 feet at times when dense schools of white bass would move through. Unfortunately, most of the fish were "sub-toads"...dinksters...from about 5 to 7 inches. We had to be good...and lucky...to hook the occasional keeper...10" to 13". They all bit exactly the same so we could not differentiate on the hook set.
It started off slowly. The fish seemed to be just suspending and inactive. As the sun climbed higher and light penetration got better the fishing got faster. By late morning we were getting bit quickly on every drop. And on my tandem rig I caught quite a few doubles...but always two small fish. The larger ones came one at a time and they were few and far between.
As is often the case, pink was the best color. We both did best with a small "wobble jingle" pink jig head...with a 00 silver blade...and a 1 1/2 inch silver and pink plastic tube...sweetened with crawler. But we both caught plenty on other lures and colors. I took six rods and a bunch of different lures. I caught fish on all six rods and on at least 10 different lures...including a pale perch colored blade bait.
It was brutally cold and damp when we started, and the fog-frost froze on the lines of our extra rods in the rod holders. And until about 10:30 we still had to scoop ice from the holes frequently. Then it got toasty, the air was clear and we really enjoyed being out alone on the ice with a great view of Timpanogos and the camaraderie of old fishing friends.
We both kept a few larger whities to invite home to dinner but we didn't bring up any other species. In trips past we have caught quite a few catfish through the ice around that spring. Not this trip. I had one decent sized fish a few feet off the bottom before it let go. Inexperienced fish. Didn't know how to hang on. Could have been a walleye or a catfish. Cain't prove nuttin'.
On the run back in we took a big wide loop and ran up on a previously unknown spring. The water was open which would indicate a pretty good flow of warmer water to keep the ice off. Dave took the GPS numbers and plans to return for further research.
A few other folks out fishing the springs off Saratoga today. And some over in the channel by the pumphouse. But there is a major construction project going on there so you can't get there except by coming in the back way or in from the open lake.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
We loaded up one sled with our combined goodies, hooked it on the back of the wheeler and headed off across the trackless snow. At 7:30 the air temp was a cool 14 degrees and there was freezing fog in the air. Cool runnings indeed. A whole new meaning to "wind chill" as we motored out to the spot.
A cold-slowed GPS had Dave over-shooting the area we wanted to fish and we had to backtrack a hundred yards or so. But when we drilled our first holes we were in the magic 20 to 25 foot depth zone that has treated us well in the past. The center of the football field sized thermal spring has been measured at over 50 feet but the fish seem to prefer shallower water near where the sides rise up quickly to 8-10 feet.
We used our Showdown and Vexilar to shoot through the ice and map out the contours in a large area. Then we started drilling a series of test holes and sending down our jigs.
There were lots of fish on the sonar screens. My Showdown would go from 24 feet up to 16 feet at times when dense schools of white bass would move through. Unfortunately, most of the fish were "sub-toads"...dinksters...from about 5 to 7 inches. We had to be good...and lucky...to hook the occasional keeper...10" to 13". They all bit exactly the same so we could not differentiate on the hook set.
It started off slowly. The fish seemed to be just suspending and inactive. As the sun climbed higher and light penetration got better the fishing got faster. By late morning we were getting bit quickly on every drop. And on my tandem rig I caught quite a few doubles...but always two small fish. The larger ones came one at a time and they were few and far between.
As is often the case, pink was the best color. We both did best with a small "wobble jingle" pink jig head...with a 00 silver blade...and a 1 1/2 inch silver and pink plastic tube...sweetened with crawler. But we both caught plenty on other lures and colors. I took six rods and a bunch of different lures. I caught fish on all six rods and on at least 10 different lures...including a pale perch colored blade bait.
It was brutally cold and damp when we started, and the fog-frost froze on the lines of our extra rods in the rod holders. And until about 10:30 we still had to scoop ice from the holes frequently. Then it got toasty, the air was clear and we really enjoyed being out alone on the ice with a great view of Timpanogos and the camaraderie of old fishing friends.
We both kept a few larger whities to invite home to dinner but we didn't bring up any other species. In trips past we have caught quite a few catfish through the ice around that spring. Not this trip. I had one decent sized fish a few feet off the bottom before it let go. Inexperienced fish. Didn't know how to hang on. Could have been a walleye or a catfish. Cain't prove nuttin'.
On the run back in we took a big wide loop and ran up on a previously unknown spring. The water was open which would indicate a pretty good flow of warmer water to keep the ice off. Dave took the GPS numbers and plans to return for further research.
A few other folks out fishing the springs off Saratoga today. And some over in the channel by the pumphouse. But there is a major construction project going on there so you can't get there except by coming in the back way or in from the open lake.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]