Truly amazing day at Utah Lake

[Kent]

I have seen some great days at Utah Lake, but nothing that would compare to today. I did OK with 22 channel cats boated; however, Dave was schooling me and reeled in at least 60 of them. I did claim large fish (actually twice) with two cats at 28" long. The smallest cat we caught was probably about 22" and the average was around 24". All of the cats were really healthy and fought hard. Great to get out with Dave again.
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[CAPT_Livingston]

That is awesome. Nice job catching fish. I am taking my father fishing on Thursday. I have a boat. He is visiting from out of state and I'm hoping to let him reel in a bunch of catfish. Where were you fishing and were you fishing with whitebass? How long did you fish and what time of day?

Thanks!
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[Kent]

I'm willing to answer some of your questions, but I want to keep one place we fished on the down-low.

We did OK at Bird Island. We fished close to the island on the south side, on the north side and on the east side. Another boat was already fishing the west side, so we passed on that side.

For bait we used white bass, raw shrimp, chicken liver (tied on with Magic Thread or Stretchy String), carp and I occasionally added 1/2 of a crawler to any of the above, except for chicken liver.

We started fishing about 7:30 and got off of the water at 5:00 PM. Bring lots of water to drink (I drank over a gallon of water). At Bird Island (out of necessity to keep from snagging constantly), we fished at most 20 inches under a bobber. When we fished where it wasn't so snaggy we fished one rod under a bobber and the other rod with just a small split shot.

Dave was setting the hook as soon as he saw the bobber go under the water or the line tightened and he hooked most of his fish in the corner of their mouths. I waited longer, and as a result, had far more fish that I had to cut off the line and leave the swallowed hook.
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[Piscophilic]

Wow! That is a truly amazing day. I've never seen a day where the boat got more that 40 ish total. I hope your arms are tired enough to let the rest of us get a few before you do it again[]

Nice Work!
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[Boatloadakids]

Kent--
I must agree with your assessment of the cat catchin' at UL. I have caught more cats in the last two days than I have all year. I used wb and as long as the piece was semi-together I reused it several times... no complaints from the cats.

The good weather and the near 70 degree water has really turned on the romance. The cats are looking for love in close to the reeds or rocks. I caught several yesterday that pushed 28 inches but still can't find the one for a score bump.

One spot that will produce some fast action close to Lincoln is the area where the BS comes in. Fish up close in a couple feet of water and cast anywhere near the reeds/frags. It can be tricky working the cats around and away from snags but they are there for some quick fun. Taking a few kids there to fish with some bobbers would keep Dad busy baiting, re-hooking, and unhooking.

Bummer that we have some blustery weather coming again. Still, it has begun and it will continue for the next couple of months. Now, to find Mr. Big...

Happy days are here again, go get 'em.

BLK
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[Kent]

We tried only one place near the reeds and didn't get a bite. We caught all cats by the rocks.
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[fishgiver]

Did you encounter green alge? It is reported to have begun.
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[Kent]

I saw some earlier, but not any on this trip.
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[Bigfishrule]

Green algae happens every year that I have fished Utah Lake. 40 plus years. There are reports of it in early pioneer times. The media has just grabbed hold of it and its reported every year now. Don't worry about it and go fishing.
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[EyLayo]

Good job Kent. Did water temp or depth matter too much? Sounds like you timed it well
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[Anglinarcher]

It use to be in California and parts of Canada that they collected that Blue/Green alge and sold it in health food stores.

Like you said, go fishing.

[Kent]

[quote EyLayo]

Did water temp or depth matter too much?

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Water temp was the highest I have found thus far this year by about 3 to 5 degrees. I'm sure that helped move them closer to shore getting ready to spawn. We caught almost exclusively female cats. We had most of our luck shallow, probably in water under 3' deep.
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[Brighamfish]

It was an absolutely great day Kent! Still can't believe how many consistently nice cats we caught. Could not have asked for better weather or company. Thanks again for getting me out there!
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[Brighamfish]

I wish I'd gotten a better pick of your big black cat. The pics I got really didn't do it justice. One really cool fish.
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[Kent]

Yep, it sure was purty.
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