Big cat at Echo 9-11-20

[wiperhunter2]

Ira and I hit Echo again this morning, perch catching has slowed down, only caught 25 or 30 up to 10" but one of TD's latest ice flies were the hot ticket today. Also caught 8 or 9 bass up to 16".


 Gave up vertical jigging after a few hours and starting slow trolling fligs, wasn't too hot until this big girl decided to get in on the action.

Fished for a few more hours before we decided to bag it for the day. By the way the ramp is out of the water, so we launched by the old ramp, with zero issues. No other boats on the lake. Lake water level continues to drop.
By the way that was a 31" cat, anyone got any guesses on how much a cat that big would weigh?

[Jig-fisher]

Nice fish.  That cat looks to be in great shape.  Probably in the 12 to 14 lb range.  Years ago when they were planting cats in Echo, it was one of my favorite place to fish for them.  Now there are very few left, but the ones you do catch can great.

[TubeDude]

Most cat-tanglers release the big kitties after measuring them...but without a weight.  In that size range their weight can vary a lot based upon porkiness.  I have weighed and measured a few cats over 30 inches.  One I caught that was 32 inches...and fairly sleek...weighed just over 13 pounds.  The phatty Ira is holding is probably closer to 15.
Maybe more.

You guys have been doing well at Echo this year.  Now you gotta find some crappies...and walleyes.

[Fowl-Hook]

Fished for a few more hours before we decided to bag it for the day. By the way the ramp is out of the water, so we launched by the old ramp, with zero issues. No other boats on the lake. Lake water level continues to drop.
By the way that was a 31" cat, anyone got any guesses on how much a cat that big would weigh?

Where is the old ramp in relation to the existing ramp?  Glad you got out!

[Cowboypirate]

In a differnt post, I was telling Pat that my early cat years were almost exclusively cache valley and the bear river. I completely forgot about my trips at night to the grass creek area on Echo to chase night kitties. Paul is right that place was fun, for a while. I wonder what happened to the cats there - did they never get into a sustainable spawn?

[wiperhunter2]

Nice fish.  That cat looks to be in great shape.  Probably in the 12 to 14 lb range.  Years ago when they were planting cats in Echo, it was one of my favorite place to fish for them.  Now there are very few left, but the ones you do catch can great.

Thanks, Ira was stoked about catching it best cat he has caught. He thought about entering it in the Cat contest but figured it was too small to make a difference. I was thinking the cat weighed around 10 or 11 lbs but it was a very fat, so we were not sure, wish we had weighed it now after what everyone is saying.

[wiperhunter2]

Most cat-tanglers release the big kitties after measuring them...but without a weight.  In that size range their weight can vary a lot based upon porkiness.  I have weighed and measured a few cats over 30 inches.  One I caught that was 32 inches...and fairly sleek...weighed just over 13 pounds.  The phatty Ira is holding is probably closer to 15.
Maybe more.

You guys have been doing well at Echo this year.  Now you gotta find some crappies...and walleyes.

Ira had a scale in the boat but wanted to get it back in the water asap. I had no idea it could have been anywhere near 15 lbs, wow. That turned out to be a four species day, cat, bass, perch and carp. Yea, would be nice to catch a crappie and eye out of Echo, not sure if that will happen anytime soon but you never know. Going to give Willard a try next week.

[wiperhunter2]

Fished for a few more hours before we decided to bag it for the day. By the way the ramp is out of the water, so we launched by the old ramp, with zero issues. No other boats on the lake. Lake water level continues to drop.
By the way that was a 31" cat, anyone got any guesses on how much a cat that big would weigh?

Where is the old ramp in relation to the existing ramp?  Glad you got out!

The old ramp is to the North of the new ramp, so toward the dam and 100 to 200 yds, you can see tracks where people have been driving over there. The old ramp is pretty broken up, so we launched right beside it.

[wiperhunter2]

In a differnt post, I was telling Pat that my early cat years were almost exclusively cache valley and the bear river. I completely forgot about my trips at night to the grass creek area on Echo to chase night kitties. Paul is right that place was fun, for a while. I wonder what happened to the cats there - did they never get into a sustainable spawn?

I did not realize that catfish had been in there that long but that river has so much silt coming down it, going into the lake, that I'm sure that does not help matters, when the cats spawn.

[Jig-fisher]

Thanks, Ira was stoked about catching it best cat he has caught. He thought about entering it in the Cat contest but figured it was too small to make a difference. I was thinking the cat weighed around 10 or 11 lbs but it was a very fat, so we were not sure, wish we had weighed it now after what everyone is saying.

He should have entered it, it would have helped the North team for sure.

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks, Ira was stoked about catching it best cat he has caught. He thought about entering it in the Cat contest but figured it was too small to make a difference. I was thinking the cat weighed around 10 or 11 lbs but it was a very fat, so we were not sure, wish we had weighed it now after what everyone is saying.

He should have entered it, it would have helped the North team for sure.

I'm not up on the contest ranking but I thought team North need a cat bigger than 34", guess it's too late now.

[Kent]

In a differnt post, I was telling Pat that my early cat years were almost exclusively cache valley and the bear river. I completely forgot about my trips at night to the grass creek area on Echo to chase night kitties. Paul is right that place was fun, for a while. I wonder what happened to the cats there - did they never get into a sustainable spawn?

A few years ago, I exchanged emails with a UDWR biologist (I forget which one).  He said that they likely would no longer be planting cats into Echo.  He said he wasn't sure why but they didn't seem to do too well in Echo; however, he said there were still a few really nice ones in there.

[wiperhunter2]

In a differnt post, I was telling Pat that my early cat years were almost exclusively cache valley and the bear river. I completely forgot about my trips at night to the grass creek area on Echo to chase night kitties. Paul is right that place was fun, for a while. I wonder what happened to the cats there - did they never get into a sustainable spawn?

A few years ago, I exchanged emails with a UDWR biologist (I forget which one).  He said that they likely would no longer be planting cats into Echo.  He said he wasn't sure why but they didn't seem to do too well in Echo; however, he said there were still a few really nice ones in there.

Well that's too bad, that they don't do well in there but glad there are still a few left.