Lousy Lindon 4-3-24

[TubeDude]

My left eye has blurry vision and I am scheduled to get it fixed on the 11th.  Not supposed to drive or do much else until then but figured a quick low-level tube trip at Lindon (Utah Lake) would be okay.  And the rare fair weather forecast was enough to get me out of bed and on the road.

Launched just after 7 am.  Calm with the sun just coming up over the mountains.  Air temp 41 and water temp just under 48 at launch.  Water level up.  Depth inside the harbor is over 6'.  But saw almost no fishy marks inside the harbor on sonar. 

Noticed the buoys were in place at the bubbleup so I headed that direction.  Sometimes some good whitie action early around the pipe.  No water coming out of the outlets...and very few fish on TV.  And about the time I was getting ready to make my first casts there began a series of LOUD thumps.  Sounded like a pile driver...driving something into the gound over in the Vineyard area.  Whatever it was, it sent a lot of vibrations through the area and I could even feel them in the water through my waders.  So could the fish.  They all developed lock jaw.

I saw quite a few marks on sonar that I translated as white bass.  But didn't get a sniff on anything I tried.  Gave up and started dragging some chubs and white bass meat around the area.  Still the noise and still no bites.  Started moving back toward the marina...making big S turns from 5' of water out to almost 9'.  Did see quite a few fishy marks...of variable sizes and types...at variable depths.  Nada, zilch, niente, zero bites.  Extremely rare in that area.  I always catch fish there..

A stiff SW breeze came up then and some big "ripples".  Tough for "touch fishing" from a float tube.  But the loud pounding finally stopped about 10ish.  A half hour later I got my first fish...a big buglemouth (carp) on my light rod with the little tube jigs...casting for white bass.  Still no bites on fish meat...either chubs or white bass.  So I rigged a couple of rods with crawler rigs and figured I'd see if there were any willing wallies in the area before I called it.

Within a few minutes my rod with a fire tiger "snarl blade" crawler rig bounced and then bent.  And it was a walleye...about 15 inches.  But it was still young and inexperienced and didn't know how to hang on long enough to crawl into the net.  But it gave me hope.

Dragged the crawler rigs almost all the way back to the harbor and just as I was getting ready to reel in and bag it my buzz blade crawler rig got some attention.  After a slow rolling battle in the cold water a two footer kitty gave up and swam into my net.  Sent him back to grow another foot for next time and headed for the ramp.

Water temps had climbed to about 50 by noon departure...and air temps were just below 60.  A nice day for fishing if not for catching.

Two downers for the day.  One was my problem left eye.  It left me almost blind on that side so it was tough changing rods in the tube rod holders...or anything else on my left side.  Will be glad when I can see again.

Number two was when I got home and downloaded my GoPro Camera I did not have any useable footage.  My settings had somehow gotten messed up and I had nothing to show for my trip.  So, the only pic I have to post is one of Timp, with a lot of snow on it...taken with my Pentax still  camera.


The big upper of the day was finding that you can now drive directly to Lindon via the 1600 offramp.  A new wide road now runs all the way from the freeway to Lindon Harbor.  See attached upgraded map.

[Piscophilic]

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the report, although I was hoping you would have more fun. I'm glad you got a kittie and got to see a walleye. By the water temps and your results, I would say the kitties are mostly way out in the lake still. There are always a few nonconformists though!

I SOUNDS like you had an uphill battle with all the thudding noises. 


Jon and I had planned to go out to that area this evening. Then the 30 MPH winds forecast for Friday got moved to today. We re-planned to go out early this A.M. and then Jon had something come up at work so it looks like another blustery cool week of "spring weather" will go by before I get on the pond again. If that trip holds together maybe I can give you something to read while you are not able to get out. You certainly have given that to me lots of times!

I hope for great results and a quick recovery from you eye surgery.

[TubeDude]

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the report, although I was hoping you would have more fun. I'm glad you got a kittie and got to see a walleye. By the water temps and your results, I would say the kitties are mostly way out in the lake still. There are always a few nonconformists though!

I SOUNDS like you had an uphill battle with all the thudding noises. 


Jon and I had planned to go out to that area this evening. Then the 30 MPH winds forecast for Friday got moved to today. We re-planned to go out early this A.M. and then Jon had something come up at work so it looks like another blustery cool week of "spring weather" will go by before I get on the pond again. If that trip holds together maybe I can give you something to read while you are not able to get out. You certainly have given that to me lots of times!

I hope for great results and a quick recovery from you eye surgery.

Thanks fer the kindly comments.  Hope Mama Nature gets back on her meds soon so we can resume fishing.  Not sure where the fish are, in this higher water.  I have done well on them at Lindon in the past as early as mid March.  But everything seems different this year.  However, I'm not sure they are out in deeper water.  They may be a lot shallower than you think.  I have caught them in less than 4' of water early in the year...in the late afternoon...after breezes blew sun-warmed surface water into a westerly or southerly facing shoreline.  

On one early trip my wife and I had to use bobbers above the shallow flooded brush to avoid snags but caught lots of cats fairly shallow.  Y'know, a lot of those bigguns are females...and they pretty much go where they want and do what they want...regardless of the logic involved.  NOW I'm in trouble.

[Joe_Dizzy]

Thanks for the report!

Wow, 50* F water already. I was at Jordanelle on Friday and most of the area I was fishing was still 35-37* F.

I've been tying some flies specifically for targeting White Ball this spring as a change-of-pace from my normal "coldwater" pursuits... still have your comments tucked away from last year when I was asking about panfish on Utah Lake. Work got in the way then but was shooting for May to try it all out this year (complete w/ state park pass)... sounds like it could be sooner though!

[Piscophilic]

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the report, although I was hoping you would have more fun. I'm glad you got a kittie and got to see a walleye. By the water temps and your results, I would say the kitties are mostly way out in the lake still. There are always a few nonconformists though!

I SOUNDS like you had an uphill battle with all the thudding noises. 


Jon and I had planned to go out to that area this evening. Then the 30 MPH winds forecast for Friday got moved to today. We re-planned to go out early this A.M. and then Jon had something come up at work so it looks like another blustery cool week of "spring weather" will go by before I get on the pond again. If that trip holds together maybe I can give you something to read while you are not able to get out. You certainly have given that to me lots of times!

I hope for great results and a quick recovery from you eye surgery.

Thanks fer the kindly comments.  Hope Mama Nature gets back on her meds soon so we can resume fishing.  Not sure where the fish are, in this higher water.  I have done well on them at Lindon in the past as early as mid March.  But everything seems different this year.  However, I'm not sure they are out in deeper water.  They may be a lot shallower than you think.  I have caught them in less than 4' of water early in the year...in the late afternoon...after breezes blew sun-warmed surface water into a westerly or southerly facing shoreline.  

On one early trip my wife and I had to use bobbers above the shallow flooded brush to avoid snags but caught lots of cats fairly shallow.  Y'know, a lot of those bigguns are females...and they pretty much go where they want and do what they want...regardless of the logic involved.  NOW I'm in trouble.

I have had some good early trips fairly shallow under just the conditions you described and I always try to look both places. My last trip we fished in the brush in late afternoon and got 1 hit in 30 minutes. We later found them at 10:30 at night in 8-9 FOW and got 7 more in under 2 hours. I of course don't know if they were moving closer to shore from deep water or to deep water from close to shore. Figuring it out is some of the fun, but I've learned that every time you think you have them figured, they fool you.

[TubeDude]

Thanks for the report!

Wow, 50* F water already. I was at Jordanelle on Friday and most of the area I was fishing was still 35-37* F.

I've been tying some flies specifically for targeting White Ball this spring as a change-of-pace from my normal "coldwater" pursuits... still have your comments tucked away from last year when I was asking about panfish on Utah Lake. Work got in the way then but was shooting for May to try it all out this year (complete w/ state park pass)... sounds like it could be sooner though!

Don't remember how much "inside info" I passed along last year.  But this year you will find fewer but larger white bass in most spots.  Some porky footlongs showing up this year after the poor spawn two years ago and fewer mouths to feed.  A couple of good places to wave the fairy wand for white bass this spring might be at the Knolls and at the wastewater treatment outflow NW of Lindon.  I have done well at high water at #3 at the Knolls.  The whities come in very shallow and are usually pretty aggressive.

[Joe_Dizzy]

Thanks for the report!

Wow, 50* F water already. I was at Jordanelle on Friday and most of the area I was fishing was still 35-37* F.

I've been tying some flies specifically for targeting White Ball this spring as a change-of-pace from my normal "coldwater" pursuits... still have your comments tucked away from last year when I was asking about panfish on Utah Lake. Work got in the way then but was shooting for May to try it all out this year (complete w/ state park pass)... sounds like it could be sooner though!

Don't remember how much "inside info" I passed along last year.  But this year you will find fewer but larger white bass in most spots.  Some porky footlongs showing up this year after the poor spawn two years ago and fewer mouths to feed.  A couple of good places to wave the fairy wand for white bass this spring might be at the Knolls and at the wastewater treatment outflow NW of Lindon.  I have done well at high water at #3 at the Knolls.  The whities come in very shallow and are usually pretty aggressive.

This was my RFI from last August: Utah Lake - Summer Fishing

[Tin-Can]

Pat, thanks for the info on the new direct route from freeway to Lindon Boat Harbor .  Sure will make it simpler to get there.

[TubeDude]

Pat, thanks for the info on the new direct route from freeway to Lindon Boat Harbor .  Sure will make it simpler to get there.

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Yeah, I've been taking the back road around from the Pleasant Grove turnoff for years.  And now they have all that new commercial building stuff there and it is a joke to try to get in or out on that road.  The new direct shot from the 1600 N. turnoff will be good...both for Lindon Harbor and for fisherfolk.

Now if they could only straighten out the road into the north marina at Willard....