Cat-whackin' on the west side 8-27-06

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I joined Frozenover on the west side of Utah Lake this morning. We hit the water about 6:30. No bugs in the 52 degree air. Water temp was a chilly 67 which warmed up to 72 by the time we left at noon.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I launched my tube first, followed quickly by Froze in his toon. With his oar powered mobility he headed NE toward a long point and I just plod-kicked straight out from our launch point. Had to fight through some bodacious weed beds to get into open water. The water was ugly, with lots of heavy green algae bloom. Also kinda murky from the thunderstorms.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Didn't have a lot of expectation of finding fish too shallow and did not want to be tugging on weeds so I did not start fishing until I had passed the 4.5 foot depth area and was no longer seeing weed growth.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There was a south breeze which built the ripples into some bumpy water by the time it reached us on the windward side. We had our ups and downs until almost ten o'clock, when it finally settled down, warmed up and got downright comfy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I started throwing large plastics, trying for a silly walleye. Downgraded to a tandem rig with two small tubes, opting for maybe a white bass or two. Nothing doing on plastics of any size and color in the nasty water. So, I rigged one rod with a minnow.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Shortly after 7 AM my line clip snapped and line peeled off the open-bailed reel. I put up the plastics rod, clicked the bail on the bigger rig, waited for the line to come tight and WHAM...crossed it's eyes. Turned out to be a hard-fighting 5 pound lady kitty. All right. Nice start to the day. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Took about another hour to find the next fish, but it was an inch longer and a pound bigger. I could live with that. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When the sun came out good and the water layed down a bit, around ten, both of us had more bites. Froze scored his first, just before I got towed around and abused by my third...a still bigger 7 pounder. Froze announced over the walkie talkie that he had a double going...fish on both of his rods at once. Utah Lake circus.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My fourth fish absolutely kicked my behind for about 10 minutes on a stout rod and 10 pound line. It turned out to be almost 27 inches and weighed just shy of 8 pounds. Mighty fine kitty anywhere. Especially on the end of my line.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Frozenover tied the score with another cat just as I announced that I was going to start kicking back toward the vehicles. I had to get home to go pick up TubeBabe from the airport. Of course I dragged a bait on the way in and scored my smallest kitty of the day...just under three pounds...19". I had managed 5 again, just like last Friday at Lincoln Beach.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hey cat fans, take some bait and drag it slowly on the bottom between 4.5 and 5.5 feet deep, right out on the open flats. The cats are cruising out away from the weeds as the water level and water temperature both drop. They are there and they are active. It takes some lookin' but once you get in the zone you can catch some decent fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I did hang quite a few small white bass later in the morning. When they started pestering my bait I would pick up the tandem jig rod and drag a couple of the little tykes in, just to convince them to quit messin' with me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Great to fish with you again James. A lot better than the north wind blowout on the Tribune kitty floatilla.[/#0000ff]
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[ironworker]

great report td, and great pictures. my schedule is still way full.
maybe this coming weekend i will make it to the berry.
thanks for sharing. [cool]
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[Kraizee_Skot]

[font "Times New Roman"][#ff4040][size 3]Great report and great pictures as always TD. Looks like the makings of a great dinner.[/size][/#ff4040][/font]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]As a matter of fact, we just had a plate of kitty krispies...and the smoker just kicked out a batch of kitty jerky from last Friday's trip. Yum.[/#0000ff]
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[Flycasting]

Looks like you had a great time. Nice cats for both of you! []
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[Frozenover]

Thanks Pat for a great morning. Its always nice having someone to fish with.

Maybe we can do it again sometime.
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[danzilla]

we hit the east side in between lindon and AF and caught a few cats outselfs...
My youngest was quite proud of this little white though.
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[Theekillerbee]

Looks like you guys did quite well out there! Nice report again Pat. Was minnow the bait of choice? Any carp meat action today?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks. It was a fun day. The official count was 3 on minnows, 1 on a strip of white bass meat and 1 on carp meat. The one on carp meat was my biggest. Attached is a pic with incriminating evidence hanging from its jaws.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The only problem while using the carp meat was the swarms of white bass that kept picking at it. Lots of "pop and drop" hits to keep me nervous. But, when big mama hit, there was no question. WHAM and ZIP...the line smoked off the reel and when I hauled back on the rod to set the hook, the rod tip just stayed there and line kept running off the drag. Yeeee Hawww. Took me over ten minutes to bring her in...with the chunk of carp meat still protruding from her big mouth.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I didn't even start using carp meat until about the last hour. I am sure that I would have caught other fish if I had started earlier. I still have a good supply of "prime carp" strips. I better use them up so I have a good excuse to bring out the bow again next spring. Gonna join me?[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey Danny, glad you guys found some fishies too. The young lady looks justifiably proud of her white bass.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here's a pic of one of the monsters I got yesterday. [/#0000ff]
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[Playas44]

Looks like you guys did very well.
Sorry I missed that.
I am glad to hear the cats are turning on.
Maybe this next weekend. I have to decide where to go.
That mess of grass getting out to the open water is a challenge for sure.
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[bassfinder]

Great report and pics!
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]Nice K's, fellas! Way to rip them lips! It's good to hear that the kitties are still hungry, you just have to get out a little deeper to find them. I look forward to going after some this next month or two...
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[Luke72]

I was planning on going to Jordanelle on friday, but due to time restraints etc. I am going to Utah lake instead. Could you tell me where you launched from? also, I dont have any sonar on the 'toon so I was wondering if you could tell me an approximate location to get into some of those whiskerfish? Thanks for any help!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]We were fishing the "west side", around the bend from Pelican Point...if you know where that is.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]For those who are not familiar with the west side, here are some general guidelines. Begin at the intersection of Hwy 73 (that runs east through Lehi) and Hwy 68 (Redwood Road). There is a big Smiths and other businesses on the SE corner which makes a good meetup spot.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Head south on 68, through the vacant fields and construction. You will go through the Saratoga Springs area and the golf course, continuing past the turnoff to the marina and to the very visible Pelican Point. That's where the development ends and Hwy 68 makes a turn to the west. [/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]There are a couple of gated roads just past Pelican point. The first accessible road past the fences (near mile marker 21) goes straight down to the water. You will not need 4 wheel drive, but you will need good tires and high clearance. Follow that dirt road right to the water. Launch through the break in the reeds (see pics)[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A good landmark right now is the burn area (see pic) just before you get to the road. You can see the red fire retardant they dropped by plane around the edges of the burn.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are other roads that go down off the highway and most of them offer spots to launch out through the reeds and weeds. The fish are also all up and down that whole area, so I am not really "hot spotting" here. Finding the area and fishing it properly is not just a matter of "showing up".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Without sonar you will be at a divantage but you can still be in the game. Take a couple of small marker buoys and just move straight out from the launch area. You will be a couple of hundred yards from the launch site before you are deep enough. Use a weight on the end of some line to take depth readings and when you get to about 5 feet, toss out a marker. Now just drag a bait around in that general area...in and out...until you get bit. Throw over a second marker buoy and keep fishing in the zone. You can see the marker buoys from a long ways if it is calm and they will keep you on track. The bottom is fairly flat with little structure or variation so it takes a lot of movement to go much deeper or shallower.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You don't really need the sonar to see the fish. None of the cats will ever show up on sonar. But, the sonar will help you find the productive depth and then maintain that as you fish. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you don't want to go through all that, I suggest you go to Lincoln Beach and launch off the end of the south dike. Fish the big area between the dike and the reeds to the south, again trying to stay in about 5 feet of water. The fish are also out in deeper water so you can work out to a line straight out from the south dike. That will put you in almost 7 feet of water. There were both cats and white bass out that far last Friday.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Take minnows, carp meat, crawlers or whatever you have. If you can catch a couple of white bass, cut strips from them and put those on the hook. Both cats and walleyes like white bass meat. Unfortunately (sometimes) white bass also like the flesh of their brethren and can be pests.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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[Luke72]

[cool] Great Info, Thank you! I'll let you know how it goes
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