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[#0000FF]Waljustia and I figured it was about time for our annual assault on the whities at the "abyss"...the deep spring hole waaaaaay out there on Utah Lake. Met up about 7 and Dave was on the verge of tears. He hadn't been able to get the wheeler started. But I waved my hands over it and it roared to life. Pays to be an old geezer with powers.
11 degrees at daybreak. TDC. Glad we were at least able to get out there faster with the machine. Not sure I could have survived another epic exercise day like I had Wednesday with WH2 on Willard.
One other hardy soul had trudged all the way out, following the ice road trucker trail from the inlet park area. Since we took the wheeler out and reported on it last year it seems like eveybody in Utah has been out there and GPSed it. See pics. Where formerly we had to use Dave's GPS to even find the area all we had to do was follow the ice road and look for the big area of Swiss cheese. Jeez Louise. It's been banged hard.
The other angler turned out to be a fellow BFTer, CrappieLover89...if I reckymember keerectly. He caught a fair number of dinkster whities before he had to quit fishing and go to work...a four letter word. But then, again, so is fish.
Dave and I usually start on the far eastern edge of the area...finding a zone where the depth dropped from 7 to 9 to 17 feet deep within about a 20 foot line of holes. We set up in the 20 foot area and saw lots of fish on sonar...a lot more than on the end of our lines. Never have seen so many white bass without being able to get more attention from them. Not sure if we could blame it on the moon or the increased hammering out there.
Few bites and few fish until late morning. Then the fish started to get more active. I had moved all the way across the area to the western side and found some fish at mid depth in about 23 feet of water. I started getting bonks on my first drops. After icing a few fish in short order I hollered Dave to come over and set up nearby...which he did. The half dozen holes we drilled in that area kept us busy until we bailed about 1:30.
I had wanted to try some new propeller jigging spoons and some small painted body baitbugs. Also some new wobble head jigs. The good news is that all the new stuff performed well. Dave especially liked the pink "Pistol Pat" jigging spoons with the little propeller blades on them...until he broke one off on a fish when the ice cut his line. But I know the guy who makes them so he got another one.
Weather was beautiful...even with the "haze". Fishing was fast enough to keep us from napping. Got lots of small whities...averaging about 7-9 inches...but healthy enough to justify keeping a few for a batch of chowder. Even got a double once.
Tried soaking minnows on the bottom for cats but nary a sniff from anything besides white bass.
Thanks Dave, for a fun outing...and the taxi ride.
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very nice. haven't ice fished UL in decades- looks fun (and cold)
that swiss cheese reminds me of Mantua!
great pics TD!
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Pat, I know you're addicted to these Sunrise Worship activities, but mebbe ya oughta glance at the Solunar Tables once in a while. Early morning was predicted to be dudsville with the full moon - with the bite picking up towards noon.
Sure worked for me at FogView err, uh Pineview yesterday. Strolled onto the hard deck just as the ice fog was dissipating - 9:30 am. Solunar forecast said the hot bait would be noon to 2 pm. Skunk odor until straight up noon, then a perch every few minutes until 2 - when the bite died.
Hmmmmm....
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[#0000FF]Believe it or not, I have studied and followed the "so-looney" tables for many years...for many waters and many species. My personal opinion is that they are like weather forecasts...based upon reasonable science but wrong as often as they are right.
Our primary goal today was to fish around the fringes of that area, looking for non-whitie species...like walleyes or cats. They generally hit better during low light periods, regardless of moon phases. But, just to ease your helpful mind, I was aware of the predictions for better fishing around midday, and voiced my hopefulness in them to Dave. And when fishing began to pick up after about 11 am we both made comments that it seemed the forecrash was on target.
I believe that sometimes anglers are fishing in the wrong place at the "right time" and you can't catch fish where they ain't. Combine that with finding a honey hole during the wrong time of day and it's enough to make you question the theories.
Just like my definition of anglers: A good angler can catch fish on the "wrong" bait or lure. A poor one often cannot score on what is the hot ticket for everybody else.
The best time to go fishing is whenever you can get away.
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[#0000FF]Thanks HGS.
Here's a couple more pics with Timp in them for your enjoys.
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Glad you made the annual trek and found a few fish to boot. I guess I am one of the guys that hasnt ventured our there yet. I have had a couple invites but it kinda seems like a violation for some reason. Go figure. Just me. Glad to see you got dinner on a pretty day and didnt have to risk a heart attack in the process. That magic wand engine starting stuff comes in handy
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Hmmm one post about the "abysst" awhile back and now it's swiss cheese! And people wounder why people dont want to give out info about flaming gorge, could you imagine 50 boats on one hump? I must say these fishing sites sure have changed fishing! My most fondest memories have been " do it your self trips" but i must say its nice to get a general area or bait tip here and their :-)
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Sounds like the same trip as I had on Thursday but fished from like 2-5 pm. Saw many but nothing great might head back soon for round two.
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Nice to see UL acting as it has this year. Nice to see waljustia still hanging around.
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[#0000FF]Yes, I posted a couple of reports in the past...being suitably vague about the location. In fact, I made a big point about keeping the location a secret...not even getting the GPS numbers from Dave so that I could not pinpoint it even if I wanted to. I got a lot of requests but never told anybody exactly where it was. And without "the numbers" it is almost impossible to find. Even Waljustia can't do it and he has been going out there for over 10 years...and has never seen anybody else out there until last year.
Last year there were a few folks that saw us out on the spot and followed our wheeler tracks through the fresh snow. Some made waypoints on their handheld GPS...and passed those along to others. The big flood of other fishermen came because of a couple of old dudes who would tell everybody they knew about it and point to the clearly visible highway in the snow. They actually claimed they had been fishing that spot for over 40 years. Dave even talked to them at one time. But he didn't ask them how they ever found it again each year with their old stone GPS units.
There is also the matter of the "happy harvesters" finding that spot. A few of them followed one of those old guys out there...in spite of him trying to lose them and telling them not to follow him. Once they found it they spread the word among their group and there have been sledloads of white bass leaving the ice in the weeks since. A couple of them was heard to brag about being able to sell all those whities for "good money".
I have no problem with others removing large numbers of white bass from Utah Lake. Their population has been down the last year, but they are coming back. One good spawn year will fill up any voids in their niche. And I am realistic enough to know that all it takes is one person blabbing about a small spot and it can be trashed by the hordes who follow.
Dave is sorry to see his formerly unknown privacy spot reduced to a public toilet. But he has been very cool about it. He misses being able to take his scouts or young family members out for a private fishing session, but he does not begrudge letting others enjoy the abundance...especially during a low water year like this one when ice fishing has not been good to most.
But, you are right. If you have a spot you do not wish to share with the masses you should never even hint about it on a public forum. We have plenty of examples of formerly great waters being overrun after getting unneeded publicity on local TV shows, etc.
I'm sorry for any part I played in ruining Dave's sanctuary. But I have still never told anybody exactly where or how to find it. Unfortunately, too many others have blabbed too much.
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[#0000FF]You may be at least partly right. But, just for the record, I NEVER suggested that anybody follow our wheeler tracks...and never told anybody where we got on the ice. I guarantee that the majority of the folks showing up at that spot are not computer literate and did not get their info from BFT.
"Destroyed"? Kinda harsh. The lake has not been damaged by the removal of a lot more white bass. Just not the solitude there used to be.
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[quote fish_fear_me2]Glad you made the annual trek and found a few fish to boot. I guess I am one of the guys that hasnt ventured our there yet. I have had a couple invites but it kinda seems like a violation for some reason. Go figure. Just me.[/quote]
Not just you, I am with you on that one. There are plenty of spots on that lake that need finding, and heading that way seems like it should be reserved for those, like TD and others, that were in the know in the beginning. Can't wait until I can find a solitary honey hole.
Glad you guys had a great in great weather, despite the lack of whisker participation.
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Just my two cents on the abyss controversy. I'd almost bet that a whole mob of fishertypes could invade that place and literally fish it out without materially affecting the white bass population in U.L. I submit that within just a week or two a whole new population would move in.
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Any time you go to "chuckin' rocks" at ol' TubeDude you're gonna raise the hackles of lotsa folks. That ol' boy has done, and is doing more for the fishing in U.L. than anyone else in the whole damn state, so lay off.
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"Glad you guys had a great in great weather, despite the lack of whisker participation."
[#0000FF]We had a couple of trips about 4 years ago when we caught quite a few cookie cutter cats...up to about 18 inches. Haven't ever gotten any larger ones there but have seen a few under-footers the past two years. I'm sure that there are places within that football field sized bowl that appeals more to them...and that can change from year to year. You gotta just find the right spot and serve them what they want. Not always easy to make it through the throngs of white bass either. The only times we have caught cats was when we got outside the whitie zone.
I appreciate the sentiments of not wanting to "violate" a "top secret" spot. But it can tolerate a lot more attention. I regret that it has gotten so well known and popular but it ain't the end of the world. If I thought it would suffer from too much fishing pressure I would not have ever posted a report on it.
I do not report on all my trips to all my spots. There are some that are too small or too fragile to be posted on a public forum. For the most part, my reports are only about waters, locations or species that are already well known and can withstand more fishing pressure. Still...I get accused of being a hotspotter. Usually by Orvis Dork types. Doesn't bother me at all.
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[quote GEEZER]Just my two cents on the abyss controversy. I'd almost bet that a whole mob of fishertypes could invade that place and literally fish it out without materially affecting the white bass population in U.L. I submit that within just a week or two a whole new population would move in.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Those of us who fish the old muddy pond a lot know that the overall white bass population took a drop this past year...for a variety of reasons. Angling pressure was not one of them. It would be virtually impossible for fishermen to clean out Utah Lake of white bass.
Howsomever, I have seen Utah Lake much lower than it is right now...and white bass populations down to almost nothing, due to spawning problems and predator pursuit. In every case it only takes one or two years of decent spawning to fill the lake with whities again. After all, the first plantings were of only a few hundred white bass fry. They are hardy and prolific.
You may be at least partly right about the abyss repopulating by itself if it WAS to be "fished out". Even though white bass roam freely about the lake, there are a few areas where they seem to remain in a general area without going too far away. That's why there are some zones around the lake that see poorer current fishing than others. Winter kill and poor food supplies last year hit some local populations harder than others. But there are still plenty left for future spawning and recruitment.
By the way, ol' buddy, are we gonna get a shot at that pond over by your old stomping grounds this winter? The ice came off the week before our planned trip last year.
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Nice report. I have a question not related to this glory hole controversy.
I was looking at your catch and noticed how bloody your pile of whities was. Do you 'bleed' them? I caught a pile of perch a couple weeks ago and noticed that when I filleted them, the meat in the ones that had frozen completely was much whiter than the ones that were still kicking a little. If you do bleed them, where are you cutting them?
Thanks
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[#0000FF]I don't take the time to bleed out the whities. Not really necessary on those small fish. A lot of the red color is natural to them when they die...especially if confined in a closed area. Their fins and tails tend to color up then...and it looks like they are bloody.
I do not let my fish sit on the ice to get sunburned and frozen. Bad combo. I put them in an orange Home Depot bag, inside my sled. They stay plenty cool without freezing. See the attached pic.
As for frozen fish having a whiter color than the fresher ones, that is due to the molecular changes that occur when fish flesh is frozen. Don't know if you have ever had frostbitten fingers but they look whiter than the nonfrozen ones. Probably the freezing and expansion forces the blood out of the capillaries. Just guessing.
If you do prefer to bleed your catch as you catch them a simple cut through the gills will do the job. That is a good idea for trout and some other larger bloody fish. The flesh stays firmer and tastes better when bled out and kept cold. On some larger species you can also make a cut around the base of the tail. That is a vascular area that helps the fish to bleed out more quickly.
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