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I don't often post trip reports because well...I rarely catch anything or have anything helpful to share.
That being said, I did manage one cat in a few hours at AF harbor on the lake side. Not a monster by any means, but I think my biggest to date. Didn't have a tape/scale with me. It did clamp down on my thumb harder than any cat I've caught before. And it left something embedded in me. It was caught on a shrimp soaked in clam juice or something of my brothers creation. This happened in the first 10mins of arriving. A location and bait changes couldn't entice any more strikes from the cats, only curious wb.
The water seemed to have a thick layer of green algae on the top. I haven't seen that before and was hoping someone could enlighten us.
One other thing I wanted to share. There was a jet ski stranded a couple hundred yards out with the operators yelling for assistance. At the same time a sheriff was driving over the dike so I went to notify him. When I told him, he just sort of snickered and laughed while saying he would check it out. Not really the reaction I expected, but it made me laugh.
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[#0000FF]Glad you scored at least one. Looks like a "cookie cutter"...19 - 20 inches. Good eater size.
Too bad about the jet ski...snicker snicker. I've been tempted to "disable" a few of those guys myself. But when I get through with them they won't be hollerin' for help. They'll be beyond help. I talk a good game for an old fat man. (Do I sound like John Wayne?)
The surface algae bloom is an annual thing as the water temps cool down in the fall. There is a narrow range of temps where the previously dormant algae suddenly blooms and makes the surface turn green. Happened on Friday down at Lincoln Beach. Water temps started out about 57 and when they got up to 60 the lake greened up. Happens on a lot of waters. Depending on the water chemistry and species of algae the bloom may happen at different times and different temps.
The algae at Deer Creek also blooms this time of year and often forms "pea soup"...literally. The algae rolls up into little balls...and the carp love 'em.
[inline "ALGAE PEAS.jpg"]
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So, what happened!! the jet ski hit a rock or something?? My heart pumps purple peanut butter for em!!
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Jetskiers are like everybody else, some a--holes and some good folks. I was testing out a boat out of AF harbor a couple years ago and it quit me cold. The water was pretty rough due to a good south wind. My pucker factor was being tested. Some jetskiers were closer to the harbor mouth jumping waves and when they saw me waving frantically, they immediately came bustin' over to tow me to safety. They even pushed the boat onto the trailer for me. I tried to pay them and they flatly refused. Asked their names and got silence-----------.
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Well, I don't know. I generally ignore, or try to anyway, the noise from the machine and their operators. I was able to block out their attempts at getting our attention for a bit. Until the group next to us, who happened to be jet skiers also, made a fuss about it. That was when I noticed the cop and told him.
As far as i could tell it was some mechanical issue. They were towed in by a fellow jet skier. There was virtually no wind and great conditions. I wasn't terribly concerned about their safety, as they probably could've just walked their craft in for as long as they were sitting there.
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im glad I scored also. I really need to keep one sometime and cook it up. Its probably not as difficult as the lazy part of my brain tells me.
Thanks for the explanation. My first thought was some kind of turnover was happening, but quickly dismissed that due to the lack of depth at UL and it not being that cold yet. We tossed a few rocks in the water and it was algae free in that area. Glad we weren't swimming in it. I'm guessing the fish are unaffected by this bloom.
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Utah Lake motto !! " Ski the Scum !! " Rick Meyer, Eagle Marine !!
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[#0000FF]Yeah, that green algae is more the result of all the phosphates and other fertilizers that end up in our waters. It is not harmful except that it dies and depletes oxygen as it deteriorates.
Another kind of algae...the blue green kind...actually produces toxins that affect invertebrates and some species of fish...killing them in some cases. Had a big bloom of that stuff in my fave Arizona pond a few years ago. Noticed a nasty smell in the air as we drove up and noticed thousands of dead and floating clams and fish. No fishing that day...and for a long time afterward.
Attaching a picture I took a couple of years ago at Lincoln Beach. Water was brown from wind and the surface was green with the new algae bloom.
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