Tacklebox Help

[Dirty42]

Can some of you guys offer some suggestions on what lures and other tackle to stock my box with? Growing up, I never really learned how to fish with much beyond some powerbait on a treble hook and occasionally using a spinner. It's almost embarrassing to be asking stuff like this at the age of 31, but I'm kinda getting sick of only coming home with 1-2 fish on a good day, minus the white bass that I haven't really liked the taste of. Fun to catch, but my goal is to bring home dinner.

I live in Provo, so I'd like to tailor it to use in that area. I've got a couple 6 foot medium action rods with spinning reels and an 8 ft medium heavy rod with a baitcaster on it. I mostly fish from the shore, but I picked up a little inflatable boat with a trolling motor that I've been using quite a bit lately.

Utah Lake is probably gonna be one of my frequent spots.Also gonna be fishing the Provo river, Deer Creek, Strawberry, and any other place that's kinda nearby. Not really sure what species I can get out of each place besides Utah lake. Mostly gearing it around trout, catfish, and bass if they taste any better than whites.

I'm also not sure about the best way to rig some of this stuff up. Trying to learn beyond what I was taught as a kid is making my head spin with how many things are out there. I really wish I would have made it to the DAV event at Strawberry so I could have learned some of this stuff in person. Any help would be appreciated.
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[Squawminnow]

My tackle box has certainly evolved over the years like yours will. I used to be a worm, split shot and bobber fisherman as a kid but that limits fishing sometimes.

Catfish - 1/2 oz egg sinkers, swivels, 5 mm red plastic beads, large baitholder hooks or circle hooks. I run the egg sinker through the line, tie on the swivel and then a 18" leader. Put one or two beads above the hook and the hook last. Unless you learn to tie your own snelled hooks, stay away from the pre snelled hooks, they fail. This rig works well for Wipers, Bullhead, and Cats.

I rarely fish for Trout unless fly fishing or ice fishing so I'm afraid I can't help much there. I don't like to bait fish trout since I almost always end up with deeply hooked fish that I wasn't planning on keeping.

Bass - jigheads (regular shape and "stand up"). Small tube plastics in browns and green colors. "Creature Bait" plastics in the same colors. These can be fished with great success with a jighead for Smallmouth.
Diving crankbaits that look like crawfish can be used almost anywhere bass are present.

Walleye- Jigheads, Swimbait plastics, curly tail plastics and Gulp Minnows can all be effective. Buck tail or marabou jigs work well too.

Good luck, don't try to stock yourself in one shopping trip.
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[Anglinarcher]

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WOW, this is a tough order to fill.
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I read this and almost thought about not responding, but few else had either, probably because of how difficult the task is. This is going to be long, so I apologize in advance.
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Remember that 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish. I believe that in reality 2% of the fisherman catch 70% of the fish, 10% catch 10%, leaving the remaining 88% to fight over the remaining 20%. It is seldom the lures that make the difference, it is the knowledge of how to use them.
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Most of us have benefited by having some form of Mentor that we learned from. I learned the basics from my Dad, then as I exceeded his knowledge it shifted to noted local fishing experts, and finally I knew enough of the basics that I was able to teach myself. If you will take a Star Wars analogy, the apprentice became the master.
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You will benefit by finding that Mentor as well. The mentor may be younger then you even. For about 15 years I was taking out and teaching guys 10 to 20 years older than I was. Yes, even old dogs do learn new tricks. Of course I have mentored many younger then me as well, and my Son is 30 years ahead of where I was at his age. I think my Grandkids are much farther than that.
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Of course reading is a great source of knowledge. I loved watching “In-Fisherman” on TV, it was a great source of how-to at the time. I have not watched it in years so I don’t know how it is now that the Linder’s no longer own and run it. Their Magazine was better. There also was a great Magazine called Fishing Facts. The problem is that you get snippets of what to do, edited for time and the advertising at the time. Lots of lures are sold that way that really are not all that good.
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Now, today, YouTube is a source of information. Some of it is great, some good, and some flat out stinks. But, looking for YouTube videos about local areas will help. Just try to pick through them.
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One thing to keep in mind regarding reading and watching is that you seldom get the fine points. A case in point is a lake I fished in Washington. It has some Awesome Browns, and lots of them, IF you knew what to do. When I say Awesome, I am talking about some days where you could catch 25 fish a day over 20 inches and expect at least 3 or 4 over 27 inches.
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My lake best weighed 17.5 pounds, and was released. I have lost some much larger, much much larger in that lake. So, with so many fish, and so big, anyone could catch them, right? Nope! Most days I would tell my new partners how to do it, then show them how to do it, then the first day they would get skunked when I would C&R until my arm and back were sore. I would exchange rods with my new partner just to show him that it was not MY lure. Often they would say it was because I was in the front of the boat, so I would make them run the trolling motor and I caught even more because I could focus on fishing.
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Usually on the second trip they would start to pay attention and start to pick up the little things that made a difference. By the third trip they would normally start to do pretty well, but it usually took 10 or 20 trips later before they got almost as good as I was.
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So, once you get that mentor, you need to actually pay attention to the mentor. You need to go with the mentor often, and you need to support the mentor. Having more than one mentor is OK, but don’t try to pit one against the other. Telling Joe that Bob does it different is the fastest way to be left home on the next trip. And no, you don’t need a mentor, but the learning curve will be much longer.
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I know this is getting to be a book, and I am sorry about that, but keep in mind that a tackle box is just like a tool box. It stores tools; the type of the tools is the only question.
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First thing to remember is that fishing where the fish are not is called wetting a line. Fish are NOT uniformly distributed throughout the water. I am attaching a diagram that In-Fisherman published so long ago that I think computers were not even available to the public. But, in this ideal lake, it shows what you should be looking for. Call it cover, call it structure, you want to fish around it. Structure concentrates fish because it offers food, cover, protection, etc. I could have started you out by suggesting you get a copy of Spoon Plugging by Buck Perry, but it has been out of print for a long time and would date me really bad. Structure is not always a physical thing, but it can be current, a thermocline, etc. Even Kokanee in open water relate to something, but the subtle changes in water temperature, algae concentrations, clarity, etc., that constitute structure to them are harder to determine.
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Stream fishing is not all that different, just the structure is different. Structure may be below a water fall, above or below rocks, a current seam, an eddy, a shallow riffle, a deep pool, etc.
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OK, so now I am willing to get to the tackle box. Remember, tools, just tools.
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I would get some marabou or buck tail jigs. I would get them in light, medium, and dark colors. Other jigs may be better at times, but these tools will work in a lot of different conditions. I would get them in 1/16 oz., 1/8 oz., and maybe 3/16 oz.
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I would get spinners in similar sizes. I would also get them with hackle tails, like Rooster Tails or Bang Tail. I prefer Panther Martin lures, but I add the chicken hackle on the hooks myself. Sometimes just adding a little piece of worm will help as much or more. Again, don’t try to match the hatch at this point, get some light, medium and dark colors, plus a silver and gold.
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I would avoid the spoons for now. They will work, but they are not as versatile as other options. Most of the ones I have are Kastmasters, Phoebe, Buoyant Minnows, or similar. Jakes are popular in Utah, but the above options will out fish them most of the time. Again, small, medium, larger sizes. Light, medium, dark colors, plus silver and gold.
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I would get some Rapala or similar minnow shaped “crank baits” later on. The black back with silver side is always a favorite. In the old days an Orange back with gold sides was available and those two colors would work 80% of the time. The Orange and gold is no longer made by Rapala. There are a lot of other makers of similar shaped baits. Casting them can be difficult due to weight, so adding sinkers a couple feet ahead may be necessary. You already know the drill on sizes and colors.
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Don’t go overboard on lures or colors right now, learn how to use them first. Most of all of us have lots and lots of lures, most which never hit the water. THERE ARE FEW SUPER LURES. Sometimes a really great lure does come out, and those are the ones that tend to stay around for a long time. The Rapala is an example, as is the Rooster Tail, and the Kastmaster. They are still popular because they work.
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Now, as for the places you mentioned. This is not a complete list, but a start. Always double, even triple check the regulations.
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Utah Lake is not the greatest place to fish, but it has some good fishing once you learn it. It has the White Bass you mentioned, and did not like to eat. I find they cook up good with a good preparation method, but not everyone likes them. There are Walleye, but don’t expect to get dinner often. There are Large Mouth Bass, but they can be pretty hard to locate there until you learn the lake and the methods. The regulations should be consulted and the small size you are allowed to keep on UL for the bass means that it is not worth keeping them at all. Channel Catfish is the largest, most common sport fish in UL. You can catch the Catfish with lures, but bait is the best bet.
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Deer Creek is busy with boats, and as such it can be a challenge, but the fish are plentiful and of good size. Rainbow Trout are the number one fish. Brown Trout are also available, and can be good size. Small Mouth Bass are probably the most prevalent. They can be caught in large numbers, and some of them are pretty good sized. There are a lesser number of Large Mouth Bass as well. Walleye are also in Deer Creek in decent numbers. There are a lot of Yellow Perch also, but not in the quantity they once were.
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The Provo River is a Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout river. Some Whitefish, some Walleye in the lower stretch at times but watch the seasons on them.
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Strawberry is a Rainbow and Cutthroat fishery for sure. Slot limits on the Cutthroat. It is also a great Kokanee fishery but your boat is not a good one for that.
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As you can see, I just wrote a book and I have not even scratched the surface. I bet that there could be numerous books to answer your questions.
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Just remember my suggestion, find a mentor, go out often with that mentor, soak up all sources of information you can find. And remember one last thing. A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work, so go often!


[fishin]


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[Dirty42]

Based on the responses so far, I'm off to a decent start.
To add a little more background on me, I'm not really the shut in type that's spent more time in front of a computer screen than outdoors. 14 years in the army, I work as a mechanic, and usually don't have much of a problem becoming proficient in something after I've put the time in to learn. We never took many trips when I was a kid, and I've kept myself too busy throughout most of my adult life to go fishing much. I think I recently hit that point where I wanna relax and get away from the house/shop, so here we are. Until recently, Panguitch Lake and the surrounding areas were about all I'd had experience with.

[quote Squawminnow]
Catfish - 1/2 oz egg sinkers, swivels, 5 mm red plastic beads, large baitholder hooks or circle hooks. I run the egg sinker through the line, tie on the swivel and then a 18" leader. Put one or two beads above the hook and the hook last. Unless you learn to tie your own snelled hooks, stay away from the pre snelled hooks, they fail. This rig works well for Wipers, Bullhead, and Cats.[/quote]

I hadn't considered beads. I assume that's to protect from the line breaking when they bite down? I can tie a snell knot just fine. Any suggestions for bait other than white bass? There's times where I'd like to have something on hand to just bait a hook and go. I'd been using some big treble hooks with that dough type bait with occasional success, but I'm convinced it's not ideal to use.

[quote Squawminnow]
I rarely fish for Trout unless fly fishing or ice fishing so I'm afraid I can't help much there. I don't like to bait fish trout since I almost always end up with deeply hooked fish that I wasn't planning on keeping.[/quote]

I've had decent luck with small spinners. Bait has been fine with larger hooks. Seems to keep the smaller ones away.

[quote Squawminnow]
Bass - jigheads (regular shape and "stand up"). Small tube plastics in browns and green colors. "Creature Bait" plastics in the same colors. These can be fished with great success with a jighead for Smallmouth.
Diving crankbaits that look like crawfish can be used almost anywhere bass are present. [/quote]

jig heads are something I haven't done much with yet. Picked some up the other day, but haven't really done much in terms of how exactly to use them. I've actually got like 15 different crankbait lures. All different sizes and colors of minnows that either dive or float. Last year I did pretty well on the provo river near the lake with them. I actually got a really fat 15-16" rainbow with a crankbait last week.

[quote Squawminnow]
Walleye- Jigheads, Swimbait plastics, curly tail plastics and Gulp Minnows can all be effective. Buck tail or marabou jigs work well too.[/quote]

I really need to catch one of these. The ex girlfiend and I took my little inflatable boat out last week and she caught a pretty big one with a crankbait I was trolling with (was wondering if it would work or not) while on our way to another spot. Sadly it wasnt hooked very well and I lost it as I was lifting it enough to net it. She wasn't really a fan of the teeth they have.

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[Dirty42]

[quote Anglinarcher]
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That's actually a ton of good info. More than I can reply to right now though. I think I may just post some pictures of my tackle and you guys can maybe make suggestions on what I can throw in the "loan something out without expectations of them bringing it back, EVEN THOUGH THEY SAID THEY WOULD THREE WEEKS AGO" box.


Another thing... I need to buy a friggin boat. This overgrown pool toy that I've tossed a trolling motor onto just isnt big enough. I took it to Lincoln on Friday night and lingered on the water hoping the weather would improve. It finally did around 2am, but I kicked back for a few mins and woke up around dawn to a channel cat that had taken my line and ran circles around the boat. Lost it when I was trying to untangle it from the net too. This was on dough bait and treble hooks which I'm not gonna be using again for a while. Terrible luck while others on the shore were yanking them in all morning.
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[a_bow_nut]

People use a variety of baits for catfish. While carp and white bass are popular there are shrimp, night crawlers, chicken liver and even hotdogs that can be used for bait.

Most of us will take home some of the fish that we catch and fillet off the meat while leaving the skin on and freeze it for our next trip after the cats. Just remember that you can not use any sucker meat in Utah Lake. Even the pre packaged stuff that you buy at the store.

Most of the walleye that I have been finding this time of the year are hanging out one the edges of the deep weed lines waiting for some prey to poke its head out. Jigs with a small chunk of worm on them can be very effective on many species of fish in all of the water in the state.
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[Squawminnow]

The beads are more a visual attraction for the fish than anything. Cats are predators and more visual hunters than given credit for. I have fished with beads and a worm bouncing he bai along the bottom and had Catfish slam the bait. Overall my success catching Cats has gone up a ton using beads, credit to the Great One - TubeDude.
I also found treble hooks and dough baits to be more trouble than they are worth. Messy, overly stinky, and not that effective. It's hard to beat fresh cut carp or white bass meat for Cat bait. One bait I use a lot that is a grab and go and can be used in all waters is frozen Anchovies from Sportsmans Warehouse. Only restriction on those is any waters with Tiger Muskie the bait cannot be cut bigger than 1" sq.
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[Anglinarcher]

[quote a_bow_nut]............

Most of us will take home some of the fish that we catch and fillet off the meat while leaving the skin on and freeze it for our next trip after the cats. Just remember that you can not use any sucker meat in Utah Lake. Even the pre packaged stuff that you buy at the store. ...............

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[#ff0000]As of July 2017[/#ff0000]

[#00bf00]I encourage people to read and reread the regulations carefully.[/#00bf00]

Attached is excerpts from the current state regulations.

As I read it, [#ff0000]game fish or parts thereof cannot be used for bait in Utah,[/#ff0000] except for their eggs, with the exception of White Bass and Yellow Perch in specific waters, in this case Utah Lake.

[#00bf00]As I read it[/#00bf00], you [#ff0000]can use sucker meat for bait[/#ff0000], at least specific types of sucker meat, but [#0000bf]must release all suckers caught in Utah Lake[/#0000bf].

Now, I am open to correction on this. If you can give me a specific page and line to read in the current regulations then I would feel much better about it.

I often see old regulations quoted on the site, like can't fish the Rivers that come into UL in the spring when you can now, but cannot keep walleye during a specific season. So...................

[fishin]
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[Anglinarcher]

I also see that I forgot to attach the structure diagram. Sorry.

[fishin]
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[Jedidiah]

One thing you'll find around places where people fish for catfish is little pieces of red licorice and empty swedish fish wrappers. These aren't snacks, people are tipping the hook with candy and using a stink bait like liver as the main bait. Sorry, I just contributed to ruining the "new" super secret bait but I'm not a big fan of catfish so....

For trout in a stream, get an F-3 rainbow Rapala and float it past the hole, then retrieve it back up so it dives and swims slowly with some darting action. You'll want a C-5 Rapala for deeper rivers so you can get some depth.

Kastmasters are great for distance and depth, a chartreuse striped kastmaster is killer on trout.

You also want to tip lures. A piece of crawler or mealworm is great but the Gulp! maggots are a little better in my opinion because a smaller piece gives off a ton of scent and stays good for many casts. A bit of bait on a lure turns chasers into biters. You want to pay attention to the bait restrictions, you can't use bait above the Olmstead dam on the Provo.
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