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Plan B Utah Lake 12-1-17
#1
[#0000FF]Had a trip planned to Bear Lake today, but postponed it 'til next week...hoping the whitefish action improves. Still wanted some tugs so I headed for American Fork Harbor this morning. I have done well there in late fall in the past.

Daybreak saw 36 degrees air temp and 41 degree water temp. Mostly cloudy early, but nice and calm. Water about 3-4 feet deep inside the harbor. No fish found around the docks or in the channel on the way out. Didn't mark anything on sonar either.

Kicked my way out to about 5 feet...straight out from the harbor entrance. Started seeing some isolated marks...white bass I guessed. And I turned out to be right. Not the same as Bear Lake whitefish but "love the one you're with"...or whatever.

Had a couple of new things to try out today. One was a new design for a horizontal rod rack. Worked great. The other was a newly constructed folding yard stick for fish measurement. It worked well too. Glad I got to test it on a 28 inch kitty.

I also wanted to try some new colors of mini fligs on white bass. Got bites on several colors but the hot pink worked best. Hot pink is a good color in Utah Lake this time of year.

Just for grins I also brought along a couple of meat rods and some left-handed blue-eyed minnows...and some previously frozen baby white bass. Figured I might as well tempt a chilly kitty or maybe a walleye with some substance. No walleyes, but managed about a half dozen slowed-down cats...including the one 28 incher. Most were about 2 footers.

Also got a couple of mud cats and had several more steal or mangle my lovely minnows. #@$%& The white bass also relieved me of some minnows. Some got busted and some escaped...with the goods.

It stayed cold all morning. Kept my gloves on until I left. Just about the time I thought I might do without them a chilly little breeze came up and suggested I might keep the gloves.

Probably caught about a dozen white bass. Kept about five...the first one for bait and then 4 of the larger ones thereafter for some "scampi and noodles". Good stuff.

All in all, an enjoyable morning. Had the whole lake to myself. A lot shorter drive than Bear Lake and got some good tugs too.
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#2
Thanks for the report! I was thinking of heading down there this weekend. December and January are the the only months I haven't caught a kitty at the old pond and this looked like a great time to try to check off December.

I would say I was thinking the same thing you were, but Bear Lake certainly wasn't on my mind.

I did wonder if the low water temp was going to be hard to overcome, but you have given me hope for at least a fish or two[Wink]
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#3
Hey, glad you got out and found good fishin' with plenty of casting room. Always fun to read/see your posts but kinda painful this time. I winterized my yacht a couple of weeks ago anticipating winter-type weather.-- mistake. I ride out by Lincoln frequently just to escape the tv and see if the rocks at first spring are fishable. Every time I go the water is glassy calm and I keep hearing the fish pleading for food. I have talked to a few bank tanglers but not much going on. A few boats going out to the island but they appear to be duck hunters.

Water level seems to be holding up... for now. Sure hope we get lots of snow when it finally gets here. Hope to be on the water again by... maybe March??

Hope you are wintering well.

BLK
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#4
Too bad the whitefish havent got in the mood yet but glad you got out. Guess you kinda answered my curiosity on fish being on the docks yet. I might give trout one more try before it gets too cold.
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#5
[quote Piscophilic]Thanks for the report! I was thinking of heading down there this weekend. December and January are the the only months I haven't caught a kitty at the old pond and this looked like a great time to try to check off December.
[#0000FF]Over the years, I have caught them every month of the year. Howsomever, the ones I caught in January were through the ice. Didn't seem to matter to the kitties. They slow down but they still eat.[/#0000FF]

I would say I was thinking the same thing you were, but Bear Lake certainly wasn't on my mind.

I did wonder if the low water temp was going to be hard to overcome, but you have given me hope for at least a fish or two[Wink][/quote]

[#0000FF]It took a bit of searching...to find the right depth (5-6 feet) and to find isolated fish. But covering a lot of water did find a few that were active enough to wanna play. I went over a lot of bottom "anomalies" (on sonar) that were either snoozing or sulking and did not interrupt my blissful reverie.

I would have been happy with fewer fish but I was overjoyed that I got as much fishy attention as I did.
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#6
[#0000FF]Hey Lynn, I am managing to keep from joining AA (Anglers Anonymous) by getting out once in a while. Sorry to hear you are suffering through a self-imposed abstinence program.

Based upon past experience...and my findings yesterday...I'm guessing that most of the fish are out beyond bank tangler range. I neither saw fish on sonar or had any bites in water less than about 5' deep. They sometimes move into protected shallows on warm afternoons when the sun brings the water temps up for a short time. But otherwise they stay low and slow.

It is customarily about the first week of March when I am able to get my tube on open water each year. But I almost always find the kitties ready for action on my first trips. Just gotta search 'em out and serve up something to their liking.

Stay strong and resolute my fishing friend. Maybe you need to get into a 12 cast program.
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#7
[#0000FF]There were no bank tanglers or dock dunkers there yesterday. That usually means there is not much action available. As we both know, when the fish are in there are plenty of folks there to welcome them.

I worked around several spots on the docks yesterday without a sniff. Nothing on sonar either. But as soon as there is an ice covering I suspect there will be some fish moving in. There is a lot of 4' deep water and that is plenty to attract and hold whities, crappies and sunfish. But that early ice can be slick and scary if it is clear. Unless it is at least 3-4" you know someone is going to get wet.
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#8
Nice report! I've never done well at utah lake in the cold, so you are definitely a "fish whisperer" in my book!

The whitefish are still here and waiting for you to beat 'em up. If you had come up Scott would have had you on them and it would have been pretty solid fishing. We did really well yesterday for them, so it will be roaring when you get up here for your turn.

Mike
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#9
[#0000FF]Good to hear the whitefish are doing what they are supposed to do. Not good to hear that I may have missed a good trip. Seems like that is how they are every year...sparse right up until they swarm in and get busy. [/#0000FF][#0000FF][#0000FF][b]Story of my life. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

[/#0000FF]Looking at next Friday now. Hope the weather and the fish cooperate.

I don't claim to have any kind of superangler skills on Utah Lake...or any other body of water. But, just like you know Big Blue very well, I have invested a fair amount of time on "Big Brown"...enough to have an idea of where and how to fish it during any time of year and any set of conditions.
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