Sneakin' at Lincoln 6-6-18

[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]Been a lot of wind this week. Didn't think I would get on the water for a while. But BLK and I hatched up a plan for a quick trip this morning, during a lull in the "zephyrs". Fooled Mama Nature by not planning it too soon so she had a chance to spoil it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]BLK showed up shortly after I did at the Lincoln Beach launch ramp. His G-kids weren't able to make it so it was BLK solo in his boat and me in my red ride. Air temp mid fifties. Water temp 69 at dawn launch and 72 at 11:30 departure. Also fairly good visibility for Utah Lake...a kinda "walleye green". But no walleyes were harmed on this trip.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lynn headed up the channel in his boat first. Before I launched, I pitched a small jig into some little swirls on the ramp. Aha! Just as I hoped/figured. Juvenile white bass...about 5 inches. Too big for this year's hatch. Probably late bloomers from last year. Put 5 in the basket for bait if needed and got my tube launched.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]%$#@?#! I was about 1/3 of the way up the channel and making good speed (at least for an electric) and my motor suddenly slowed way down. I checked the speed settings. Slower and slower. Wondered if maybe I had picked up some discarded line in the prop. Yep. After carefully removing the prop and avoiding losing the nut or washer in the process I cut and picked out a bunch of funky monofilament. Success. My motor moved me upon the waters again.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Partially cloudy...or partially sunny. Only a slight ripple on the water. Looking good. And it was good. Verily. My first bait (big chub) got an okay from a brawling 25 inch dark female kitty. Sent her back to finish dumping her belly full of eggs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had fairly steady action on both bottom dragged baits and chartreuse fligs. One eager male kitty actually swallowed the flig. Most hookups on fligs are in the corners of the mouth...on the strike.
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[#0000ff]At one point I had a hang up on a rock...on one of my big chubs being dragged on bottom. I was unable to shake it loose so I turned my tube around and started kicking back toward the snag, to get over it and then try to free it. But some reesty old daddy cat decided he was gonna steal it from me. I had the rod back over my shoulder...reeling slowly as I backed up, to take up the slack. All of a sudden I was just about pulled backwards out of my tube. That was a strike. And the fish had gulped the whole big bait and got the hook on the chomp.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As soon as I got turned around and was fighting the fish properly I realized 'twern't no wimpy cookie cutter. This fish had shoulders and attitude. He actually made a couple of short runs against a fairly tight drag. And when I got him closer to the tube he would not budge from the bottom. Around and around we went...with him not coming up an inch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I figured this one might be worth measuring. I had brought my bigger net and my bump board in anticipation. The big net worked well and my first guess was that the fish might go 30 inches. But it only went 29. Still...my biggest so far this year. Hopefully it will be the smallest of those I post for the contest.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]BLK had boated down to another area, looking for the elusive yardlong. We chatted a couple of times on the walkie talkies and he had been unable to do much better than two footers... our usual fare. About 10 am it was warming up a bit and the fishing was slowing down. So BLK boogied. Old wimp. Of course if I lived close enough to hit it every day like he does I might be a bit more discriminating too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I stuck it out for another half hour or so...exercising a couple more cats in the early 20 inch range. Then I decided to make an early day of it myself. Plus, there was a strengthening northerly breeze coming up and that usually is not as good for me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Put up my rods and cranked up the electric motor to high...heading for the channel. Then %$#@&?! I lost one of my fins. I had scaled down in bulk today, fishing wet instead of wearing waders and neoprene boots. I did shorten the straps on my fins to keep them properly snug with less inside the fin. But the right one had still felt a little bit loose...and it chose to make its escape while I was under full power and unable to make any kind of effort to recover it. Thankfully, I still had the motor to get me back to the ramp. From past experience I know i never would have made it otherwise.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yeah, it was a good, bad and ugly day. Good weather, good company, good fishing. Bad luck with the electric motor and losing a fin. Ugly? You ever looked at one of those pouty-lipped daddy cats up close. Ugly!
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[catchinon]

Predictable success. The North Team better watch out. They have been riding a big lead for too long and we are inching up on them. You are jazzing me up to go there again and add my own inches to the pot. Maybe tonight, Friday for sure.

I didn't know that you could catch whities right there. How might you fish one like that? Whole? Cut? Filleted?
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]No better bait for big cats than a small whole white bass. Good bait for bullheads too.
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[#0000FF]I usually scale them and then cross cut some slices to release more scent. I rig them with either a large single hook or a tandem hook rig with stinger. See pics below for options.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]But a slab fillet works well too...and when the fillet is cut into smaller pieces it works well to tip jigs or to fish for other whites bass.

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[#0000FF]Some guys freeze larger whole white bass and then use a band saw to cut them into bait size chunks.
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[#0000FF]Lotsa ways to "skin a cat".[/#0000FF]
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[Piscophilic]

Very enjoyable report and pictures. I'm glad you found a tugger! I hope, like you told me back in March about my 29, that you end up culling that one before the contest ends!
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[Boatloadakids]

Another purty day on the water. Sorry to hear about your lost foot, wish I would have stayed long enough to tow you in... I would have liked that... a lot. I could have done a couple of fast circles and watched that old tube of yours take some air.

I had a good day and ended up with about 10 cats... but, to say, nothing over 24 inches. Had my best luck with a chartreus gorilla flig with carplette attached. Thanks for refreshing my supply of fligs.

I'm one of those "some guys freeze them and then cut them up with a band saw."
I like the pieces frozen when I use them so the juices flow and leave a good scent trail as the water warms. The bigger chunks tend to fend off the wb and the mudders. The head is a favorite bait because the blood is concentrated there and the cats hone in on it like a blood hound. I use an old band saw rather than my good woodworking saw. (See pictorial attached)

Always fun to fish with The Dude... he is a quick learner and I am slowly making a catter out of him.[]

BLK
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[TubeDude]

"I hope, like youi told ne back in March about my 29, that you end up culling that one before the contest ends!"

[#0000FF]Me too. Nothing smaller than 30. Check.[/#0000FF]
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[TubeDude]

"Sorry to hear about your lost foot, wish I would have stayed long enough to tow you in... I would have liked that... a lot. I could have done a couple of fast circles and watched that old tube of yours take some air."

[#0000FF]No thanks. Been there...done that. Had 3 old boys in a boat up at Willard that wanted me to join them and show them how to catch cats on Rapalas along the rocks. I agreed and they offered to tow me and my old round tube back to the ramp to speed things up. SPEED is the operative word. First time I ever water skied backwards. Those old guys musta thought they were on borrowed time and shouldn't waste any. Probably took a few years off my life. But I did my guide thing well and they had a great time trolling up some kitties on lures.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]It wasn't the most "wide open" day we have ever had on Utah Lake, but enough action to keep us (mostly) awake. There are still some big fish out there. Gotta be some dumb ones that will accept the silly stuff we keep offering them.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Don't teach those new fligs any bad habits...or let them corrupt your young fishing buddies. And it is only right that I be along for you to properly test the glow models on a moonlight sonata trip.[/#0000FF]
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[catchinon]

Beautiful illustrations TD and BLK. You answered all my questions before I could ask them and make a fool of myself (because I hadn't looked at everything yet) [crazy].

My only question is how the cats take the bait. Do they just grab it any old whichaway? Do they take it head first or do they turn it before they try to swallow?
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[lavaman]

Excellent post. Man, I'm jealous I don't get to fish with you two gents. Great job on the 29"er! I'm sure you'll get bigger ones soon.Sorry about the lost fin!

Utah Lake is a fisherman's paradise. Too many of us take it for granted. Especially with the lady as a backdrop.
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[TubeDude]

"My only question is how the cats take the bait. Do they just grab it any old whichaway? Do they take it head first or do they turn it before they try to swallow?"

[#0000FF]No standard answer. Some days they are more aggressive and just "gulp and go". Other days (or finicky individual fish) may pick up and drop the bait a couple of times before getting it all in their mouths.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]As a general rule, the larger fish (with larger mouths) are more likely to suck in the whole bait...but generally swallow it head first to avoid the backward pointing spines.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]There are two important factors when fishing whole larger fish for bait. First is hook size and hook type. You want a hook that is large enough to securely hook and hold the bait during a savage attack. Sizes 1/0 to 5/0 are about the right range. Second is that you want to place the hook so that the hook point is exposed and will not get wrapped or tangled inside the bait and prevent solid hooksets. No matter how clever I think I am I still bring in mangled baits (and no fish) when the munch attack repositions the hook and the point gets covered before I set the hook. That's where a tandem hook rig can help.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]By the way, the only "dumb question" is one you don't ask and it costs you time, money and/or fish.[/#0000FF]
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I spoke well of you to BLK. He assures me that you would be welcome to join us in his boat whenever you can make it down this way. But I gotta warn ya that spending a day with us in the same boat could be classified as terminal masochism.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Congrats Pat on a nice keeper (for the contest) sounds like you guys are really rolling down that way... Looks like the baling is underway, so I'm hoping to maybe get out after that wraps up... You guys are driving me nuts with all the big fish being caught lately while I'm sitting on the sidelines.... or at least in the tractors seat... Nice report again... thanks J
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[Springbuck]

Not the expert you are TD, but just to add a bit more info for others....I don't catch many of those little whities for some reason.

When I filet up a bunch of white bass, I slice off that butterfly-shaped chunk of belly meat that's left and cut it into sort of diamond or triangle-shaped little slabs. Three of those on a circle hook is my most basic bait rig and works great. Also, carp meat.......
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I doubt that Utah Lake cats bother to analyze the shape or size of the bait so much as the scent of the naturally occurring baits. My experience over several decades of fishing Utah Lake is that you will always catch more and bigger cats on white bass or carp meat than on worms, shrimp, chicken liver or stink baits. There are a lot of things that will catch cats but their natural food items work better most of the time.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]If you want to specifically target the "bait size" white bass, start hitting the harbors right at daybreak. The young whities congregate in shallow water...often right over the ramp...and slurp in the midge larvae and newly hatching midges. Sometimes the swirls look like a rainstorm. Pitch any small jig...with or without a piece of worm...and you will get quick response. If you are a fly flinger, take your 3 weight and rig tandem small nymph patterns...like zebra midges or hares' ears. Make short light casts and start stripping and zipping as soon as the flies touch down. On a good morning you can catch enough to freeze for several trips.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]You should start seeing some 2-3 inchers by the first of July. Then they grow quickly, becoming 5-6 inches by fall. But in this year of an extended spawn you can probably catch them in all sizes through the summer. Ditto for baby carp.
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[catchinon]

As to hook size: most of my life I have gone after the piscies with little mouths that eat little things; think stream trout and bluegills. You know, where a size 8 hook is huge and 6 is out of the question. I have moved up in size for the cutts at the two S lakes. Now I'm ready to fully embrace the ought-size hooks for cats. When I got some 1/0 and 3/0 I thought I had hit the big time. Then I fished with Ice_sled! A 6/0 is small-to-medium for him. I do believe he wouldn't mind tying on a 9/0. And you sure don't have to hide those hooks like you might for trout: #16s covered with a bit of fuzz and feather. Subtle, cats are not, I'm finding out.

I really like the idea of the double-hook rig for the large baits. Sooner or later I'll get around to using them. I saw a YouTube video of someone trolling at Utah Lake in February with a slab of cut bait the size of a piece of toast. They must have used a double rig. They hauled some good-sized cats in, too.

Now about the dumb questions. I have never (mostly) been afraid to ask the "dumb" questions. I like to know stuff and I'll try to learn any way I can. Heck, I even like to be told when I'm wrong (mostly) -- next time I won't be, hopefully.

Now, for the rest of the story. I've gotten to the stage where I might ask the same question over again without realizing it. Just try to be patient with me if I do that. And I may repeat myself. And I may repeat myself.
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[TubeDude]

"Now, for the rest of the story. I've gotten to the stage where I might ask the same question over again without realizing it. Just try to be patient with me if I do that. And I may repeat myself. And I may repeat myself."

[#0000FF]As they say down under..."No worries, mate."[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]At least I think they do. I don't remember.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]There are more than a few of us BFTers that are a bit "long in the tooth". You are in good company. None of us would think of castigating you for exhibiting signs of forgetfulness. But I forgot why.[/#0000FF]
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[RonPaulFan]

[quote TubeDude]
[#0000FF]... None of us would think of castigating you for exhibiting signs of forgetfulness. But I forgot why.[/#0000FF][/quote]

Also, in about fifty years from now, perhaps everyone here will forget that I'm a troublemaker.
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[catchinon]

Good to know I'm not the only one. One of the most aggravating things is when I know the word I want and it just won't come. And names. Sometimes I mix up names. If I ever do that to you, BoobTube, just let me know and I'll apologize [blush].
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