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[#0000ff]The forecast for a calm morning helped me decide to make a quick trip to Provo Harbor. It's been a few years since I fished the harbor. Used to hit it a lot. Wanted to see what the dredging had done to improve things.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Drove up just before sunrise and it looked like rain on the harbor. Baby white bass were slurping midges off the surface everywhere. Took some time to pitch small worm-tipped jigs and invited a few to go fishing with me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Air temp mid fifties. Water temp 67. Water clearer than I expected after all the wind lately. The air was not so clear. Total smokeout in all directions. Ugly.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Launched at the last ramp going out and then kicked down the channel dragging bait on one rod and pitching tube jigs on the other. Got lots of rattle rattle bitty bites from the whities and went through a couple of worms before I bagged that. Then dragged a baby white bass on one rod and a half of a large chub on the other.
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[#0000ff]I caught three cats before exiting the harbor. The last of the three was right in the "jaws" and was the largest cat of the day. Around 25 inches. I worked out a hundred yards or so away from the dikes and kept dragging baits. Caught three more cats but nothing over about 22 or 23 inches. Still fun.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Heard a lot of noise approaching and watched a convoy of Loy boats (carp seiners) heading off for a haul. With all the smoke I heard them a long time before I saw them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Didn't get any more bites after about 10 am. Went back inside the harbor and was cruising up the channel toward the ramp when I was hailed by a bank tangler. It was BFTer Catchinon. Good to meet you. Hope you did better after I left.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had an exciting exit at the ramp. The algae was as slick as you know what. It took some of my best skating moves to avoid doing a triple klutz. But I managed to get everything out of the water and into my vehicle without a trip to the emergency room.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Loved the nice calm morning. Coulda done without some of the "haze" though. Hope they get those fires under control soon.
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Too bad for the smoke, but still nice to get out and chase a few... Thanks for the report... J
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Thanks for the bait, Pat. I wondered how long it would be before our paths crossed. I only stayed there I little while longer then moved back into the harbor near where you launched. No action there either. Now you know another pun on my handle: "Catchin?" "Non," (French for no). I'm keeping the bait cool and will be trying again this evening and/or tomorrow.
Hey, can you send me the number of those hooks you were telling me about?
About that picture: which is the decrepit old wreck and which is the pickup?
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Hey, can you send me the number of those hooks you were telling me about?
[#0000FF]Eagle Claw 085...stainless ring eye. I use both 1/0 and 3/0. Good and sharp, reasonably priced and strong. Never had a hook failure on cats.[/#0000FF]
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About that picture: which is the decrepit old wreck and which is the pickup?
[#0000FF]I'm pretty sure the pickup does not have a beard.[/#0000FF]
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Glad you made it out Pat, wish I could have joined you. Sure know what you mean about the smoke -- really bad and it likes to settle over Utah Lake. Watched the flames come over the mountain and start down toward my home Sunday. Was glad to walk out of church and see a squadron of 'copters dumping big bags of water on it. No 'copters today but the big belly-dumper jets have been rumbling over the house all day to drop their loads of retardant. Very  situation. I spent a good part of my youth stomping around in those mountains; not looking forward to seeing the results when they or Mother Nature finally put out the flames.
Did a drive-by at Lincoln today and it is safe to say there will be no more boats launched there this year. Water level is way down but the algae is not too bad. Good time for tubes and tunes so hope you can make it down this way soon.
It ain't over yet and there are still a few bigguns to be caught. I might try another night venture and see if the midges have migrated south for the winter or maybe try to sneak out in my kayak.
Fish on.
BLK
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Hey BLK, sorry to hear that your Mtn. burned !!Glad that the homestead is ok, but now you have a wonderful burn scar above the house so that when the rain finally comes you can have a MUDSLIDE !! I have a nephew and niece that live in Woolland hills and then had to evacuate !! Did you ignore the order or were you not included?? The worst thing about this fire is that the Forest Service new about it for over a week and let it smolder rather than putting it out, until it exploded finally. Way to go guys!!
Will there be some kind of insurance available for you to mitigate the coming damage from the mudslide(s) that you will experience ?? Seems that mudslides should be covered by the Federal Flood insurance, especially when their negligence is the cause !! Glad you and yours are OK !!
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I, too, have spent many years kicking around up there. I had decided to hunt deer on Dry Mountain but it looks like it's all burnt. If you have any ideas about where to hunt now in the Nebo unit please send me a pm.
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Thanks for the report and the pictures! I was pleased to see the "rain" in the harbor picture. Earlier in the year the YOY whites were active in the evening, but that has slowed lately. I had to work hard to get half a dozen last time I was there.
I have a long time fishing buddy for AZ visiting some family in North Salt Lake this week. I may take him out there later in the week and I'm glad we should be able to pick up some really fresh bait on the way out of the harbor.
It looks like the kitties liked your half a chub just fine though!
Glad you had some fun!
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[#0000FF]The heaviest "rain" was right at daybreak. As soon as it got a lot lighter they went deeper but would still pester my jigs.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Also, if you get there at daybreak you are likely to have some company. There were a couple of minks working along the water's edge while I was fishing for the bitty whities. One of them actually approached me with begging eyes. Can't lie. I am a sucker for those little guys and I tossed him one of my freshly caught whitettes. And no, I did not fill out the proper paperwork for a transfer.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]For quite a while I fished "abbreviated" chubs on one rod and a whitette on the other. Chubs caught more fish. But there are times when the cats show a definite preference for fresh whities.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Another advantage of using the small whities is that you might pick up a fall walleye or two. They also come inside Provo Harbor when the water cools a bit. Once they discover the baby white bass congregating they move in for casual snacking. Adding a couple of bling beads above the hook can help.
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Looks like you had a good day, I see 5+ ft in the channel how deep was it after you get out of the harbor?
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[#0000FF]The channel out was uniformly 5-6 feet. But the big basin inside the harbor to the south was very shallow.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Once outside the harbor the bottom remained about 5-6 feet for a long ways out. Here is a pic I did not post yet...of one of the smaller cats I caught outside and the depth and temp readings. I was maybe a hundred yards from the end of the dikes.
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Thanks Pat, its getting close, I've heard rumors but have not got any confirmation about some eyes being located, a couple more degrees down should be good. looks like I will have to launch out of provo, I wish BLK would borrow the heavy equipment down by Lincoln and dredge harbor out down there,
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Thanks for the information. I'll be sure not to think about "might pick up a fall walleye." and then maybe it will happen[  ]
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[quote Piscophilic]Thanks for the information. I'll be sure not to think about "might pick up a fall walleye." and then maybe it will happen[ ][/quote]
[#0000FF] You may be onto something...or just "on" something.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF] It pains my angler's ego but I gotta admit that I have probably caught a lot more walleyes while fishing for "whatever" than when specifically targeting them.[/#0000FF]
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Therapist-- Thanks for the concern, no pre-evac notices in my community (Spring Lake) but I have kin and kids in the Elk Ridge and Woodland Hills area that were caught up in the evacuation. It was good to see the fighters attack the flames when they topped out on the skyline above my home. They dumped water on it Sunday and painted it red that afternoon. Looks like most of the concern is now focused on Elk Ridge and Woodland Hills. Agreed, the floods will surely come with the first big rain storm and it could get really ugly.
Catchinon-- No good ideas on where to find that buck this year. My niece got a nice 3x4 buck with her bow in the oak brush above my home. She saw several small bucks there and there are a few that visit my back yard every week or so but they are out of bounds with your .300 Mag.
Update on Lincoln: fished from my kayak today out from the springs. Pretty good fishin', not so good breathing. Caught about eight cats dragging wb or carplets. I had pretty much written Lincoln off for launching boats but a boat launched this morning. I paddled over close enough to ask if they had any trouble launching and they said they did not, used their electric to get out of the channel. So... I gotta give it another go in my boat. The boat that launched today was a 17 or so ft. Tracker about the same size as mine. One more time.
I have been trying to work out a hookup with Tube Dude (certainly, not to be  with pulchritude) this week and we might pull it off this Thurs. or Friday. Water today was 67-8 degrees and I was marking fish all morning on my finder. Hopefully, we can work around the wind and fire to mount an attack on the cats or maybe even a walleye.
We still have time to give the northern boys some competition so gotta get out and after 'em.
Fish on.
BLK
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Why do you prefer these over a baitholder?
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[#0000FF]Baitholders are good for worms, liver or other softer baits that you want to stay up on the hook. But for fishing minnows, cut bait or other large and firm baits you just don't need the baitholder barbs on your hook.
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