06-14-2019, 05:21 PM
ES: Julie and I fished out of Provo from 5:45 to 10:45 and boated 35 cats, 5 whites, a black crappie and a (previously) healthy carp. The longest fish (non-carp) were 27 inches, the smallest cats 19 and most were 22 to 25. They really liked the fresh white bass and a chunk of fresh carp. The water was 68 to 69 during the whole trip and the air 60 to 70+ with very little wind. We caught fish dragging as deep as 5’ and still fishing as shallow as 1.5.’ The biggest and darkest fish came more shallow. It was almost an instant replay of last week except for the increased number of not catfish species we got to see.
FS: We got to the harbor about 5:40 and it the parking lot was empty, but the water was full of surface activity. Most of it was frolicking carp, but some was clearly white bass. I tried to catch some fresh bait while Julie parked the car and got a 6” black crappie on a sweetened midge fly under a mini torpedo. First crappie this year and it is good to see them taking up residence under the docks after dredging. I hope by next year they are eating size.
With Julie on board we headed out the channel. This week I was trying the wide open electric instead of the idling gas motor. It gave us about 2 mph trolling speed. I had the torpedo rig dragging the surface, a flicker shad at mid-depth and a spinner behind a bouncer to get it near the bottom. Before we got to the jaws we had caught 4 whites on the 3 rigs. They were smaller than usual, 3 about 7 inches and one about 9. The flicker shad was preferred, but all rigs found bait.
Just after catching the 3rd white we passed a guy parked on the north side of the dike. He was just getting started and I asked if he fished with WB. He said: “I would, but I haven’t caught one yet.” I told him I had 3 and could give him one. He said he wanted it so I hurled one up on the dike. He seemed impressed with how far I could throw a white. I guess my outfielder days left me with a decent arm. I hope the fresh bait worked as well for him as it did for us. Just after he picked it up, I hooked its replacement on the flicker shad.
Out of the harbor we headed north again but not as far as last week. We started dragging in about 5’ and headed the boat toward shore. We got our first fish very quickly and what do you know, it was a 10” white feeding on a chunk of last year’s offspring! Like last week, the first cat came quickly, but deeper. We got a couple between 5 and 4 feet, but headed into the reedy areas anyway because the darker (and bigger) fish seemed to be shallower last week.
There was a bit of a lull between 4 and 3 FOW, but when we got near the reeds things picked up again. We didn’t have as many doubles or as much mayhem as last week, but the fishing was every bit as good. They hit in the reeds, near the reeds and to a lesser extent on the deeper side of the boat. We would drag baits until we got fish and then move in and fish the edges in the same area. We only covered about half a mile of shoreline and never went more than about 10 minutes without a fish on.
At one point I got all excited about a big headed dark fish I was pulling in. It was a good fish, at 27 inches, but the head size had me hoping for 29 or 30. The heaviest fish of the day was a pot-bellied female, almost 27 1/2 and almost 10 pounds. There was evidence of fish both pre and post spawn.
A bit before 10 AM we got a fish on that ran fast and then bulldogged way outside our anchor point. Again I dreamed of a 30-inch cat, and was disappointed when a 9-pound carp came to the net. It had taken a chunk of WB on a white FLIG with 3 red spots. You never know what you might catch on a FLIG! We borrowed a chunk of bait from the carp and then did the CPR thing, but it didn’t survive the gill-ectomy. They just aren’t as tough as cats!
I had decided early this year that I would try to get a picture of every fish on each trip and then use the photos to get an idea about the total count and species distribution. (Don’t worry mod’s, I won’t try to include all the pics in any one post). Last week I missed about half a dozen cat pictures during the periods of mayhem, but this week I think I got them all except for one white bass. From the pics, tackle and time stamps we counted 35 cats, 5 whites, a crappie and a carp.
Again we had a great time and enjoyed a near perfect morning on the water. The 30-inchers will come.
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FS: We got to the harbor about 5:40 and it the parking lot was empty, but the water was full of surface activity. Most of it was frolicking carp, but some was clearly white bass. I tried to catch some fresh bait while Julie parked the car and got a 6” black crappie on a sweetened midge fly under a mini torpedo. First crappie this year and it is good to see them taking up residence under the docks after dredging. I hope by next year they are eating size.
With Julie on board we headed out the channel. This week I was trying the wide open electric instead of the idling gas motor. It gave us about 2 mph trolling speed. I had the torpedo rig dragging the surface, a flicker shad at mid-depth and a spinner behind a bouncer to get it near the bottom. Before we got to the jaws we had caught 4 whites on the 3 rigs. They were smaller than usual, 3 about 7 inches and one about 9. The flicker shad was preferred, but all rigs found bait.
Just after catching the 3rd white we passed a guy parked on the north side of the dike. He was just getting started and I asked if he fished with WB. He said: “I would, but I haven’t caught one yet.” I told him I had 3 and could give him one. He said he wanted it so I hurled one up on the dike. He seemed impressed with how far I could throw a white. I guess my outfielder days left me with a decent arm. I hope the fresh bait worked as well for him as it did for us. Just after he picked it up, I hooked its replacement on the flicker shad.
Out of the harbor we headed north again but not as far as last week. We started dragging in about 5’ and headed the boat toward shore. We got our first fish very quickly and what do you know, it was a 10” white feeding on a chunk of last year’s offspring! Like last week, the first cat came quickly, but deeper. We got a couple between 5 and 4 feet, but headed into the reedy areas anyway because the darker (and bigger) fish seemed to be shallower last week.
There was a bit of a lull between 4 and 3 FOW, but when we got near the reeds things picked up again. We didn’t have as many doubles or as much mayhem as last week, but the fishing was every bit as good. They hit in the reeds, near the reeds and to a lesser extent on the deeper side of the boat. We would drag baits until we got fish and then move in and fish the edges in the same area. We only covered about half a mile of shoreline and never went more than about 10 minutes without a fish on.
At one point I got all excited about a big headed dark fish I was pulling in. It was a good fish, at 27 inches, but the head size had me hoping for 29 or 30. The heaviest fish of the day was a pot-bellied female, almost 27 1/2 and almost 10 pounds. There was evidence of fish both pre and post spawn.
A bit before 10 AM we got a fish on that ran fast and then bulldogged way outside our anchor point. Again I dreamed of a 30-inch cat, and was disappointed when a 9-pound carp came to the net. It had taken a chunk of WB on a white FLIG with 3 red spots. You never know what you might catch on a FLIG! We borrowed a chunk of bait from the carp and then did the CPR thing, but it didn’t survive the gill-ectomy. They just aren’t as tough as cats!
I had decided early this year that I would try to get a picture of every fish on each trip and then use the photos to get an idea about the total count and species distribution. (Don’t worry mod’s, I won’t try to include all the pics in any one post). Last week I missed about half a dozen cat pictures during the periods of mayhem, but this week I think I got them all except for one white bass. From the pics, tackle and time stamps we counted 35 cats, 5 whites, a crappie and a carp.
Again we had a great time and enjoyed a near perfect morning on the water. The 30-inchers will come.
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