Utah Lake White Bass?

[SickOfTrout]

Thinking of heading to Utah Lake tomorrow or Thursday. Mainly interested in White Bass. Is it possible to catch a mess of them big enough to eat at Utah Lake? I can fillet anything over about 8" without too much waste.

Any pics of a mess of White Bass from Utah Lake? Also, I've a drifting technique that's very productive for BIG channel cat, but it requires a generally smooth, snag-free bottom. Anything matching that on Utah Lake? I've night fished Echo for the last 3 Summers and always came home with a cooler full of 8-12 pounders.

Any experienced drifter probably has a similar method, but if you want specifics on mine, drop me an email. 10x more productive for big Utah cats than still fishing.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]Yo, SOT, so you're gradiatin', huh? The good news is that there are plenty of whities being caught up to about 15" and they can definitely stretch your string. Even better, if you have some basic filleting skills, they will provide nice fillets for the pan.[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]I am attaching a pic of a mixed bag I harvested at Lincoln beach about this time of year in the past. I got them in the evening (flash picture) with a walleye who thought he was a white bass adding to the evening's entertainment. I was using a light action 7 foot rod with small jigs...both plastic and marabou. But, small spinners in silver, white, gold, and various colors can all work well at times. They move around in schools so keep prospecting until you find them. Once you bang a couple you can usually keep busy until you lose the school.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Utah Lake is almost all smooth (mud) bottom. Lincoln Beach is one exception and has a lot of snags. However, the flats between Lincoln Beach and the inlet of Spanish Fork River to the east are all mud bottom and ideal for dragging a big strip of cut bait around. Used to do it all the time from my tube. Got a few long rides behind hefty kitties too. Another good area for that kinda fishing is off the airport, as has been discussed in another thread. It is a slow slope and stays very shallow for a long ways out. But, at night the cats move in to some of the shallower places and feed actively.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Here's another pic of a decent cat and some smaller ones that like the way I drag a chunk of white bass behind my tube.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[cat_man]

Hey Mr. Trout Lover, Most of Utah Lake is covered with a 4 ft. thick layer of silt, so, yes, there are plenty of snag free areas that you can drift troll or drift bait for Channel Cats. Not sure your technique, but several guys have been doing very well recently just putting the bait about a foot off the bottom using a bobber. If your bait rests on the bottom with a heavy sinker, it often gets lost in the muck at the bottom and is harder for them to find. If you can get it to suspend or settle just above the silt, you've got a recipe for success.

You could hit any of the marinas and cast out without fear of snagging bottom, as well as any dike, beach, or area except Lincoln Beach. Lincoln is well known for logs of snags, rocks, sticks, etc. However, it's arguably one of the best places for catfish on the entire lake.
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[Red-head]

The island is great for kitties as well as Lincoln Beach. There are two problems, the first is it is like Lincoln Beach with lots of rocks which equate to snaggs. The other is it is like Lincoln Beach and can at times be combat fishing. LOTS OF PEOPLE!!

10 years ago I learned that there were other kinds of fish to fish for when I fished for the cats off of Sandy Beach. It was a little earlier in the year (about late April early May) and we got into the white bass. It was unbelieveable! First and only time I ever quit fishing because I was tired of catching fish. I ended up keeping 60+ white bass. Took forever to fillet! That wasn't even a fourth of the fish I caught personally. Used a Martin Panther, and those lures that look like a pice of metal bent in half. Ever catch anything on a back cast (other than a bush)? I just wish I could hit them like that again!

As far as drifing over a smooth bottom, that is where I'd go. I'd love to hear your method! Send me a line a line at tim@pcu.net and tell me how you do it. I've always just still fished the cats!
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[SickOfTrout]

Thanks, everyone for your replies. I can't wait to try those white bass. Like I said, there's not a huge difference between any two drifting techniques, but here's what works for me. I'll try to find some of my pics from Echo.

Okay, specifically... I use 10 or 12 pound test line, but heavier probably wouldn't hurt. Use an egg or other sliding sinker above a bead and swivel. Below that, about 2.5 to 3 ft. of line. Slide one hook up the line and tie a second hook on the end of the line. Next, loop and tie the upper hook about 3.5 inches up the line. Now you have a basic sliding sinker setup with two hooks on the end about 3.5 inches apart.

I use size 2 walleye hooks because I like a fairly shankless hook, but a regular Eagle Claw will work.

For bait, I use small 6" to 8" yellow perch, but white bass or any legal baitfish that size will work. Fillet half of your number of baitfish, leaving the skin ON and just cutting out the ribs from the fillet. Fillet the other half of your baitfish removing both the skin and the ribcage. Cut those skinless fillets in half so you have a bunch of pieces the size of 50 cent pieces. This bait should be fresh. No rotton bait.

Baiting up, hook one end of a fillet with skin on the top hook, allowing it to hang down to... or even over the bottom hook. Next, hook one of the skinless smaller pieces on the bottom hook. This is the hook you'll catch 95% of your cats on. Now, drift that along the bottom of the lake out of a boat or lighted float tube (at night). Drift at whatever speed the breeze is blowing you along. For periods of no wind, I cut down the prop on my trolling motor so that I can troll VERY slowly. Electric trolling motors would be perfect, as you could adjust your speed way down.

Be ready for the cats to try to remove the pole from your hands or from the pole holder. Cats in the Rockies prefer live meals. When they hit, they're trying to kill that meal and sometimes they hit REAL hard. At night big Cats in the Rockies are out actively feeding, looking for small fish to eat. Your sinker bumping along the bottom, as well as the smell of your fresh bait and the appearance of the fillet with the skin on it will attract these cats. Fish flats between 8' and 15' deep. 8' in early Summer... 12'-15' in late Summer. In the right depth range, I expect either a bite or a fish every 15 minutes or so. By covering more lake, as well as by simulating what the bigger cats are actually feeding on by moving around, you'll do much better than planting a bait and waiting... especially after the spring or early summer run. Last bit of advice for those who have never drift fished at night in the Rockies. Bring pretty much every sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants you own. Ice fishing in the wind is more comfortable than being on these lakes with a 3 mph breeze at 0300. Don't know why, but it just chills you right down to your guts a few hours before sunrise.