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Well got off work late so got to lincoln after 1pm.We started fishing the 3rd springs and my daughter caught a mudcat on a worm .Outfortrout was there but he was leaving and gave me his baits.WE caught mudcats on worms,chicken livers,andshrimp.We threw back a bunch and kept 6 of the mudcats and a 5 lb channel .Kids had a ball catching fish.Bait started running low so i started to jig .I was jigging a 6 inch power worm and i was getting hits right of the bat but just couldnt hookup.So i put on a 3 inch black tube jig and right next to the rocks about a foot away from me bam!I hookedup!I thought it might be a walleye or a LMB (wishfull thinking [  ]) but it was a about a 5lb channel!It fought hard and tried to get back in the rocks but i got him in.
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I always find it exciting to fight the big kitties on light tackle when you are trying to jig, because you don't normally expect them to hit jigs like that,
jed
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I was jiggin' a power tube the other day for trout at the sunset ponds and got myself a 25" channnel! Don't know why he wanted that little tube, but I don't care. Sure tasted good in the deep fryer. Thanks Tubedude for the fillet instructions, they were put to use. Anyone else hooked up on channels on lures?
Anthony
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[cool][blue][size 1]Hey, Bro, glad you were able to put the writeup to good use.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]The short answer to your question about cats on lures is that they hit lures all the time. I doubt there are many serious bassers who have not invented some new words when the world record largie they thought they were battling turned out to be an ugly ol' cat. Same for walleye trollers...using lures.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]The concept most people harbor about cats is that they are bottom dwelling, scum sucking scavengers. While they don't do a lot to dispel that notion, by eating a lot of garbage baits, they are also effective predators on live food. Whenever the water is clear enough, they turn into sight feeders and chase down small fish...and lures. Even when the water is murky, they are able to use their sensitive lateral lines to zero in on vibrations, just like largies and walleyes do in poor visibility. A slowly worked tube jig, crawling or bouncing along the bottom, is an easy target for foraging cats. If you doctor it with some scent or small piece of bait, you seal the deal even better.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I catch more cats fishing with jigs than most guys who soak all the traditional catfish baits. I can't remember the last time I fished only with bait for cats. I fish cats mostly with bait bugs or roadrunner jigs SWEETENED with a piece of worm or fish meat. But, I keep it moving and the strikes almost always are hard. No peck peck peck. The cats that hit lures are usually hooked on the strike.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]If you want complete sacrilege, you can catch lots of cats on flies too. Black wooly buggers look a lot like small mudcats and big channels munch lots of small cats...their own fry included. They also hit different patterns in lighter colors, like white, chartreuse, yellow or crawdad green. Of course, you might have to curse the occasional walleye or largie that interferes with your fly flinging for cats.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I once took 20 channel cats in less than an hour, on flies, along the rocks at Willard, to win a bet that was that I couldn't catch ANY on flies. I also won a catfish tournament up there by casting 3" yellow twisters with a red head along the rocks. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Also taught 3 old guys in a boat with loose steering to catch cats up there by trolling size 7 countdown Rapalas in either gold with black back or hot orange. [/size][/#0000ff][#0000ff][size 1]They saw me catching them by casting those lures from my tube, and talked me into getting into their boat and showing them how. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]What they lacked in tackle sense and boat steering skills they made up for in enthusiasm. They couldn't cast well enough to avoid snagging my Rapalas and catch cats. So, I rigged them all up for trolling. In a couple hours trolling, during the bright afternoon sun, they all got several nice channels on trolled Rapalas. I later got a call from one of the guys at Anglers' Inn (long gone) in Ogden asking if it was me that had sent three old guys to their store. Turns out that they bought up just about every Rapala they had in stock.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Lots of cats caught at Utah Lake on tubes, worms, jigs, spinner baits and even topwater meant for other species. You can be properly grateful for the action, or curse the ugly dudes that interrupted your fishless fishing. Heck, I ain't proud. I love 'em.[/size][/#0000ff]
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Guess i will have to try more jigging for channels ! Its fun catching cats on jigs especially since i love to jig !Going to have to try the scents and bait on my jigs![sly]
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[cool] [blue][size 1]Hey, ocean, you can use any kind of lure and catch cats. However, I make and use a line of baitbugs and Roadrunners that are especially designed to be fished with bait. See the pic below.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1][/size][/#0000ff]![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=5296;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=5296;)
[#0000ff][size 1]For fishing off Lincoln Beach, or other areas you want to keep a lure out of the rocks, try hanging a baited jig below a bobber. Those Roadrunners with the spinner blades rock and roll in a little breeze and drive the kitties nutz. They really smack one baited with some shrimp, worm, carp or whatever, when it keeps flashing and vibrating right in their kissers. Big whities and walleyes like that combo too.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[cool]You 'da man, TubeDude. Heck, you could write books on this stuff! I think I offered to buy some of those killer jigs off you once, but you said you just do it for fun, not to make big bucks. So, I'll have to take some jig making classes off you when you move back up here! Good luck with the packing.[ ]
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[cool]Nice fish, ocean, and it was nice meeting ya. Sorry I had to run, but it was getting hot out there, and I told the wife I'd be home by 3 or 4. Were you jigging in that huge pool that you guys were standing by? I've gotta try that area next time with some jigs and spinners!
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We ended upmoving because we were only catching mudcats.We went to the 2nd springs and in that channel right next to the rocks that kittie was just sitting there and waiting for me![sly] There is a spot there on the east side that holds big cats .Thats were i usually catch the big ones if you cast out far enough you can stay away from the mudcats.
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i have always had good luck on most species with a simple chartreus paddle bug at utah lake, especially when the weather is warm,
jed
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