Friday four-tilla at Lindon

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]svpdgcar, fishhound, TubeBabe and my own self met up about 6 AM at Lindon. I am glad I did the anti-W dance last night, because we would have really been in trouble if I hadn't. As it was, there was a pretty stout "breeze" and a procession of mini-tsunamis rolling by the front of the harbor entrance when we launched.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe got out of the harbor first and headed for the kitty zone to the north. I stayed and played around the end of the north dike, hoping for a walleye or two in the sloppy water breaking on the rocks. I scored three quick white bass, on plastic, but no walleyes. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]svpdgcar rounded the point and we moved together past the entrance of the creek. There was a blue Bayliner there, soaking bait for whatever. Saw one walleye released later. I couldn't get any other bites on either plastic or spinners so I finally brought out a chunk of carpmeat and lobbed it out. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I hooked the first catfish, but as I was bringing it in, TubeBabe announced on the radio that she was bringing one in too. The sun had just made a brief appearance and the W had laid down a bit. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I soon had number two in the basket. I radioed svpdgcar to come up beyond me, into "the zone" and to use carp meat, instead of the anchovy he had been dragging. Within a few minutes I heard him holler that he was hooked up. He had too much fun bringing it in, but we allowed him to keep it, and to cast out another bait. [/#0000ff]


[#0000ff]TubeBabe brought in her second fish about the same time Gary got his second. It looked like the weather was going to give us a break and that the catfish were appreciative. [/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]I hooked my third fish and it whupped on me good. It was not nearly as big as it fought. Kinda purty too. It had an unusual number of spots, and they were a lot darker than you usually see on a channel cat larger than a foot or so. This one was 22 inches and 3.5 pounds of chunky, spunky kitty. See pictures. [/#0000ff]




[#0000ff]TubeBabe lost a big one after fighting it awhile, and I had one hit so hard it made a birdnest on the freespooled baitcaster with which I caught all my fish today. I had the tension set to allow the fish to take line easily, but not to overrun. But, the last hit I had was a hard jerk that caused the spool to overrun. On top of that, I didn't stick the fish. That was my last kitty bite.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]I had picked up a couple more white bass by throwing plastics around while dragging a bait, as allowed by my two pole permit. I caught a sixth white bass just before heading back into the harbor. After TubeBabe's lost biggun, the wind and waves picked up and made fishing kinda difficult. We all headed for the harbor. [/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Fishhound had made it out of the harbor, but went back in before we did, because the heavy wave action was giving him leg cramps. He had scored some bullheads, but no channels. Since one purpose of his joining us was to get some instruction on kitty filleting, I invited him to follow us home for a "show and tell". [/#0000ff]
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svpdcar and his daily double. Nice fish and a nice job of tricking out the tube.


Nice kitties in the 4 to 5 pound range. Good work Gary.


TubeBabe and her two contributions to the "shore lunch" kitty krispies back at the Tube hacienda. Both about 3.4 pounds. Just right for inviting home.


TubeDude's 3 cats (to 4.5 pounds) and 6 scampies (white bass).

[#0000ff]Yeah, the weather conditions were less than ideal, but we did get into some nice cats. Also brought home enough white bass for a panful of whitie scampi tonight. Already had some fried kitty krispies for lunch. After showing fishhound how the electric fillet knife worked, we whomped up some fish and cornbread for lunch. Made us realize one of the best reasons for going after them whiskery wascals...and inviting them home with ya.[/#0000ff]
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[svpdgcar]

[#505000]Wow!! Who is that handsome devil in the Punisher T-Shirt (my lucky fishing shirt and hat)? [cool][/#505000]
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[#505000]We had a great time out there. Tubedude forgot to mention I am officially grounded from planning trips. He said everytime I plan a trip the wind blows. He now gets to plan the trips and I get to tag along!! [] If it will help keep the wind down I'm all for it!! [/#505000]
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[#505000]I don't mind telling ya'll I think I kicked three times as hard and went half as far as I did last trip. Between catching fish I was busy trying to stay put, and dodging mini-tsunamis, and trying not to get pounded by the white water against the levies. At times I found myself among a few white caps.[/#505000]
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[#505000]Tubebabe went out there a quite a ways further than we did in the gentle breeze (40 knot gale force winds) and for awhile I was worried we would need to call in the Coast Guard if we ever wanted to see her again. Seeing her make it back in without problems I was not only relieved, but further impressed with her kicking skills. [sly][/#505000]
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[#505000]Around 10:30ish when I found I was spending all my time trying to keep from blowing up the creek (and too busy doing it to fish), I decided to fight my way to harbor.[/#505000]
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[#505000]All together I managed to score two really nice fat cats, and I finally conquered the dreaded circle hook which has up until today been kicking my butt (if at first you don't succeed try try again and again and again and again and again) !! [] Thanks again Pat for another great trip.[/#505000]
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[Coldfooter]

Great reports.. Glad to see the kitties treated all of you mildly well on a day of light off shore breezes. []

Well done all..
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[rvanman2000]

Good to see you made it back with out drowning. I thought when I got home today you would be sitting on my front porch from the wind blowing off the lake. Nice cats though....lets go fishing!!
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[clebreto]

Wish I could say we had the same luck. It was windy the entire time we were there 12-5. It lightend up a bit around 3:30 no more white caps. But we still managed 11 muds.
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[Fishhound]

Wow, am I glad TD did his W-dance ! That was the first time I've ever gotten the chance to "hang ten" on my float tube. White-caps ? I saw curls and breakers.

It started out like it was going to be a day of catching. While I was testing out my new watershoes with my new fins in the harbor, I got a mud and "something" at the mouth of the harbor that hit my minnow and took off realy fast and left me with an empty hook. Also the jockeying and fumbleing from the fierce phantom fish attack dislodged one of my fins and I almost lost it along with the watershoes(they were both dangleing) - leashes are a good thing when testing new stuff on a tube.

After returning and replacing the shoes with wading boots, I made my way out of the harbor, I trolled a bottom crawler rig and tossed a small white marabou at the rocks with no success. Then I changed to a minnow and added an in-line float on one side and went to a bigger marabou. I must have hit a "school" of micro-mudcats or something - in a period of maybe 15 minutes, I lost a dozen crawlers and and as many minnows to the thieves and only caught one of those 6 inch mudcats in the act(on a size 1 hook and the crawler was as long as the mudder). Then I re-rigged for a chunk of sucker meat - hoping it would be too big for the peskey little bait snatchers. It was, but wasn't for an 11 inch mud. My last glimmer of hope for either a nice fillet or some good future bait came when I bounced a white and chartruese jig off the rocks of the north jetty and a mystery fish demonstrated the limit of abrasion resistance in my current fishing line.

After a few hours of bobbing in the surf, my "not quite conditioned calves" and my "not quite water proof waders" inspired me to get in some shore fishing time. The ride in was kind of fun, once I got the wind and the waves working with me. Surf's up.
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[Coldfooter]

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That was the first time I've ever gotten the chance to "hang ten" on my float tube. White-caps ? I saw curls and breakers.

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Yeah aint it a Hoot!?
Last year just out from the L there were a few days even the land locked wouldnt stick around due to the W, rain and rollers. But like troopers 3M and I stuck it out in the tubes and hung 10 in the rollers and caps until soaken wet, and well beyond, in and outside the waders. What a blast that was!! But hey, I've been told I'm mildly insane so I enjoy a little challenge from ol' mother nature now and then.. HEE! HAW!
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[svpdgcar]

[#505000]Hey Fishhound, never under estimate them mudders. I once took a #2 shiner hook and piled as much carp meat on it as It could hold, thinking the only fish that could touch it would be a BIG cat or walleye. [/#505000]
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[#505000]I never had before and never have since hucked a gob of bait that large into any body of water. Well after hucking my gob-o-bait I got a hit. I reeled it in to find a mudder. I then proceeded to catch three more on the same gob. [/#505000]
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[#505000]I am starting to think they are half snake and can unhinge at the jaw!! [][/#505000]
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