Report: Utah Lake Cats 6-9-03

[Shrimpboy]

I finally finished up with my testing today and decided to celebrate with my wife by heading out to AF harbor for some channels. Fishing was unusally slow, I think it may have had something to do with the weather. We fished for 2 hours and managed 3 mud cats, 2 channels, and one white bass. The highlight was that my wife caught a really nice channel....her biggest fish ever. It measured 29" and the bathroom scale said 10lbs, but I have a hard time believing that because it looks bigger than the 11.5 pounder that I caught last year.

I can't figure out how to post up a pic, but I have one of her holder her big one and my much smaller, yet still decent sized one. Can anyone tell me how to post one?

You know it's funny. She was reading over my shoulder earlier today when I was reading one of the wiper posts. Someone had written a comment about the sweet sound of the drag letting line out on a big fish. She asked what that sounded like and I tried to explain it to her. The fish she caught this evening fought her for about 5 min and kept taking 10 to 20 feet of line out at a time. She got to experience the sound first hand.

-Jack
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Every fishing trip is a good trip...regardless of how many or how big the fish are. Sounds like you had enough enjoys to make it a special trip. GOOD.

On posting the pics, you need to be able to upload them to a website first...either a free BFT site, or some other one. To be able to post them on our board, there has to be a "signature" on the picture that BFT can go to to keep the image up. Since this board does not have the option of adding attachments, copying and pasting from a website is your only option.

If you have the picture in digital form...less than 250 KB file size...you can send it to Teroy or BLM (moderators) and they can edit it in to your post. If you can't rouse them, and don't mind if it is in a separate post, email it to me and I will get it on the board for you. However, since I am not a moderator for this board, I can't put it in your original post.

For anyone who has not checked out the free website offered through BFT, you really should take a stab at it. If you just want it as a place to upload images and to post them, you don't have to set up a complete website. That can be pretty intimidating to HTML-challenged folks (me too).

Did you get the info I sent on the Arizona stuff?

TubeDude
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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Here's the picture of Shrimpboy's wife's monster catfish. Enjoy![/size][/font] [center][/center]
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[Shrimpboy]

BLM-

Thanks for posting that up for me! I sure was proud of her. The pic doesn't seem to do it justice.

My little cat that she is holding doesn't look it in comparison to hers, but it's a decent size too. I was happy with it when I caught it. Of course then she caught hers and suddenly I developed an inferiority complex.

I've noticed that all of the channels that I've taken home this year have been females. Does anyone know if they tend to come in to spawn first?
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[fishboy2]

that is one big, ugly catfish. better than i have ever done there though so i guess it is a good catch
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[hustler898]

Nice fish!!! I need to hook up into some of those big uglies!!!
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[Kent]

Great looking cat that your wife caught. I could get my wife to reel one in, but I don't think that I could get her to hold one, even just to have her picture taken.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, Shrimpboy. When channel cats spawn, the males locate, fight over and claim the best holes in rocks, hollow logs, barrels or whatever. They coax the females in to spawn and then the males guard the eggs. Even after the eggs hatch out, the males protect the small clouds of fry for several days.

During this time, they do not eat, but will sometimes attack a lure or big piece of bait that settles into their nesting area. Usually there will be a period of time when you catch mostly females, followed by increasing catches of skinny dark males...sometimes mistakenly called blue cats or blue channels.

In rocky areas, where there is a lot of spawning activity, it is not uncommon to find a few dead cats floating during and after the spawn. The stress and physical trauma of dueling males, together with the lack of food intake, is sometimes more than they can survive. Many of the males you take during this period will have the marks of battle on them. Even females get spined and chomped on by aggressive males trying to "persuade" them to spawn.

It's a rough time in catfish country. But, that's what it takes to make lots of little baby catfish.

That was a great pic. If you get serious, come down to Arizona and play with some of our sixty pound flatheads. They really play rough. Think using three pound carp for bait. (live bait is legal in Arizona) Here's a pic of a "puny" thirty pounder.



TubeDude
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[chefwhofishes]

Nice cat "shrimpgirl"

Shrimpboy, way to go on your cat as well, pictures never do fish justice!

They never tell the whole story either.
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