Tubin' Starvation

[TubeDude]

[#0000ff][cool]TubeBabe and I headed for Bunny Gulch yesterday for a worm killing session. Got 'er done. Mighty was the slaughter of wormkind and great was the catch of multiple species...perch, walleye, smallies and rainbows (Starvation Steelhead).[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Air temps 60 at launch...7:00 am...and 90 at 1:00 pm take out. Water temps 66 to 70. Water levels still quite high...normal level for about late June.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Started with the customary dinkster perch onslaught. Actually caught doubles on a tandem rig a few times. But once I reached my first target area I began to get a bunch of "small-eyes"...wallies from 7" (seegars) to underfooters. Was catching more of them than dink perch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Moved out to deeper water (28 - 30 feet) and found fewer fish on sonar but began catching a larger class of dink perch and smalleyes. Grundles of both. Found a couple of areas that must have been paved with the junior sized toothy ones. Scored a rare double on walleyes on my tandem rig. But some of the fish in that area were also bigger. Got quite a few footlongs, and early teen inchers, including a couple of 15" and a 16" fish. Not huge but better than dinks...and big enough to fillet.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also picked up a few stray smallies in that area. But the biggest might have gone about 12". Fun and feisty. Probably could have scored more smallies if I had worked the rocky areas rather than the deeper flats.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Big perch were scarce...as they have been in past trips to Bunny Gulch. Picked up a basket fish here and there...with the biggest about 11". Had one humongo right up to the surface but only lightly hooked by a thread of tissue. A couple of head shakes at the surface and the 13-14 incher let me have my jig back.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had some good fun with the everlovin' "Starvation Steelhead". Caught one early on a bubble and fly but they went deep in the warm summer water as soon as the sun got higher. Picked up several on small tube jigs and on my "No Name Lure" while fishing deep for perch and walleye. They love that red and chartreuse tube (RC Killer) and also like the white with a red eye. But they absolutely creamed the no name in pale perch color with a little gold blade. However, in the warmer water they did not put up the same battle they do in cooler times. They stayed deep and slugged it out...and not one hit the surface. Totally uncharacteristic.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When we launched, TubeBabe stayed along the south shoreline of the gulch and I worked across to fish the breaklines of the north part of the channel. She fished shallower...15 to 25 feet...and had about the same success as I did across the channel, fishing deeper. She also got only a few decent perch...among oodles of dinksters. She also got lotsa wee wallies...with a few keepers. And, she also got a few smallies and enough rainbows to keep a limit of 4. A couple were pushing 20".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There was a light ripple on the water until about 9 am and then it was glass until after noon. A couple of serious anglers wandered back into the gulch late in the morning and fished close together along the emerging rock ledge on the south side. They reported getting a few nice perch in the 22' zone. There were NO jet skis or water skiers in our area all day. Loved it. School in session, hunting season and midweek all combined to calm the waters. Peace.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A bit after noon we noticed our fish getting stressed and going belly up in the baskets and debated whether to make a speed run to the car and put them in the cooler...and fish a while longer. The fish were still biting fast and furious. I caught some of my biggest walleyes after 11 am. But when the puffy white clouds on the horizon began to swell up and get dark...with the sound of distant thunder...we decided to boogie early. Good move. The black clouds closed in behind us as we headed down the road to our traditional stop at Betos in Heber City.[/#0000ff]
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=76310"][#63626b]BOW ON RC KILLER.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (392 KB)
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=76312"][#63626b]BABE'S BOW.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (388 KB)
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[idahopanfish]

Looks like an awesome day, nice mixed bag.

Say do you get the alge bloom there much?
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[CoyoteSpinner]

[quote TubeDude][#0000ff]...[/#0000ff][#0000ff]. Good move. The black clouds closed in behind us as we headed down the road to our traditional stop at Betos in Heber City.[/#0000ff] [/quote]

Black clouds, black beans - gassed up for the ride home, eh? I thought the fish looked nice, then you mentioned the mexi food - and I got REALLY hungry!

I tried their fish tacos once in town here, and ugh. Burnt, crusty fish. NOT the fish tacos I'd come to know and love along the coast in San Diego. When I first moved here - folks thought I was crazy - until they dug into the crispy/flaky white fish bedded with lettuce and cucumber dressing. Changed a few minds.

Funny how often I've heard Fish Tacos referenced on the forum since. Looks like your fryer will be busy for a bit!

Another grand day out for the DynamicTubeDuo!
So - uh, how many fish do you have to catch on that new jig before it earns a name? Me thinks you've proved it's worthy!

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Starvation reminds me a lot of SFCR...except we NEVER get the green crud that plagues Salmon Falls. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We do have a few waters that bloom green at times.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Every food establishment has its best points and its worser ones. If you want good fish tacos you don't go to a fast food venue...in Utah. Also...authentic fish tacos are made with shredded cabbage...not lettuce. A jillion ways to make something you could generically call a fish taco...and most are good enough to eat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Our standard fast refueling stop at Betos is for a special 3 rolled tacos (taquitos) for $1.99. Good finger food for the road. Also usually get a couple of churros for dessert. Of course we have them run through a calorie strainer. The waist is a terrible thing to mind.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Will be smoking some of the trout today...and doing scampi style (garlic-butter) perch along with grilled zucchini for dinner. Then it's Panko-fried walleye fillets tomorrow. BURP.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have fun calling my No Name Lure my No Name Lure. Actually, I have played around with a couple of other handles. One is the WFF...Wobble Flutter Flash. The other is "Spliced Lead". Then any other great lures can be referred to as "the greatest thing since spliced lead."[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have played with those things in several waters now and have caught several species. Easy to make, cheap and they work great. What's not to like?[/#0000ff]
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[orvis1]

Love the starvation steel head made me chuckle...
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[wagdog]

Man I love the pictures TD. Looks like your "major food groups" of lure colors always pays in full. I'm still trying to get a Starvation trip planned out but things aren't working how I would like yet. It seems like yall had to wade through a lot of dinks to get some nice fish. I'm not criticizing or complaining, just asking. Do you ever get into some larger smallmouth? Those trout look healthy! I'm also hoping to earn my Utah Official Perch Jerker badge at some point and Starvation looks like a good place to start. Anyhow, great report as usual.

+100000 on the taquitos at Betos. Betos helped me survive my studies at Brigham Young University. I can also say that their chile rellenos aint' bad and they have a few football size burritos that can really fill the old gut.

Do you happen to have pics/writeup for smokin trout? I can't seem to figure out which end to light...[]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Starvation is a very underappreciated smallmouth fishery. It is loaded with them and they are probably larger on average than most other Utah fisheries. Problem is that they have too much competition for the anglers' attention...perch, walleyes, trout...carp, chubs... [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'm attaching some pics of Starvation smallies. They love plastics and cranks thrown all around the shoreline...especially in the rocks. Lots of rocks at Starvy and lots of smallies. They get plenty of crawdads and baby perch to keep them growing and chunky. Note the one pic of the "bluegill shaped" smallie I caught there on one trip.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I do have some smoked trout pics somewhere, but I am in the process of doing a photo how-to on this batch today. Basically, I don't mess with the fancy foo-foo brines. I just fillet the fish, leaving the skin intact, then do a "dry rub" prep with salt, sugar, brown sugar and super spice. I let it sit for a couple of hours to soak out moisture and form a glaze. Then I run it through a couple of pans of smoke and it is as done as you want it. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That is a fast smoke recipe I have been using on trout for quite a few years. Got it from an old guide in northern California. It was how he smoked salmon and steelhead. The idea is that you are not preserving it to last through a long hard winter so why do the heavy brining? My smoked fish often doesn't last more than a few days before disappearing. I eat a bunch myself and my stash gets raided by "visiting indignitaries" a lot.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Remind me in a few days and I will probably have a PDF paper put together on it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the meantime, get your life together and MAKE time for a Starvy trip. You need it.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[quote orvis1]Love the starvation steel head made me chuckle...[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Don't know if you have had the pleasure of playing with any of those bodacious 'bows or not but they are deserving of the SS title. After several years of heavy plantings by DWR there are some that are pushing 24" and 6#. When the water is a bit cooler they hit like freight trains, make long runs and take serious air. And their flesh is a bright red from their heavy invertebrate diet...zooplankton, shrimp, snails, crawdads, etc.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Great fly-munching fish. In the early morning they are often swirling all over the lake. They will hit many different fly patterns but buggers are always good...blacks, greens, ginger and metallics. And when surface temps are below 65 they will often be active all day...at all levels.[/#0000ff]
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[muddydogs]

Very nice write up and pics. I can only hope that my wife still likes fishing once we get retired.
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[albinotrout]

Awesome!!!
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[Fishtales23]

I love your reports, TD!

Are you still using the mirror you had on your tube a while back?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I don't use the mirror all the time. And there are plenty of times I wish I had brought it. But the truth is that it gets in the way more than it solves backing up problems.[/#0000ff]
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[cpierce]

Great trip, and some nice baskets of fish!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]How's fishing in your part of the country?[/#0000ff]
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