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Lindon looksee 8-12-13
#1
[#0000FF]Ding dong weather reports kept changing and this morning's forecrash was for wind. Duh. Same ol' same ol'. Decided to do some checking on the harbors to see if there were any baby white bass showing up yet.

Got to Lindon about 6ish. A mild south breeze was rippling the water but not goshawful. Saw a few little "raindrop" rises where whitettes were picking off early midges. In years past the harbor has looked like it was boiling about this time of year. Still...I worked a tiny jig head under a bobber...with a piece of worm...and brought in enough for a fishing trip. And I had brought my tube and tackle so I was ready to hit the water.

Got launched just before 7. Air temp 65 and water temp 73...inside the harbor. Stayed there until noon even though it reached 75 in the main lake. Depth inside the harbor varied between 3 and 3.5 feet, with a few spots slightly deeper or shallower. Only 2.5 feet just outside the harbor.

Worked the shoreline on the way out and pitched small plastics into several formerly productive areas. Nary a nibble. And it occured to me that this was a rare trip that I had not seen a carp splash or any on the surface. That held up all day. The carp have disappeared from Utah Lake. Yay, Junies. Yeah, right.

Cruised down to the bubbleup to see what the depth was and if there were any customers to be had anywhere along the pipeline. Noticed some minor outflow from the end of the pipe. Made a couple of casts into my ZONE and went bendo on a 13 inch white bass. It was healthy and fought well. I was thinking this might be a bananner day. Alas, I caught one other 12 incher but did catch a couple dozen nine to ten inchers. The good news is that all the fish I caught today were filled out and healthy. The whities are dining well on this year's spawn.

Before starting to cast plastics to the pipe I had put out a bait line...with one of the little whities I caught inside the harbor. While I was unhooking my first keeper white bass the bait rod bounced and line started streaming off the open-bail reel. Bendo. My first kitty whupped on my a couple of minutes before getting an insane desire to crawl in my net...and then my basket.

Had fairly fast action for a couple of hours...white bass on plastics and catfish on baby whities. Most of the white bass were about 9 inches...but fat enough to give up a decent fillet. I kept a few for scampi. I also kept a half dozen cats to fill out our supply for a family ordered fish fry over Labor Day.

That is the first semi-active white bass action I have had at the bubbleup this year. Glad to see it. Now if the lake doesn' go dry. The pipe is just under the surface for a long ways out. There were a couple of tanglers standing on it and catching small white bass in less than 3 feet of water.

The water at the end of the bubbleup was only 5 feet deep. I caught most of my catfish while dragging a bait parallel with the pipe...and in 3.5 to 4.5 feet of water. No bites shallower or deeper. And most of the white bass were in similar depth...close to the pipe and usually near where the water was coming up to the surface.

Ran out of bait about the time the southerly zephyrs starting tuning up for the afternoon shift. Hit the ramp about the time the power squadron was getting set up for the day. Great timing.
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#2
Nice to see that the whities are starting to show up.[cool]
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#3
[#0000FF]Yeah. Never thought I would be so appreciative of those pests. But they took a hit this past year so they are not around in the numbers we are used to. Still some coming in and a few good sized healthy ones. Them's the best kind.
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#4
So maybe I'm a rookie but I'm curious as to why you have so many poles on your rig. I usually take a spare just in case but wow I counted five! No disrespect, just curious.
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#5
If you think 5's alot just check out the front deck of a bass boat next time you see one out on the water. Different rods work better for different presentations, and it sure is nice not to have to retie every time you want to or need to switch would be my guess.
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#6
TD sounds like a fun day. Thanks for the fresh action report. I'm not a utah lake guy so is the 5' deep a deep spot at this water level? I know it's a pretty shallow pond like Cutler. Thanks for the report. J
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#7
On my toon I have it rigged to carry up to 9 rods depending where I go and what I am fishing for. Warm water lakes I will have the most. Bait sat rods, spinning rods, ultra light for the panfish, and a fly rod or two. I try to have them all prerigged with a different offering. Easier than trying to rerig one out on the water.
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#8
[quote Hookbaiter]So maybe I'm a rookie but I'm curious as to why you have so many poles on your rig. I usually take a spare just in case but wow I counted five! No disrespect, just curious.[/quote]

[#0000FF]I mean no disrespect but your question is a rookie question. Most serious and experienced anglers take multiple rods on most trips. But if anybody can get by with only one or two rods then that is a personal matter. Whatever floats your tube...errr boat.

To be more specific, two of my rods are heavier and are rigged for dragging bait for catfish. With a two rod permit I sometimes drag two baits at a time. The other three rods are different weights and actions...rigged for fishing light plastics and/or heavier plastics or crank baits.

Over the course of a day's trip I often drag a bait on one rod while pitching lures with the other. And with three different lure rigs I can alternate without having to rerig every time.

I caught fish on all five rods yesterday. Typical. I would never leave home without them...or more if I could conveniently carry them.
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#9
[#0000FF]Yes, Utah Lake is a lot like Cutler from the shallow standpoint. It is currently about 5-6 feet down from "high water"...a level which was reached only two years ago in 2011. At that time the end of the bubbleup pipe was almost 12 feet deep. So yes, 5' is pretty deep around most of the lake. Still some 6' areas but not many. Only a few "holes" that might hit eight or nine feet.

Then, of course, there is the "abyss"...that football sized spring hole in the north end of the lake that is over 50' deep in the middle. Also a few other smaller deep holes around the lake.

When the weather stays calm and the water stays warm the cats will come into less than 3 feet of water...even during the daytime. But with water above 75 degrees and lots of wind and boat action they often stay out deeper...until after dark.
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#10
That Abyss sounds interesting this time of year, do you ever fish that area? Does it hold fish around there? Hope we get a wet winter this year or the fish might have to grow legs for next summer. Well I'm glad you make it out so often so I can at least get a vicarious fishing fix. Maybe this week I'll make it out again. Later J
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#11
[#0000FF]The only times I have ever fished it are through the ice. The warm inflows are magnets to all species.

I know a couple of guys who have fished it during open water times. They claim to see tons of fish but the action is not red hot. However, they do catch cats and white bass...sometimes at mid depth over the deepest spots. The water that comes in at the bottom is higher in mineral concentrations and the fish tend to stay around the edges after it has mixed with the main lake water. But as soon as the lake gets cold in the late fall the fish start moving in and setting up housekeeping in the more desirable spots...usually at the edges of the perimeter dropoff over a flat ledge.
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#12
Glad to see some white bass showing up and hear that they are eating well for now. Nice that you managed to fill your basket again.
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#13
[#0000FF]Hey Brent, good to hear from ya. Hope all is well. You been kinda quiet.

Yeah, I caught a few but fishing was tough overall. Same effort in times past would have been much more rewarding. No complaints. Just reckymemberin'.
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#14
Thanks TD that sounds like an interesting spot. Later J
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