06-07-2019, 05:23 PM
Executive Summary: My wife Julie and I fished out of UL State Park on June 6 from 7 to 11 A.M and it was crazy good fishing. We fished in 2.5 to 5 FOW but almost all the fish came shallower that 4.5 feet. The water temp was 70 to 72 and the fish liked both moving (below 0.8 mph) and stationary baits. All but one worm eater took white bass. We ended up about 35 fish from 18 to 26.5” with most being 21 to 23”. We fished the reed edges between the Provo and Lindon harbors, but exact location didn’t seem to matter, there seemed to be fish everywhere in shallow water.
Full Report: After our trip last week, Julie said she would like to go fishing again and I was very glad to have her along We got to the Provo Launch a little before 6 A.M. and the parking lot was almost empty. I saw a sign saying that the gate opens at 5 A.M. That must be summer hours.
We didn’t really want to fish the harbor so we just dragged a crank and a spinner out to the jaws at 3 mph hoping for a fresh white bass. We got no love, but it didn’t matter.
We headed north for a while with the big motor and then turned in to try near the edge of the reeds. To my surprise the water depth on the outside edge was 4’ or more in most places. We were hoping to catch some bigger fish headed back out of the shallows after their nighttime frivolities, but the big fish mostly eluded us.
We got the rods in with our usual assortment of FLIG. FLAIT and just bling beads and before we even got the third rod in the water we had a fish on. From then on it almost constant mayhem. We actually never got 4 rods deployed because it was just too fast with 3. We dragged in and out along the edges and every time we got out more than a hundred feet or so, things slowed down to nothing. By the time we had gone a half mile, we had landed close to 20 fish.
The problem was none were close to contest size, so we left the reed edge and headed out farther from shore. We went almost 45 minutes without a hit and barely made it into 5 FOW. While we were out there the wind came up out of the NW at 10 to 15 and I told Julie we would head back if it lasted more than half an hour because the waves would begin to build. At about 15 minutes it slowed and then we got a rain squall. Trying to not overdo it, I asked if Julie was still warm enough or if she wanted to go. “OK so far, you need to catch a big one.” Was her reply.
We kept the first dozen or so under 23” to finish filling the freezer for the summer. Our cooler was full so I after the offshore bust I pulled us up close to the reeds and anchored so I could clean fish. Again before the 3rd rod was even cast in we got one on. We had several doubles and even one triple and finally got a few fish that were darker. We probably should have worked our way into the shallowest reed edges to find the bigger fish, but we never did.
While were there I got one 26.5” female, still pre spawn, and that was the biggest for the trip. We were treated to wind reversal and saw 10 to 15 mph southerly winds for about 20 minutes and another light rain.
During that we anchored again and probed the pockets and edges and again the fish came quickly. We finally stopped at about 11 and headed back to the ramp.
We were both tired! I usually figure that a decent catfish day ends up with 2 fish per person per hour and our catch rate overall was better than twice that. If we only counted the time in close, then it would have been 3x a good day.
We started out cutting chunks off of a thawed 10” white and we only used a bit over half it up. If there was even skin left on the hook, they hit it. It was the fastest consistent cat catching I have ever had.
As others have reported, now is a great time to get out there from the bank or a boat. If you don’t find them soon, move until you do, there are active fish all over right now.
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Full Report: After our trip last week, Julie said she would like to go fishing again and I was very glad to have her along We got to the Provo Launch a little before 6 A.M. and the parking lot was almost empty. I saw a sign saying that the gate opens at 5 A.M. That must be summer hours.
We didn’t really want to fish the harbor so we just dragged a crank and a spinner out to the jaws at 3 mph hoping for a fresh white bass. We got no love, but it didn’t matter.
We headed north for a while with the big motor and then turned in to try near the edge of the reeds. To my surprise the water depth on the outside edge was 4’ or more in most places. We were hoping to catch some bigger fish headed back out of the shallows after their nighttime frivolities, but the big fish mostly eluded us.
We got the rods in with our usual assortment of FLIG. FLAIT and just bling beads and before we even got the third rod in the water we had a fish on. From then on it almost constant mayhem. We actually never got 4 rods deployed because it was just too fast with 3. We dragged in and out along the edges and every time we got out more than a hundred feet or so, things slowed down to nothing. By the time we had gone a half mile, we had landed close to 20 fish.
The problem was none were close to contest size, so we left the reed edge and headed out farther from shore. We went almost 45 minutes without a hit and barely made it into 5 FOW. While we were out there the wind came up out of the NW at 10 to 15 and I told Julie we would head back if it lasted more than half an hour because the waves would begin to build. At about 15 minutes it slowed and then we got a rain squall. Trying to not overdo it, I asked if Julie was still warm enough or if she wanted to go. “OK so far, you need to catch a big one.” Was her reply.
We kept the first dozen or so under 23” to finish filling the freezer for the summer. Our cooler was full so I after the offshore bust I pulled us up close to the reeds and anchored so I could clean fish. Again before the 3rd rod was even cast in we got one on. We had several doubles and even one triple and finally got a few fish that were darker. We probably should have worked our way into the shallowest reed edges to find the bigger fish, but we never did.
While were there I got one 26.5” female, still pre spawn, and that was the biggest for the trip. We were treated to wind reversal and saw 10 to 15 mph southerly winds for about 20 minutes and another light rain.
During that we anchored again and probed the pockets and edges and again the fish came quickly. We finally stopped at about 11 and headed back to the ramp.
We were both tired! I usually figure that a decent catfish day ends up with 2 fish per person per hour and our catch rate overall was better than twice that. If we only counted the time in close, then it would have been 3x a good day.
We started out cutting chunks off of a thawed 10” white and we only used a bit over half it up. If there was even skin left on the hook, they hit it. It was the fastest consistent cat catching I have ever had.
As others have reported, now is a great time to get out there from the bank or a boat. If you don’t find them soon, move until you do, there are active fish all over right now.
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