Windzilla Floatilla 8-24-07

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe and myself met up with swedishfish, road and LloydE on Starvation (Rabbit Gulch) at daybreak this morning. Shoulda stood in bed. Well, we caught a lot of fish (small perch) but nothing like we anticipated.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The water level continues to drop and the weed beds are all out of water. No cover for the crawdads and perchlets upon which the predators feed so the little ones are scattered and so are the bigger fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water temp at launch was 68 and only warmed a couple of degrees through the morning...in spite of lots of sunshine. There was a steady north breeze blowing. It finally let up about 10, but only briefly. Kicked in again with stronger gusts about 11. We fought it for awhile but were all ready to get off the water by noon.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most of us caught grundles of perch from 4" to 7". An 8"er was a biggun. My largest were several over 9 inches. I also caught one 12" walleye. No pictures. Shameful. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No other walleyes were caught, but we did all catch a few small smallies. That was in spite of all the guys trying to fish the whole arm of Rabbit Gulch...unsuccessfully. The big perch were scarce for the male contingent. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe set up in a spot less than 100 yards from our parking and launch site and worked it continuously while the guys covered the rest of the lake. She ended up with several nice "basket fish"...perch over 10 inches. Glad I am having dinner at her place.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When the north wind kicked up in earnest, we were still getting good bites close to the vehicles, but it was almost impossible to fish properly. The larger fish may have moved in for an afternoon bite, but they weren't there for us. None of the half dozen boats we saw seemed to be doing any more than a few perch either. I'll bet a couple of them were going through a lot of crawlers meant for walleyes.[/#0000ff]
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[jnbsigma]

I think TubeBabe needs to start sharing her secrets for finding the bigger perch! []

Sounds like ya'll had a good time despite the slim pickins and the big W. Glad to hear that the fish gods didn't require another heavy metal sacrifice from ya TubeDude!
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[Saberfish]

[black][size 3]Sorry to read the disappointment in your posting. [/size][/black]
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[size 3]I guess that the fishing gods have to keep ya humble once in a while.[/size]
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[size 3]But you did get your string stretched, and that's the fun of the sport.[/size]
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[size 3]You're going to have to find out how TB holds her mouth when she casts.[/size]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the kindly sentiments. However, I do not measure the success or failure of a trip in shear weight of fish brought home. It was great sharing the water with friends...and spouse.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am always happy to see TubeBabe do well. She is patient and persevering...and she is a good student. She credits her success today on applying what I have most recently taught her about not waiting for the large perch to really smack the lure. Often they are "JUST THERE"...a bit of extra weight. Once she learned to detect the subtle differences in feel, she began setting the hook whenever she suspected life on the end of the line. That has long been one of the ways that I catch more and bigger perch too. Now she is doing it and doing it well.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I found the larger perch early, but lost a couple without bringing any to the basket. I left them for her and went to try to find fish in shallower water. I found plenty of fish, but just not the big ones. It's all good.[/#0000ff]
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[road]

Once again a great time out fishing with TD and TB. Wind was the wind blowing? I thought that was just the 3 mile an hour breeze you promised us. All those white caps at the end of the day was just my Imagination. Right?

I loved the new jigs ya made. As you are aware the pony has been a favorite of mine for awhile. They did well up there ....... at least for the fish that were in the area.

Agian thanks for a great time, maybe the next you"ll leave the wind in SLC rustling your trees.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]It is always "interesting" fishing with ya, Marty. At least I have someone to blame the wind on. Don't know how you got tagged with that, but it works for me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have found that one must always figure some "windage" into any weather report. As we have found, when the weather report is for 5 MPH southerly breezes, we need to figure on 10 MPH north winds.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, there are some bodies of water that seem to develop their own weather...regardless of whatever a forecast says. Starvation is one of those. I don't think I have ever fished it when the weather was exactly as forecast.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Glad you like the newest trinkets. They worked well for me too. I plan to make a bunch more in some of the other productive colors. I know they will work at Utah Lake...and Jordanelle...and Yuba...and Willard...and Deer Creek. What the heck, lets field test them on all the lakes.[/#0000ff]
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[swedishfish]

[#0000ff][size 1]"No other walleyes were caught..."
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[#000000]What do you mean? I caught my first walleye on this trip. It was a monster too! I thought about it afterwards, and I really needed to snap a picture to commemorate the occasion. Although, I remember seeing one you caught on your last trip to starvation that was the same size, so I'll just post it again for all to see.[/#000000]
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[#000000]Looking again at your picture, it looks like I caught mine on the same lure - wonder where I got from? [][/#000000][#000000] Same size fish, same lake, same lure... I think I'll claim the picture as my own.[/#000000]
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[#000000]After I left you guys, I headed over to the PWC ramp at Jordanelle to add a few more perch to the 9" and 10" I caught at Starvation. I kicked to the right of the ramp - no fish. I kicked back to the left of the ramp - no fish. I went out by the buoys - no fish. I came back to shore - no fish. I fished for almost 2 hours with no bites. Half-way back to the ramp after giving up, I caught a 10" perch. I threw a marker buoy out and kicked around it for another 30 minutes. I probably caught 10 and kept six - a few 9's a few 10's and one 11. [/#000000][/size][/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][size 1][#000000]I[/#000000][#000000]t being a Friday afternoon/evening, the PWC ramp was busy. There were jet skis everywhere and people all over the beach swimming in the water with inflatables. I wondered if the crowds affected the fishing?[/#000000]
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[#000000]Anyway, thanks for letting me tag along. Good to see TubeBabe, road and LloydE again, too.[/#000000]
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[road]

Now that sounds like a plan I can live with. Tuesday is looking like I may be able to break away. Any special place you might like to go? Providing that dance card of yours isn't to full.

Oh yeah and the weather for Tuesday is for partly cloudy. So bring your rain gear.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Sorry about omitting your MIGHTY catch...and your FIRST walleye ever. My bad. As Lloyd will confirm, ALL walleyes count...even the bitty ones.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Glad you found a few perch at Lake X. The bite there is usually best early in the morning and again late in the afternoon. The busier the power squadron the harder it is to catch fish. You can still see them on sonar but they all have their little mouths closed.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Glad you could join us to fish a new lake and catch a new species. [/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]As usual, your weather forecast is different than the one I got. But, if the sun, the moon and the stars all line up right, I would like to hit either Willard or your new honey hole on Utah Lake. I'll have my people contact your people and they can work out the details.[/#0000ff]
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[road]

Gee not asking for much now are ya. Only the SUN, MOON, and STARS must align. My people will be waiting for confirmation from your people.
stars, moon amd sun sheesh like we never fish in bad weather LOL
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]You're right. We have "challenged the elements" before. Sun, moon AND stars? Nah. I'll settle for any of the three...as long as I can see them through the storm clouds or blowing dust.[/#0000ff]
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[road]

That's my boy!! Now yer talkin ...... dam* the wind storm, full fins ahead. We'll just add a tow rope to our tackle ...... just in case. []
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