Survey at American Fork Marina

[road]

After Xmans post FB2 wanted to try his hand one more time at American Fork.

So we headed down this morning around 9. Usually this time of year there is next to no one fishing there. Today on the other hand there were 10 parties (1 to 4 persons each). Quite a crowd for this time of year. Well I asked this one guy how he was doing. He and his kid hadn't had a bite. Now i know it must have troubled him that FB2 and I just got there and I was getting hits left and right (literally as I moved from casting to my left to casting to my right). But being new to using plastic I was missing everything that hit. It was that way for me most of the day.Maybe one of you can gives us newbies a tip to be more successful. FB2 said I needed to drop my tip and let them gobble it up. I tried but I guess I haven't got the hang of it just yet.

Any way as I was talking to this guy, he tells me about some guy who made Sportsman Warehouse let him try out a reel before he bought it. I asked if he read that at BFT and he said yes that is why he was here fishing. I laughed and told him I was the guy he read about with the reel. I then asked another guy and he said they came because of Utah fishing Reports. Hey X did ya post there too?! I asked several others (5 parties) and they all came because of the post at BFT. The rest were regulars there, I could tell by there 5 gallon buckets they brought for the white bass. Fishing wasn't as good for us as it was for Xman though. Some kids on the only floating dock left were killin the white bass though. When there dad came to get them, He said what are we going to do with all those fish. The kids had filled one of those plastic milk carton crates. Any how I thought you all might like to know that we are read a lot! None of the folks I talked with have posted, they read the post and then go fishing. Gotta love this site guys!
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[TubeDude]

Hey Road. You gotta perform up to the level of your new fancy schmancy reel. If you pay attention to the fish and not your reel you will hook more. Sorry. Couldn't resist a shot.

A couple of potential remedies to the no-hookum problem. First, you might be throwing plastics a bit larger than the fish can comfortably chomp. I always scale down in the fall, using mostly 1 1/2" or 2" stuff, on light heads, rather than the bigger 3" or 4" stuff they hit when the water is warmer.

Second, most members of the striper family...including white bass...are notorious for following along behind a lure and nipping at it, without taking it. If you set the hook every time you feel a bump, you will hook a lot of water. If you find this happening, try continuing a slow retrieve, at the same speed, while you get a series of bump, bump bump. Then, when you either feel a solid take, or some weight against your retrieve (with that nice new reel), go ahead and set the hook.

A third suggestion is to put a couple of drops of shad scent on the lures about every 10 or 15 casts. Just like ice fishing, fishes in cold open water hit more aggressively if there is some "sweetener" on the lure. Even a small bit of crawler will get more solid takes than a bare lure. If you look closely at the folks who put the most fish in buckets, you will see a lot of them "decorating" jigs with something more edible.
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[Xman]

hey road

i was going to suggest the same thing as tube dude. i was throwing straight plastics with no scents or bait. so i was missing so many bites it wasnt funny. but these asian guys across from me were catching a fish every cast, literally, for like 3 hours. i think i caught on to their tactics. i coundt see exactly but appeared the jigs were tipped with something like a wax worm or worm or whatever.

i noticed since the whites were real small they hit real light and then every once in awhile one would blast it. i have alot of jig fishing experience and it become like intuition on the slight bites to know if its a strike or not. i think thats the only reason i was hooking alot. still missed more than i hooked. i downsized my jig also to a 1/4ounce jig head with my new true motion lure jigs. haha well they worked. it was just cool for me to watch my gf catch one after another she had a ball.

ill remember that. i feel any water i care about i guess i wont post on. and for the people who read without contributing, well i think thats pretty cheap in my opinion.
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[Xman]

same spot. i was standing right on the boat ramp casting towards a pole in the water. perhaps the guys there kept so many that they were thinned out i dont know
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[road]

Hey Xman,

That wasn't ment to stop anyone from posting! It was just a curiosity thing for me. I wondered if BFT was well known and used hee in Utah. It appears to be. Knowing that I may with hold some information as to my favorite spots in the back country. But places like the Berry, Utah Lake, Deer creek, these folks are going to go anyway. I hope some of them take their kids and teach then to be proper fishing persons. It was a blast watching the 3 kids on the dock catch fish after fish. They were using small jigs also. White curly tails I think. That big ole 4 inch gator tail I was tossing got them to strike but I couldn't set the hook. I finally went to a purple 1/8th oz curly tail and picked a few up. But nothing like the kids were off that doc, casting at the same pole you were!
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[PREDATOR]

At times I have felt that withholding fishing locations from the general public was a good thing. But I have learned that the old saying "you can lead a horse to water but cant make him drink" is true. I have showed spots, lures, and techniques to a lot of individuals over the years. I have found just exactly what was found on the beach. Not a lot of guys actually catching fish. Your posts may send people to a spot, but it still requires that an individual put in his time on the water. There is no miracle lure, no magic spot, and no super secret that can be given to another angler. You simply must spend time on the water to become effective. Now, most times a guy will read a post here, run down and give it a try. Get skunked or only catch a few little fish and say to himself, "that sucked". Never to return again. Why? Because he has yet to learn that he can catch fish anywhere, at anytime, if he is willing to put in the time to figure it out. Look at the number of people who ice fish willard bay. You know the fish in there eat during winter. They are still the same fish, and will reation strike at a lure. You just have to learn how to fish it differently than you do in summer. If you have a secret worth protecting, go a head and protect it. I just see that posting about it may find yourself a friend that you wouldnt have found otherwise. I know my willingness to share about willard bay has found me many new and great friends on this site who will be more than fishing friends for a long time to come. My willingness to share and post has been a very good thing. I would say to the many viewers of the forum, register a user name, come join us and post up some of your fishing reports. You may be surprised at the result.

[Xman]

i agree with you predator. i have found alot of people on here very likable and is the reason i joined in the first place. for me though i go fishing also for solitude i spend alot of my time in the civil world with work etc. so when i head out to the water i like it to myself. that is 90% of why i fish. catching something is just a added bonus. so for me the areas i fish all the time i may hold back or private message people if they want to know and ask. i want to keep my solitude alive. as for the areas i dont fish much and go sometimes ill post every little detail i know. i have done that many times already and i believe from the follow up reports helped some people get into some good action. ill keep doing this. its nice to post something and see someone have success also. and i appreciate everyones info on here as well.
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