05-19-2003, 02:37 PM
I got back from Strawberry last night around 8:30. I left Ogden Friday at noon and got to the Berry around three. I set up camp at Aspen Grove and decided to fish the docks for a little bit. Landed two cutts right away, one keepable and the smaller one was in the release slot. I used the last of my frozen shiners on these two, so I decided to head back up to camp and wait for the rest of the guys. I had a nice fish to fillet so i went to the cleaning station and started in on him. While there I was accused of poaching by a fellow angler, asked for my license by the campground host, and also checked for the first time by the DWR. He was pretty cool, he measured the body and then helped me clean him out. He and I checked the stomach cavity and this big cutt was chock full of shiners. When I arrived back at camp I tossed the fish in the cooler and saw all the beverages I brought and decided to have a few. After more than a few, and a few hours later the rest of the gang showed up and we officially kicked off "GENTLEMAN"S WEEKEND II" After a looooonnnngg night and a horrible, nasty morning I wasn't in the mood to fish. The rest of the guys went out and fished the Soldier Creek dam. Around 3:30 I peeked my head out of the tent and was glad to see the sky was overcast, any sunshine and I would have died. I managed to get down 2 aspirin, 1 cup water, and 2 oreos. By 4:30 I was in good enough shape to head down to the water. I brought my minnow trap with me and decided to toss it in while I was fishing. I joined my group and fished till 6:30. There were several fish caught in the group, mostly cutts to be released, but also a few nice 15-19 " rainbows. The bait of choice on Saturday was a powerbait-worm combo, fished on the bottom with split-shot. We managed enough fish for dinner and headed back to camp. I stopped off at the docks to collect my minnow trap and was pleasantly surprised. The trap held several nice shiners. I collected my catch and went to cook dinner. I poured myself a Pepsi and started in cooking the fish. My second drink of Pepsi was not as nice as the first, my brother thought it would be funny to sneak a little Capt. Morgan's into my drink. It was not funny. This combo sent me into the bushes again and quickly earned me the nick-name "Ralph". Once again, I was done for the night. I slept in the truck on account of the pouring rain. Sunday morning I awoke to wet gear and cloudy skies. I decided I was more interested in catching more shiners for future trips than I was fishing in the rain. I went back to the docks and came up with a better way to wrangle minnows. I chummed the area with smelly jelly and bread. I took my minnow trap apart and tied a string to it. I lowered it into the water, when the schools swam by I pulled up quickly and was now catching 6-10 at a time. I filled two large freezer-style ziploc bags in an hour. By the time I was done I had over 400 beautiful shiners. I was anxious to get them home and freeze them so i headed back to camp and packed up. I couldn't wait long to fish so on the way home I fished the stoddard slough. I caught one nice 17" rainbow and called it good for the weekend.
I wished I had more fish to tell ya about but this trip only held a few. It was a great weekend despite the rain and rum. All fish looked healthy and disease-free. I came away looking ten years older but with some great new memories and bait for the summer.
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I wished I had more fish to tell ya about but this trip only held a few. It was a great weekend despite the rain and rum. All fish looked healthy and disease-free. I came away looking ten years older but with some great new memories and bait for the summer.
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] I am interested on how to catch shiners??? I have a minnow trap, I want to see if my "luck" increases even more on the berry with some frozen shiners. Did very well on the strawberry side sunday morning/ afternoon with worms. I am glad people are interested in the slot limit at strawberry and keeping there eyes open for illegal fish being taken, but there is such thing as going to far also, and sounds like you had one of those encounters. Great story on your weekend, I will most likely have one of those next weekend!!!