05-15-2012, 12:31 PM
[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe's first tubin' trip of the year. She has been busy discharging her self-assigned duties to family and friends. She is the traveler in the fambly. I call her the "Galloping Grammy".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Da Babe likes the Knolls (at Utah Lake). She enjoys dragging minnows for kitties...or whatever else wants to bend her stick and stretch her string. She is an equal opportunity anglerette.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I had made some upgrades on her tube since her last trip and had to get her set up and checked out on that stuff. So it took a few minutes to get us both prepped and launched. We were on the water by about 7 am. Air temp was 47 and the lake was very calm...after a blow last night that left it a bit murky. Water temp at launch was 62. Lookin' good.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We both started out by dragging a minnow on one rod and pitching plastics on the second. Prospecting for walleyes or whities in shallower water along the shoreline[/#0000ff][#0000ff], with tubes or grubs, while hoping for a walleye or kitty on the bait.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No love for either of us for the first half hour. Water levels were down about 3' from the "bathtub ring" of last year. That can really influence where the fish will be holding. So, we kicked out into deeper water and began seeing isolated fish marks on sonar. No schools...except for carpkind. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There were large brown clumps of carp "sucking face" all over the lake. And except for a couple of breezy choppy periods they were on top all day. I expected to see them move into shore and begin splashing and thrashing as the water temps moved toward the 65 degree mark about noon. But they never did move beyond the "dating game" phase.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I got my first catfish about an hour after launch. Then another a half hour later. TubeBabe still had not had any inquiries...bait or plastic. So she went with two bait rods...one with minnow and one with carp cutlets. That's how she likes to roll.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About 10 am somebody pushed the bullhead button. TubeBabe was fishing in 6-7 feet of water right off the steep rocks and I was out in 9 feet. We were trying different depths and areas and staying in touch by walkie talkie. I had a minnow munch and brought in a bright yellow "Utah Lake golden". Otherwise known as "yellow belly", bullhead, mud cat or mudder. As I was removing the hook I got an announcement from TubeBabe that she had also just caught one of those ugly mudders. That started a session. We both caught a grundle more of them over the next couple of hours. I even caught a couple on plastics and one on a dropshot fly rig I was using for white bass later.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Thankfully, the channel cats also came out to play. And we also got them at various depths once they joined the party. I caught them as deep as 8' and as shallow as 5'. TubeBabe found a zone in 6-7 feet and had regular action for the entire time she fished it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We had agreed that we would probably hit the shore between about noon and 1. Good plan but didn't work out that way. TubeBabe moved into the shoreline when the water temps went over 65 around noon. There were not as many whities there as during the high water of last year, but enough to keep her amused. On my way back to the vehicle I also moved in shallower and gave a few whities some exercise. Always fun.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My final conquest of the day was a big ol' golden bonefish. We had both hooked a few carpinskis during the day. Couldn't avoid snagging them in their numbers. But some of them smacked our jigs, put the line over their broad shoulders and abused our light tackle. Even had a couple make some impressive leaps when hooked. Ugly but loveable. Just as I was getting ready to put up my plastics for the trip to shore I was reeling in across the surface and had a big ol buglemouth come up behind the little white jig in hot pursuit. The splashy take was amazing and the first long run was scary. Took about ten minutes of give and take before that beast got an insane desire to crawl into my net. I rewarded him by inviting him home. Not for my dinner but as future offerings to more kitties. TubeBabe and I had both gone through all our bait with the bullheads and cats and our supply of carp meat at home was dwindling. That carp had made a timely sacrifice. And his ending was more glorious than the customary complimentary gillectomy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We kept enough cookie cutter cats (19" - 22") for a batch of "smokitty" and a fish fry. We like to cook extra to have some leftovers for po boy sammiches. Spent some time down in N'awlins and learned me to lak dem po boys. A good roll, some greens, some 'matoes, some cheese and some tartar sauce or horseradish seafood cocktail sauce and WHOOOEEEE. Dat's some good stuff.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Also kept a dozen or so bullheads. They produce small fillets but oh so good when crispy fried. We also kept about a dozen whities to provide a handoff to TubeBabe's sister. We have turned her into a fishaholic and white bass are among her favorites.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A good day on the water for the Galloping Grammy.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]But whyizzit that you always seem to have so much more stuff to get back in the car after fishing than when you were loading up to go? And why does it always take so long when you are wored out from a full day of fishing?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Da Babe likes the Knolls (at Utah Lake). She enjoys dragging minnows for kitties...or whatever else wants to bend her stick and stretch her string. She is an equal opportunity anglerette.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I had made some upgrades on her tube since her last trip and had to get her set up and checked out on that stuff. So it took a few minutes to get us both prepped and launched. We were on the water by about 7 am. Air temp was 47 and the lake was very calm...after a blow last night that left it a bit murky. Water temp at launch was 62. Lookin' good.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We both started out by dragging a minnow on one rod and pitching plastics on the second. Prospecting for walleyes or whities in shallower water along the shoreline[/#0000ff][#0000ff], with tubes or grubs, while hoping for a walleye or kitty on the bait.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]No love for either of us for the first half hour. Water levels were down about 3' from the "bathtub ring" of last year. That can really influence where the fish will be holding. So, we kicked out into deeper water and began seeing isolated fish marks on sonar. No schools...except for carpkind. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There were large brown clumps of carp "sucking face" all over the lake. And except for a couple of breezy choppy periods they were on top all day. I expected to see them move into shore and begin splashing and thrashing as the water temps moved toward the 65 degree mark about noon. But they never did move beyond the "dating game" phase.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I got my first catfish about an hour after launch. Then another a half hour later. TubeBabe still had not had any inquiries...bait or plastic. So she went with two bait rods...one with minnow and one with carp cutlets. That's how she likes to roll.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]About 10 am somebody pushed the bullhead button. TubeBabe was fishing in 6-7 feet of water right off the steep rocks and I was out in 9 feet. We were trying different depths and areas and staying in touch by walkie talkie. I had a minnow munch and brought in a bright yellow "Utah Lake golden". Otherwise known as "yellow belly", bullhead, mud cat or mudder. As I was removing the hook I got an announcement from TubeBabe that she had also just caught one of those ugly mudders. That started a session. We both caught a grundle more of them over the next couple of hours. I even caught a couple on plastics and one on a dropshot fly rig I was using for white bass later.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Thankfully, the channel cats also came out to play. And we also got them at various depths once they joined the party. I caught them as deep as 8' and as shallow as 5'. TubeBabe found a zone in 6-7 feet and had regular action for the entire time she fished it.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We had agreed that we would probably hit the shore between about noon and 1. Good plan but didn't work out that way. TubeBabe moved into the shoreline when the water temps went over 65 around noon. There were not as many whities there as during the high water of last year, but enough to keep her amused. On my way back to the vehicle I also moved in shallower and gave a few whities some exercise. Always fun.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My final conquest of the day was a big ol' golden bonefish. We had both hooked a few carpinskis during the day. Couldn't avoid snagging them in their numbers. But some of them smacked our jigs, put the line over their broad shoulders and abused our light tackle. Even had a couple make some impressive leaps when hooked. Ugly but loveable. Just as I was getting ready to put up my plastics for the trip to shore I was reeling in across the surface and had a big ol buglemouth come up behind the little white jig in hot pursuit. The splashy take was amazing and the first long run was scary. Took about ten minutes of give and take before that beast got an insane desire to crawl into my net. I rewarded him by inviting him home. Not for my dinner but as future offerings to more kitties. TubeBabe and I had both gone through all our bait with the bullheads and cats and our supply of carp meat at home was dwindling. That carp had made a timely sacrifice. And his ending was more glorious than the customary complimentary gillectomy.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We kept enough cookie cutter cats (19" - 22") for a batch of "smokitty" and a fish fry. We like to cook extra to have some leftovers for po boy sammiches. Spent some time down in N'awlins and learned me to lak dem po boys. A good roll, some greens, some 'matoes, some cheese and some tartar sauce or horseradish seafood cocktail sauce and WHOOOEEEE. Dat's some good stuff.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Also kept a dozen or so bullheads. They produce small fillets but oh so good when crispy fried. We also kept about a dozen whities to provide a handoff to TubeBabe's sister. We have turned her into a fishaholic and white bass are among her favorites.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A good day on the water for the Galloping Grammy.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]But whyizzit that you always seem to have so much more stuff to get back in the car after fishing than when you were loading up to go? And why does it always take so long when you are wored out from a full day of fishing?[/#0000ff]
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