03-05-2006, 02:59 AM
Needed another "excuse" to head down to Utah Lake, so I asked the boys (ages 9 and 7) if they wanted to go. I told them it was unlikely we'd catch a fish due to the storm that had passed over us during the night and had left us a light dusting of snow on our lawn. They hesitantly agreed, so we were off around noon.
We drove to Lincoln Beach with bikes, books, a football, and lunch from Wendy's--all to give us something to do in case the fish didn't cooperate. They didn't, at Lincoln Beach anyway. While the boys rode their bikes and held various rock-skipping contents, I dutifully soaked minnows with a corky on one pole and under a bobber on the other. The minnows below a bobber were on a much smaller hook, in case the whities wanted to play. They didn't.
After a few hours--our lunches gone and the kids' legs sore from the pedaling up and down the dikes--we almost called it a day, but then I suggested we try a little further north in Lake Shore, where the Spanish Fork River empties into the lake. The troopers agreed to give it one more try in a new location.
For some reason, the UDWR has decided to close the river to fishing for several hundred yards up from where it meets the lake. No matter. We decided to throw the bait just east of the inlet in some calm lake water. Again, no takers for at least an hour or two.
It was getting late and chilly, around 5 p.m., so we decided to make a quick fire. As any parent can attest, kids love fires--something to do with destroying things with flames, I guess. Anyway, we let it burn for awhile and decided it was time to leave.
When I turned to the poles with the intention of reeling them in, what did I see but the corky-rigged pole starting to bend. I quickly ran to it and opened the bail. The fish took a long run with the free line for a few seconds before I flipped the bail and set the first hook of '06. When I did, a HUGE, and I mean a dang HUGE, tail flipped water into the air, and I thought, "Great, we've got us a carp," though I couldn't tell for sure due to the muddy water.
When I was assured that the fish was hooked well, I turned the pole over to the youngins. One reeled for a moment, and then it was handed off to the other begging for a try. Finally, they got the fish into shallow water, enough for us to see its whiskers. A kitty--woo hoo!!!
We landed the big gal (she was light tan in color, so possibly a female--eh, Mr. Scouten?), and when I held it up to my youngest son for a quick measurement, it came up to about an inch below his belly button, with its tail touching the ground. When we got home, I taped the measurement on my son and determined that our kitty was 26.5 to 27 inches long at least. A big, fat, and wide bruiser, for sure.
Anywho, I would like to claim the prize for the first BFT-mentioned kitty of '06, unless someone else has caught one and hasn't posted his/her success. Personally, it was fun for me to get into a big fish and break a fishless dry spell. But with the fire, bike rides, lunch, a little reading, and reeling in a whoppin' big fish--my kids thanked me repeatedly for a nice day.
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We drove to Lincoln Beach with bikes, books, a football, and lunch from Wendy's--all to give us something to do in case the fish didn't cooperate. They didn't, at Lincoln Beach anyway. While the boys rode their bikes and held various rock-skipping contents, I dutifully soaked minnows with a corky on one pole and under a bobber on the other. The minnows below a bobber were on a much smaller hook, in case the whities wanted to play. They didn't.
After a few hours--our lunches gone and the kids' legs sore from the pedaling up and down the dikes--we almost called it a day, but then I suggested we try a little further north in Lake Shore, where the Spanish Fork River empties into the lake. The troopers agreed to give it one more try in a new location.
For some reason, the UDWR has decided to close the river to fishing for several hundred yards up from where it meets the lake. No matter. We decided to throw the bait just east of the inlet in some calm lake water. Again, no takers for at least an hour or two.
It was getting late and chilly, around 5 p.m., so we decided to make a quick fire. As any parent can attest, kids love fires--something to do with destroying things with flames, I guess. Anyway, we let it burn for awhile and decided it was time to leave.
When I turned to the poles with the intention of reeling them in, what did I see but the corky-rigged pole starting to bend. I quickly ran to it and opened the bail. The fish took a long run with the free line for a few seconds before I flipped the bail and set the first hook of '06. When I did, a HUGE, and I mean a dang HUGE, tail flipped water into the air, and I thought, "Great, we've got us a carp," though I couldn't tell for sure due to the muddy water.
When I was assured that the fish was hooked well, I turned the pole over to the youngins. One reeled for a moment, and then it was handed off to the other begging for a try. Finally, they got the fish into shallow water, enough for us to see its whiskers. A kitty--woo hoo!!!
We landed the big gal (she was light tan in color, so possibly a female--eh, Mr. Scouten?), and when I held it up to my youngest son for a quick measurement, it came up to about an inch below his belly button, with its tail touching the ground. When we got home, I taped the measurement on my son and determined that our kitty was 26.5 to 27 inches long at least. A big, fat, and wide bruiser, for sure.
Anywho, I would like to claim the prize for the first BFT-mentioned kitty of '06, unless someone else has caught one and hasn't posted his/her success. Personally, it was fun for me to get into a big fish and break a fishless dry spell. But with the fire, bike rides, lunch, a little reading, and reeling in a whoppin' big fish--my kids thanked me repeatedly for a nice day.
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