BFT Convention at Lincoln Beach 6-23-20

[TubeDude]

Hit Lincoln Beach a little before 6ish.  I knew Catchinon and BLK would be there...and we exchanged pleasantries before I launched.  Craig was just fishing for white bass...for bait.  BLK had his yak...and launched over off the north dike.  Then Pisco and Julie showed up just as I was heading up the channel.  Later FastRandy from Idaho cruised up in his boat...with his furry fur-st mate.  He was just starting.  Hope he did well.  He usually beats them up pretty good in his weedy spot.

Air temp mid fifties at launch.  Water temp 68...warming to 72 by 11 am departure.  Visibility not bad considering all the "zephyrs" we have had last week.  But the fish were still scattered and slow.

Everybody went different directions.  Heard from BLK later that he got a few small cats.  And that was about all I could scratch.  One here and one there...all just over 20...inches, not pounds.  Finally found one small zone of active small cats and eventually netted one or two over a dozen.  Tossed some jigs once in a while and caught a couple of white bass for future bait.

Caught fish in water from 5' to 11'.  A few came on the chartreuse perch snarl blade crawler harness I was dragging in hopes of a walleye.  Cats got no scruples.  Most came on some new models of gorilla fligs wired with snarl blades.  Some on  chartreuse perch with chub minnows.  Others on fire tiger with a gob of white bass fillet.

Got my last bite a little after 10.  Covered a lot of water...S turning from shallow to deep.  Saw some fish on TV but they weren't in the mood.  Hit the ramp about 11 and boogied.

[ELM 71]

Good job as usual. Glad the weather was good. Anxious to give those new gorilla rigs a try.

[Piscophilic]

Hey Pat,

Great report and thanks for the pictures. It was good to wave at you. I would call it antisocial distancing, as you say, but I really just didn't want to slow you down since you were just getting in the tube and ready to boogie.

Julie and I headed for the east part of mud lake. We had decent action when we first got there, but it died off quickly. I haven't reviewed the video but I think we got 10 between us. Scattered and slow as you said. We had no multiples and lots of time watching birds and "carpedoes." Best fish was 27 but we had 3 or 4 two footers as well. Since 27 was the biggest, Julie let me catch it, she's really good that way!

My little clarity monitor said 6". Just the same as last trip, so I'm not sure if that was the reason for the slower day, but it was still fun.

Odly, we didn't see a single dark fish. Did you?

[Boatloadakids]

Good reports... or should I call them "bad' reports? I just can't find 'em. I've fished all of Lincoln, Mud Lake on the east, and the Knolls on the west. Slow fishin' everywhere I go. Seems like in years past this time of the year was when you could not keep two poles in the water and more often than not you would run out of bait. More water and more places to make love nests?? I've seen a couple of dark colored cats, the best one being the one Catrat caught last week.

There are some good cats in the Mud Lake area but they seem to be holding up in the stubby reeds and you need a machete or pruning shears to get them out. The Lincoln area has been slow for me but I note that Pisco and company seem to consistently find them.

I tried the Knolls last Sat. with my g-kids. Ourplanned attack was to be in kayaks. The forecasted 3 mph wind from the north turned out to be a 10 mph wind from the south. No cats were harmed. Skunked, you might say. Then too, it was a double skunk cuz I clipped a skunk on the road coming back home. Used some applied geometry as the skunk broke out of the grass about 50 yards in front of me going at a right angle to me at about 1 mph. My speed was 60 mph but I had to allow for a bicycle rider on my right. I had too use some creative driving to avoid a convergence. I managed to roll him over and wipe his nose with my right rear tire but avoided a big stink direct hit.

Ennyhow, back at it tomorrow. Maybe Bird Island? They gotta start showing up sometime. 

BLK

[TubeDude]

Hey Pat,

Great report and thanks for the pictures. It was good to wave at you. I would call it antisocial distancing, as you say, but I really just didn't want to slow you down since you were just getting in the tube and ready to boogie.

Julie and I headed for the east part of mud lake. We had decent action when we first got there, but it died off quickly. I haven't reviewed the video but I think we got 10 between us. Scattered and slow as you said. We had no multiples and lots of time watching birds and "carpedoes." Best fish was 27 but we had 3 or 4 two footers as well. Since 27 was the biggest, Julie let me catch it, she's really good that way!

My little clarity monitor said 6". Just the same as last trip, so I'm not sure if that was the reason for the slower day, but it was still fun.

Odly, we didn't see a single dark fish. Did you?

Nope.  No married ones either.  I think the bigger mature fish are in the active stage of spawning right now.  About the first of July the females will have dumped their eggs and be on the chew...followed closely by the beat up males.  That will be the time to get some length for the contest...even if the fish look like they have been the victims in a protest march.

A pleasant surprise to see you there...and to get to meet Julie...the top rod in the fambly.

---

Good reports... or should I call them "bad' reports? I just can't find 'em. I've fished all of Lincoln, Mud Lake on the east, and the Knolls on the west. Slow fishin' everywhere I go. Seems like in years past this time of the year was when you could not keep two poles in the water and more often than not you would run out of bait. More water and more places to make love nests?? I've seen a couple of dark colored cats, the best one being the one Catrat caught last week.

There are some good cats in the Mud Lake area but they seem to be holding up in the stubby reeds and you need a machete or pruning shears to get them out. The Lincoln area has been slow for me but I note that Pisco and company seem to consistently find them.

I tried the Knolls last Sat. with my g-kids. Ourplanned attack was to be in kayaks. The forecasted 3 mph wind from the north turned out to be a 10 mph wind from the south. No cats were harmed. Skunked, you might say. Then too, it was a double skunk cuz I clipped a skunk on the road coming back home. Used some applied geometry as the skunk broke out of the grass about 50 yards in front of me going at a right angle to me at about 1 mph. My speed was 60 mph but I had to allow for a bicycle rider on my right. I had too use some creative driving to avoid a convergence. I managed to roll him over and wipe his nose with my right rear tire but avoided a big stink direct hit.

Ennyhow, back at it tomorrow. Maybe Bird Island? They gotta start showing up sometime. 

BLK

As most of us "seasoned" cat-chasers come to learn, catfish will show up and bite according to THEIR schedule...not yours.  Every year seems to be different.  This year the water levels have been high...for a good spawn...but that also tends to spread the fish out into more area.  And then the up and down temperatures do affect the temp-sensitive kitties.  When the water reaches and sustains 75 or more the game will be on.  But when the water gets above 80 you will do better at night for the biggest fish.  Remember?

[Piscophilic]

Good reports... or should I call them "bad' reports? I just can't find 'em. I've fished all of Lincoln, Mud Lake on the east, and the Knolls on the west. Slow fishin' everywhere I go. Seems like in years past this time of the year was when you could not keep two poles in the water and more often than not you would run out of bait. More water and more places to make love nests?? I've seen a couple of dark colored cats, the best one being the one Catrat caught last week.

There are some good cats in the Mud Lake area but they seem to be holding up in the stubby reeds and you need a machete or pruning shears to get them out. The Lincoln area has been slow for me but I note that Pisco and company seem to consistently find them.

I tried the Knolls last Sat. with my g-kids. Ourplanned attack was to be in kayaks. The forecasted 3 mph wind from the north turned out to be a 10 mph wind from the south. No cats were harmed. Skunked, you might say. Then too, it was a double skunk cuz I clipped a skunk on the road coming back home. Used some applied geometry as the skunk broke out of the grass about 50 yards in front of me going at a right angle to me at about 1 mph. My speed was 60 mph but I had to allow for a bicycle rider on my right. I had too use some creative driving to avoid a convergence. I managed to roll him over and wipe his nose with my right rear tire but avoided a big stink direct hit.

Ennyhow, back at it tomorrow. Maybe Bird Island? They gotta start showing up sometime. 

BLK

Wow! You've been every where man or something like that! Yesterday the bite looked to me like we might have been catching the tail end of a pre-dawn binge, but as TD said, their schedule not ours. We worked into the reeds some, but never got below 3 FOW. Kind of hard to drag stuff in all that stuff! I suppose I could stop for a bit and still or bobber fish, but then I would just have to tell stories about the monsters that broke off in the reeds!

Good luck out there today!

[Kent]

Julie and I headed for the east part of mud lake.

You passed in front of us, as we were headed out to our first hole, and I made the comment to Barry that you likely launched at Lincoln Beach and it is funny how us anglers often think the catching is better on the other side of the lake.

Barry and I had a decent day.  We didn't count them but both of us figured we each caught around 25.  Most were females but a few dark males were in the mix.  The largest cat was only 28" but the average was good.  A little on the warm side but a beautiful day on the water.  I also noticed the water was stained more than I prefer for ideal catching down there.  We caught most fishing about 3 feet under a bobber tipping with a chunk of white bass and 1/2 of a night crawler.

[Piscophilic]

Julie and I headed for the east part of mud lake.

You passed in front of us, as we were headed out to our first hole, and I made the comment to Barry that you likely launched at Lincoln Beach and it is funny how us anglers often think the catching is better on the other side of the lake.

Barry and I had a decent day.  We didn't count them but both of us figured we each caught around 25.  Most were females but a few dark males were in the mix.  The largest cat was only 28" but the average was good.  A little on the warm side but a beautiful day on the water.  I also noticed the water was stained more than I prefer for ideal catching down there.  We caught most fishing about 3 feet under a bobber tipping with a chunk of white bass and 1/2 of a night crawler.

Thanks for sharing and I'm glad you guys had a good trip! Lately I am mostly exploring. I rarely fish the same area twice in a row. Just trying to get to know more about the lake.

[Boatloadakids]

Fished at Bird Island this morning. Met Fast Randy in the parking lot at about 5:30, good to meet him. His plan was to catch a limit and then head back to his home in Idaho. Kinda made me appreciate my 15 minute drive to Lincoln.

Fishing was good at the Island. I anchored up on the south side and made my casts toward the shore about 6 feet from the shore. Before i could rig my second pole the first bobber disappeared. Turned out to be a nice 27 inch daddy cat. I  caught about six cats at the island before the waves chased me away. All of them were a very dark color, the 27 incher was the biggest.

The wind was coming from the south so I headed to the south shore where the water was calm. I fished in depths form 4-8 feet. I caught about 6 or 7 there and all of them were the greenish gray color, no dark ones. 

I am out of white bass so used frozen carplettes for bait. I wanted to shoot a carp for fresh bait but could not get one. Lots of them on the shore on the north side of channel but they are very spooky and I could not get a good shot off. 

The action should pick up again when the spawn subsides. I think TD's suggestion to fish at night will produce some bigguns in a couple of weeks. I'm stocking up on skeeter spray so I'll be ready for some night action. 

To be continued...

[fast_randy]

Great meeting you BLK. I did great again. Pat I have your picture catching that cat at 8:35. I got my first at 9:05 and at 9:20 a double. I caught and released 14 Tuesday. And took home 8 today.  Not the 6 I had planned. But you have to read my post for details.

---

Wow, 27" male. Way to go BLK. I learned from TD  that the blue ones or the ones with black specks are the males. The yellow ones female. I wish you would have seen me over by the dumpster felleting my fish. I could have gave you some good bait that I hate to refreeze.

---

Even fresh carp.

[landmarkutah]

Nice weather! Looks fun!

[Springbuck1]

---

As most of us "seasoned" cat-chasers come to learn, catfish will show up and bite according to THEIR schedule...not yours.  Every year seems to be different.  This year the water levels have been high...for a good spawn...but that also tends to spread the fish out into more area.  And then the up and down temperatures do affect the temp-sensitive kitties.  When the water reaches and sustains 75 or more the game will be on.  But when the water gets above 80 you will do better at night for the biggest fish.  Remember?

 I'm slowly gaining experience, and I'm convinced the temperature thing matters SO much.  For all species, but especially the catfish in the spring.   From April to June (about), if I fish after a three day WARMING trend, I'll get into nice cats from shore.  If it just rained, a front dropped the temps, or cold wind roiled the lake, no dice.   Likewise, sometimes even if it's cooler but stable, I can catch a few farther out, along some magic 6 foot deph line or something similar.

[TubeDude]

---

As most of us "seasoned" cat-chasers come to learn, catfish will show up and bite according to THEIR schedule...not yours.  Every year seems to be different.  This year the water levels have been high...for a good spawn...but that also tends to spread the fish out into more area.  And then the up and down temperatures do affect the temp-sensitive kitties.  When the water reaches and sustains 75 or more the game will be on.  But when the water gets above 80 you will do better at night for the biggest fish.  Remember?

 I'm slowly gaining experience, and I'm convinced the temperature thing matters SO much.  For all species, but especially the catfish in the spring.   From April to June (about), if I fish after a three day WARMING trend, I'll get into nice cats from shore.  If it just rained, a front dropped the temps, or cold wind roiled the lake, no dice.   Likewise, sometimes even if it's cooler but stable, I can catch a few farther out, along some magic 6 foot deph line or something similar.

Experience (and understanding) will really help you in the future...especially if you keep a log and record the conditions on each trip and the mitigating factors.  That adds to your mental database so that on any given trip you can match up conditions against similar conditions on past trips.  Doesn't mean you will always catch fish but it does help you come up with the best possible plans A, B & C.

If I have the luxury of planning a trip, I too prefer to go after at least two to three days of stable and improving conditions.  Gives the fish a chance to settle down after a blow or a temperature drop.  I have rushed into plenty of  "day after" trips when fishing was dismal.  But we fisherfolk tend to be more optimistic than realistic sometimes.

[catchinon]

I fished Monday and caught 8. I landed 7 between 9:00 and 12:15, then had to go for two fruitless hours to get number 8. But it was worth it: a pugnacious 28.5"er to give me a half-inch bump in the contest.

I had planned to fish on Tuesday but reality got in the way. Was glad to see a couple of you at the ramp but to miss the whole party.

I went out for a pretty full day on Wednesday. I had set my minimum goal at 8, average goal at 15, and max goal at 20. Had the 8 by 10:25 and 13 by noon. The wind and waves got pushy then and I decided it would be a lot safer up by the springs. When I got there it was zero, zilch, etc. Three things contributed to the sudden halt to the bite: I changed location, ran out of their favorite bait, and well, it was after noon. I got my last morning cat at 11:59 and they were still biting steadily. After moving up to the springs area I drifted back down past the orchards to the area where I had good success in the morning. It took me until 3:50 to get number 14 and from then till 5:38 I picked up several more. I finished with 18, the largest being 26".

I had gone to an area that I don't believe gets fished a lot. I tried various depths and distances from shore. I mostly kept from 300 to 500 yards out in the 8 fow range. The best bait I used was a special cherry chicken concoction I made up. PM me if you want the recipe. Most of the fish were caught on a couple of different fligs, one that featured purple, chartreuse and orange/red and another that was blue over silver (sorry, Dude, not sure what monikers you've christened each of your creations with; btw, speaking of creations, when are you going to make some really big ones called the Frankensteins?). I digress-- can you tell I have ADD? Temperatures were 70 to 74 degrees. I mostly drifted with the wind and I have no idea how fast I was going but I tried to go slow and slower (I usually do, and that's not just for fishing either).

Speaking of slow, I am late to hit the road for another day of fishing at Lincoln. I really try to get there early, even getting up as early as 4:00 but things always get in the way (see comment above about ADD). But I'm kinda with Dubob who doesn't worry about getting there super early and says he catches as many as the early birds do.

[Piscophilic]

I fished Monday and caught 8. I landed 7 between 9:00 and 12:15, then had to go for two fruitless hours to get number 8. But it was worth it: a pugnacious 28.5"er to give me a half-inch bump in the contest.

I had planned to fish on Tuesday but reality got in the way. Was glad to see a couple of you at the ramp but to miss the whole party.

I went out for a pretty full day on Wednesday. I had set my minimum goal at 8, average goal at 15, and max goal at 20. Had the 8 by 10:25 and 13 by noon. The wind and waves got pushy then and I decided it would be a lot safer up by the springs. When I got there it was zero, zilch, etc. Three things contributed to the sudden halt to the bite: I changed location, ran out of their favorite bait, and well, it was after noon. I got my last morning cat at 11:59 and they were still biting steadily. After moving up to the springs area I drifted back down past the orchards to  the area where I had good success in the morning. It took me until 3:50 to get number 14 and from then till 5:38 I picked up several more. I finished with 18, the largest being 26".

I had gone to an area that I don't believe gets fished a lot. I tried various depths and distances from shore. I mostly kept from 300 to 500 yards out in the 8 fow range. The best bait I used was a special cherry chicken concoction I made up. PM me if you want the recipe. Most of the fish were caught on a couple of different fligs, one that featured purple, chartreuse and orange/red and another that was blue over silver (sorry, Dude, not sure what monikers you've christened each of your creations with; btw, speaking of creations, when are you going to make some really big ones called the Frankensteins?). I digress-- can you tell I have ADD? Temperatures were 70 to 74 degrees. I mostly drifted with the wind and I have no idea how fast I was going but I tried to go slow and slower (I usually do, and that's not just for fishing either).

Speaking of slow, I am late to hit the road for another day of fishing at Lincoln. I really try to get there early, even getting up as early as 4:00 but things always get in the way (see comment above about ADD). But I'm kinda with Dubob who doesn't worry about getting there super early and says he catches as many as the early birds do.

Wow Craig, that is a marathon day! Thanks for the report and the commentary!

[TubeDude]

"Dude, not sure what monikers you've christened each of your creations with; btw, speaking of creations, when are you going to make some really big ones called the Frankensteins?)."

Sounds like a pretty fair day of cattin'.  Glad the new trinkets produced a few.  As far as making anything bigger than the "Kong" fligs, I doubt I will even attempt it.  (see pics) .  You got the "gorilla" size.  Those seem to be about perfect for a wide range of sizes of cats.  The bigger Kong fligs seem to almost be intimidating to some cats...but not to BIG cats and even sturgeon.  I can buy jig hooks up to 12/0 and I can make foam bodies any size I want.  But sometimes bigger is not always better.


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