Probably last tubing trip of 2007

[TubeDude]

[black][size 1][size 2][blue][cool] I hadda get in at least one tubing trip in December to make it all twelve months again this year. I chose to hit Pineview Reservoir, near the dam. Couldn't have picked a better day at a better spot.

34 toasty degrees air temp and 39 degrees water temp at the darn dam. Long trudge down the hill to launch. (Even longer coming back up later) Water level is about 15 vertical feet lower than this time last year. Deepest spot I could find on sonar was about 50 feet.

Used tandem high-low rigs with 1/4 oz. glow jigging spoons on the bottom and chartreuse glow wermz about 2 feet above. Used several colors...tiger, pale perch, red-eye chartreuse, etc. Caught fish on every rod and every rig I fished, but the tandem with dual chartreuse glow worked the best for all species. No wax worms. Used either a piece of crawler or a piece of perch meat (not from Yuba). Both worked well.

Very little breeze so I could fish my vertical jigging finesse style. Drop to the bottom, bounce the heavy jigging spoon a couple of times and raise it a few inches. Hold and wait for a thump, a tick or just a bit of weight. Lots of different styles of bites today.

Caught crappies right on the bottom and up a few feet in 45 to 50 feet. Caught perch all over the channel in water from 30 to 50 feet deep. No big schools but lots of fish scattered all over the bottom. Most did not show up on sonar. About the only fish that showed on sonar were crappie up off the bottom a few feet.

I would not have kept most of the crappies...10 inches or under...but they all floated. No stamina at all when yanked from deep water. I did catch a couple of twelves and a porky 13 incher. The perch were all the way from 4" to 11". I probably caught somewhere between 100 to 150. Every drop in some areas with several doubles. The problem was that the dinks usually beat the larger fish to the lures. My larger perch were all taken away from areas where I had been catching small stuff...one at a time.

The bonus fish of the day was a feisty 20 inch smallie. Kicked my frozen behind on a light perch rod. Yeeee hawww. Smacked one of my chartreuse glow jigging spoons in 48 feet of water and kep my stick bent all the way to the tube. It was especially cool since I hooked, played and landed it in front of some guys in a boat that were doing their best to join me without actually tieing their boat to my tube. I had been smacking the crappies and all they were doing is getting "hook setting" practice on small perch...without hooking very many.

Most of the perch had a protruding bladder but if I released them quickly, a high percentage powered on down and did not float back up. I salvaged a few floaters to cut for bait later, and kept several in the filleting size range.

[/blue][/size][#0000ff][blue][size 2]Looks like the fish are moving into the customary wintering grounds. Now all we need is a few nights of single digit temps and no wind to get 'er capped and we will be drillin' and chillin'[/size][/blue].[/#0000ff]
[/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31480;"][#333366] LAUNCH ON GLASS.jpg [/#333366][/url](210 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31481;"][#333366] ICE FREE SO FAR.jpg [/#333366][/url](137 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31482;"][#333366] DARN DAM.jpg [/#333366][/url](192 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31483;"][#333366] CHARTREUSE GLOW SPOON.jpg [/#333366][/url](219 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31484;"][#333366] A FOOT OF CRAPPIE.jpg [/#333366][/url](180 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31485;"][#333366] PHAT THIRTEEN.jpg [/#333366][/url](156 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31486;"][#333366] GLOW WERMZ ROCK.jpg [/#333366][/url](213 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31487;"][#333366] PALE PERCH ON PALE PERCH.jpg [/#333366][/url](205 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31488;"][#333366] TOUGH TENNER.jpg [/#333366][/url](184 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31489;"][#333366] HELPFUL PERCH JERKERS.jpg [/#333366][/url](306 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31490;"][#333366] 20 IN. SMALLIE.jpg [/#333366][/url](154 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31491;"][#333366] LONG TRUDGE TO THE CAR.jpg [/#333366][/url](296 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=31492;"][#333366] FLOATERS FOR DINNER.jpg [/#333366][/url](294 KB) [/size][/black]
[signature]

[IrishFloatTube]

Hi TD
Nice report, nice photos, great to read. The photos really give a sense of being there.

Sorry to hear all your water is going hard soon.
Although I'm almost 1000 miles north of you it is a balmy 42-50F / 12-17C here! We won't be seein' no frozen water in Ireland, not more than an overnight 1/4 " frost anyway.

But I envy you that flat calm you had, it's all 20-40mph gales in Ireland this week. Bad for tubin.

Enjoy the lure making season.

Norm
[signature]

[bendopolo]

Sounds like a great trip, if not a little chilly. I had the same problem with Crappie at a higher altitude lake near my house. They would float but I didn't feel too bad 'cause the Ospreys would always pick them up.When you are fishing there is always time to ponder the hows and whys of whatever is on your mind. Why do they float? It's the lack of pressure. Then I started putting them in my fish basket with the bottom pinned open and dropping them with a long 3/16th nylon cord. The first 33 feet repressurizes them and they swim off. Works with bass too. And Rockcod, but those darn Black Seabass won't fit in my cage. Now I don't feel so bad about deep water Crappie. [cool]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Glad you enjoy our reports and pictures. There are a lot in the archives to give you a better feel for what our fishing is like here in the colonies.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I am sure that you realize there are two factors at work that make our conditions different than yours. First, we are almost a mile high in altitude...not at sea level. Secondly, the warming influence of the surrounding seas tends to moderate the extreme cold conditions somewhat. With our thinner (altitude) air and lack of surrounding warmer habitat we are more likely to get the "hard water syndrome".[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I am properly grateful for any calm days I am awarded to go fishing. I do not like to fish in ANY wind. Even mild breezes make it difficult for me to fish with my finesse techniques.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I guess we should all be thankful for the advantages we enjoy whereever we live and fish. There does not seem to be any particular spot in the world where everything is ideal. But then again, one person's definition of ideal might be different than others...so there you are.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Whenever I fish a lake where there is an overabundance of crappies or yellow perch, I do not feel badly about letting a few "float". I call that "releasing to the ecology". Our "ospreys" are usually seagulls...state scavenger of Utah.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]On some lakes overpopulated with stunted yellow perch, I have been known to "delicately" insert my thumb into the gills of all small perch I release "unharmed". Unfortunately, most of the fish thus released do not fare too well and become floaters. On one lake I was "releasing" several per minute during a hot bite on small fish. A whole line of seagulls formed up downwind from me and it was almost like the taxi line at a big airport. The gull in front would fly up and grab a perch and then retreat to the back of the line. I made some feathery buddies that day.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Your comment about the black sea bass made me chuckle. It brought to mind the line from the movie JAWS. You're gonna need a bigger basket.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[signature]

[zonker]

Great report, though the evident cold kinda made me shiver.

Nice basket of fish. A fish fry would taste good right now. Crappie is my favorite eating fish. Wish I could find a spot to catch them with consistency and size.

That smallmouth was a very nice fish.

z~
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Z. Glad you liked the report. It was a great day of fairly fast fishing and the smalljaws was a nice bonus indeed.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A lot of people agree with you on the crappies. They really do have some sweet delicate flesh that is mighty toothsome on the table. I have caught them in several spots in Oregon but they have usually been small fish. I really got spoiled when I lived in Arizona and fished lakes that regularly kicked out grundles of fish over 2 pounds and many over 3. Here are some of the pics I snaked off the picture board.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[size 1]
Another meal of Patagonia Lake crappies snookered by TubeDude


Super slabs taken by TubeDude with bass lures.


Two chunky crappies in the 3# class, taken by TubeDude in late November on Patagonia Lake in Arizona. [/size]
[signature]

[Bluegillman]

"Floaters" does that always happen when lake is cold and caught them way deep? Does floaters happen when caught deep any time of the year? If they "floated" don't they recover at all? This is new to me and never seen that happened to me....
[signature]

[IrishFloatTube]

Any fish can get the bends, pelagic feeding (ferox-austrian-german) brown trout seem to be quite resistant, but it's mainly a perch issue.

Copied from [url "http://preds.forumotion.com/general-forum-f5/article-autumn-fishing-for-big-perch-t80.htm"]http://preds.forumotion.com/...or-big-perch-t80.htm[/url] (I hope giving a the link is OK?)
>>>The swim bladder of a perch is different to that of all our other freshwater fish, and as such there are a few special safety issues that should be considered when perch fishing where the fish are to be returned alive.
In most freshwater fish the swim bladder is connected to the oesophagus by a pneumatic duct, which allows fish to quickly regulate and deflate their swim bladder if needed. This is not the case with perch however as they lack any connection between their throat and swim bladder.
This means that perch, when brought up from deep water, can suffer from a condition similar to "the bends", where they cannot control the gas in their blood. This can be fatal to the perch.
To prevent this any perch caught from water deeper than fifteen feet should be returned immediately and never retained in shallow water.
Also a number of the perches vital organs are located very close to the back of the throat. To prevent damage to these organs deep hooking should be avoided at all costs, so early striking as always is advisable. <<<<

Back to me ....
In the winter when a thermocline forms, the surface layers cool fast, and it is common for perch to go down deep, and this makes the problem of bloating or distended swim bladder worse, as they are taken up from deeper than usual depths.

A possible "cure" is a mini downrigger .... a spool of heavy line, eg an old flyreel, mounted on a cord tied to the tube. The end of the line has a lead weight and a clip which can be released by either dissolvable plastid cord, or a swift jerk on the line.
Lower the fish back down about 30 feet, leave for a few minutes to recover, and release with a jerk to break the weak link, or the remains of the now softened plastic cord.

Where they are overstocked due to prolific spawning, and lack of predation, TD is undoubtedly right to "recycle them into the ecosystem" IMHO. But I would be highly tempted to bring the little ones home for my "bait depository" []
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Irish has rendered a pretty thorough explanation. Not much I can add. The depth from which the fish are taken is more of a factor than the temperature.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Some species are less affected by rapid depressurizing than others. Trout will usually rocket back down without harm if they are handled properly and released quickly. Both smallmouth and largemouth can have problems and most concerned bassers do not like to fish them in very deep water because of the increased mortality rate...even with proper "fizzing"...using a needle to puncture the air bladder and release pressure.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yellow perch are about the most likely fresh water fish to suffer from fast trips to the top from deep water. And, as we have both mentioned, that is no problem if you plan to keep them...or if you don't. Perch are seldom in danger of being overfished and a few casualties will not adversely affect the population. Just be careful that you do not violate any local laws by wantonly killing and wasting fish. Most states have laws that make it technically illegal to do so.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[Majja]

Great report TD. Glad you made it out the one last time. I think my fishing gear is going to divorce me as It has set unused for several months now, while I have been getting reacquainted to my old friend the shotgun. How ever I know Luke72 and I are going to try a trip out to Blue some time this winter, and that always proves to be fun. Air temp 5 F and water temp 78. Maybe this time we can hit some of the side ponds for some Tilapia action.

While at Pineview did you see any signs of the elusive tigers?

Majja
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]There was one small boat trolling at mach 17 right next to shore, and I did not see them catch anything but a cold.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I also saw something BIG roll up and take a floater perch, but it was quite a ways away and I could not see it clearly.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And then....I did have a biteoff in 48 feet of water that was DEFINITELY not a crappie or perch. The rod just loaded up with some weight and then went slack. My abrasion resistant 6# Excalibur line was shredded at the end and my pretty little pale perch jigging spoon was gone. I am guessing...[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I am sure that the tigers will take up residence in the deep water near the dam, just like they did last year. If that is where the perch and crappie (groceries) are, then that is where the predators will be. There were quite a few tigers hooked there last year but few were brought through the ice.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We need to get you reacquainted with your tackle. It is not good that a man should have perfectly functional fishing gear and not use it.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[flygoddess]

If you are talking about the pond over yonder, you better let me know!
[signature]

[Majja]

I defiantly agree TD, every time I walk in the garage I swear I can hear boos and name calling form the wall of fish. As soon as the ice is in I will be back on the water so to speak. On the light side all my little girl keeps asking for is a fishing pole. hehe
[signature]

[tubeN2]

Don't put the tube away yet! Bring it out to Cali. The water is still warm here and very fishable.[cool]
[signature]

[Majja]

Sounds good to me. Actually I may be heading out to Cali for work. but the thing is I will be way up north, in th Sanoma area. Is there any deep see fishing in that area in late Jan or early Feb?
[signature]

[tubeN2]

Jan and Feb is part of the closure time for that area.

They have a very short season north of Pt Conception and even Shorter north of Pt. Banderas.

That particular area has fishing closed from December through April.[pirate]

That is why more people come down to my area since the season is the longest. March through Dec 31 is open.[cool]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Still some good surf fishing and bay fishing...for a variety of species. A lot will depend on the weather. If there are a lot of winter storms, the water will be cold and muddy.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[tubeN2]

Speaking of surf fishing, like Tube Dude said, Jan and Feb is an excellent time for the Barred Surf Perch, Red Tailed Surf Perch and the Rainbow Surf Perch that are in that area.

You can use the same rig that I mentioned to you on your last trip out here. The surf may be a little stronger depending on which moon phase you are in at the time and you will most likely to be around for one of the Minus tide times as well.

The Minus tide is an excellent opportunity to get some clams up there. Let me know if you are interested in getting clams so I can send you some other special instuctions on how to harvest a few.

Those will make excellen bait for the Perch on the next high tide coming in.[cool]

[#bf0000]***The bigger clams also make excellent eating while waiting for the next high tide***[/#bf0000]
[signature]

[Majja]

Will do. Right now we are waiting for the client to make a deposit before we set dates and the trip is assigned.
[signature]