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[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe's first soft water and tubin' trip this year. Launched at Lincoln Beach about 7:30 am. Air temp 45. Water temp 47...warming to 51 later in the day. Cloudy with "variable" breezes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ladies first. Got TubeBabe launched and then got my own craft afloat. We both motored over to the shallow cove just south of the south dike. My second cast with a small tandem tube jig rig got THUMPED. I set the hook and the "white bass" was surprisingly strong and heavy. 'Twern't no whitie. It was a nice 21" walleye. Looked like the beginnings of a good day. Not so much.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A few minutes later my minnow rod bounced and line moved out from the open spool. Very tentative. But when I felt pressure I set the hook...into a PERCH? A nice 11 incher. I started to wonder if I had made a wrong turn and ended up at Starvation instead of Utah Lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Moved down toward the mouth of Benjamin Slough. Figured there would be some wacko whities in there...getting frisky. Figured wrong. Nothing but snags. Moved out a ways and the minnow rod bounced again and more line zinged off the reel. But this time there was a nice 20 inch kitty on the other end. Just right for the smoker. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About that time TubeBabe scored her first and only channel cat for the day too...in over 6' of water. I stayed in about 4' and brought in two more cookie cutter kitties in the next few minutes. Then TubeBabe caught our first and only white bass...on a piece of carp meat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That is when the forecast SW breeze turned around and kicked up into a NE "zephyr". Game over. We fished another two hours and got only a few pop and drops. I got one mudder (bullhead) just before noon but no more cats, walleyes, perch or white bass. Heck, I couldn't even hook a carp...and there were quite a few "carp clumps"...rolling and slurping on the surface...handing out phone numbers for the big party soon to come.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Funny. I still ended up with 4 species...5 if we count TubeBabe's lone whitie. But to have one be a walleye and another be a perch is UNUSUAL. A typical 4 species slam is channel cat, bullhead, white bass and carp...with the other guys rare...but appreciated.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe told me to "Deal with it".[/#0000ff]
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That walleye looks healthy! Thanks for the report and pics. Sounds like we need more sunshine to get that water a bit warmer before the whities go nuts. I really thought you might get into a clump of them staging outside the slough. Oh well, give it a week.[cool]
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Looks like it is time to start planning a trip to UL this next week.[cool]
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[cool][#0000ff]I worked several spots pretty hard. They usually hold lots of white bass...when the game is on. But nary a nip today. The only lonely whitie that TubeBabe caught was out in 6' of water and on a piece of carp meat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Surprisingly, the cats WERE in shallow. I got all three of the ones I caught in less than 4 feet of water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The walleyes WAS fat. Even after spawning there was a fair amount of holdover belly fat around the internal organs. They wintered well.[/#0000ff]
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Twice through the ice I caught a nice handful of perch. I'd like to knoe how to do it on purpose during soft water trips.
Nice trip. I'd consider the walleye and cats worth it, even without a big haul..
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[cool][#0000ff]Perch tend to school up more under the ice. The water is clearer and they can relate to each other visually. Once the ice is off and the winds are on the lake gets murky and it's every perch for him or herself.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ever since the water levels came up and stablized in the mid 2000s there have been better perch spawns and the population has increased. Lots more ice tanglers are doing well on them.[/#0000ff]
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Looks like we almost have a full pond even before peak run off begins.
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[cool][#0000ff]I do not recall ever seeing Utah Lake any higher...except during June of 1983. There is only about 18" of the south dike above water. And the lake has eroded a lot of the sand and gravel from between the big rocks along the end of the dike in several areas.[/#0000ff]
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Sorry to hijack the thread and feel free to move this to a new thread if needed. I'm curious about the higher water levels. It should be good for the spawn, correct? Higher water levels can lead to new areas for fry to hide, right? Are there any adverse effects?
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[cool][#0000ff]High water levels are good for just about all species of fish in Utah Lake. They all benefit from having more rocky shoreline flooded or more reeds with water deep enough for spawning or nurseries for the young. And increased water flows from the tributaries are especially good for white bass...and even river-spawning catfish. Also more nutrients in the water after a major runoff.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About the only downsides are flooded areas around the edge of the lake. That is sometimes bad for the farmers...or homeowners in low-lieing areas (dumb). But the carp love it. You will see them thrashing and splashing in grassy pastures in water barely deep enough to keep their bellies wet. TWANG goes the bowstring. Bad for the carp.[/#0000ff]
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Unusual indeed....I have caught a few "keeper perch" each year for the past few years but none making 11-12 inch range..Good on ya. A Nice walleye and a nice perch..2 of my favorite fish on the plate. Glad you found a few fish and were able to talk a couple on to Tube Babes hook. Sounds like it wasnt a terrible day. Next trip when she is kicking your but on kitties maybe she will return the favor.
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"Next trip when she is kicking your but on kitties maybe she will return the favor."
[cool] [#0000ff]Ha! The only time she catches more than me is when I am not fishing. She does not throw plastic or cranks like I do and she fishes two rods continuously for kitties. But even then I usually catch more in less time. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But if I am sharp enough to pick up on the gritted teeth in her walkie talkie conversations I discreetly remove my bait...or hooks...and let her sneak by me on the fish count. Hey, discretion is the better part of awful wedded bliss. Otherwise my dinner will be hot  and cold shoulder.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Some guys just ain't smart enough to know how to take a lady fishin'. It takes so little to keep 'em happy...and so little to make 'em go ballistic. But if you LET THEM THINK they are better fisherfolk...and let them gloat about it...life is so much better for a few days.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Only problem is that no matter how hard you try to help them get a lot of fish they sometimes can't git 'er done. After all, they are not fisherMEN.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That should score me a few points with the ladies on the board. Don't bother trying to find me for a few days. I may be living in exile...in a compound in Pakistan.[/#0000ff]
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hahahaha and hopefully TB does read this post. Looks like mama nature may give into summer soon.....MAYBE looking forward to lots of water and warmer air.
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Ha - hot , cold shoulder - gotta love that. Is she a redhead? You gotta hop she doesn't read your post, or she'll open a can of whoop-ass on ya!
Looks like you're finding something even with the cold water. So - by now the Walleyes have "done the deed" and kicking back with a ciggee? I know Willard's opened up their season.
With our high waters and flooded fields - I'd been wondering if you'd find carp flopping in the shallows - and then when the water recedes?
I know you can shoot em with a bow, is there anything against chasing them with a pitchfork or net when in flood plains? I know "real" game fish can't be 'netted', but carp are trash fish, right?
Curious - when they are slurping at the surface, is that feeding or just looking for big kisses? Caught the same action, but they ignored my worms and bread that passed through the pod. Friend hooked one up. Maybe just need a big treble hook and a firm yank!!!
Thanks for the post.
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Awesome post. Love the pics. Congrats on that nice Walleye and scoring on all those species.
I'll be down there in a few weeks for the Carp-Fest and Kitty Slammin'. I'll let you know when, when I know when.
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[cool][#0000ff]The walleye spawn is semi-officially over and the annual post-spawn walleye feeding session is getting underway. Should be good until summertime water temps get over about 75 degrees and then they slow down a bit. Still feed but mostly nocturnal.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The "killing fields" thing with carp usually happens on days when the sun warms that shallow water above lake water temps. The carp sense it and swarm into those fields for a period of lustful thrashing. They do not stay in the fields and usually boogie back out into the lake...all except for the "casualties" left by crazy carp killers. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And carp also have aerial predators to watch out for. There are lots of big white pelicans around both Utah Lake and Willard that chase the carp. Amazing how big of a buglemouth they can gulp down. It's always funny, though, seeing a pelican chase down and put the beak on a carp just a bit too large to handle. A big flopping carp can put some kung fu moves on a poor pelican. I have about laughed myself right out my tube a couple of times watching the shoreline show. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Pitchforks, spears and clubs are legal for killin' carp. Ditto for any kind of net...as long as it does not exceed 10 feet wide. But not guns or crossbows. Go figure. Probably a public safety consideration. Officials are afraid that the weapons might fall into the fins of terrorist carps.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'm not 100% sure about the "circle slurp" activity that carp exhibit...not only prespawn but at other times too. Seems to be more of a social connection and just slurping air rather than anything to do with feeding. Since carp have no fingers to operate a keyboard maybe that is their version of facebook.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have caught carp when they are in that mode by slowly reeling a weightless small tube jig...tipped with crawler...right through the gathering. Sometimes one of them will (accidently or on purpose) suck in the offering and it is game on. But if I really want one...to bend my stick or to build up my bait stash...I will "force feed" one. Trouble is that when you stick one anywhere other than in the kisser they are much harder to control and to bring in. "Dorsal diners" and "tail takers" can take up a lot of good fishing time and put some serious twists in your line. But still fun.[/#0000ff]
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Nice looking walleye. The other fish are great, but you know how I feel about the walleye. It looks like I need to get myself ready to go out fishing again!
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[cool][#0000ff]Oh...did you finally come out of hibernation?[/#0000ff]
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