Lincoln Beach sneak attack 4-12-13

[TubeDude]

[#0000FF][cool]Planned to hit Utah Lake...somewhere...on Thursday. But Mama Nature got "wind" of that plan and put a "damper" on it. Been doing that a lot lately.

Woke up early this morning and checked the latest forecrash. Lookin' semi good, with breezes out of the southerly zone. Just right for Lincoln Beach. Bein' it is in betwixt two fronts and after a lot of wind I wasn't really expecting a whole bunch. But I done okay for an old fat guy in a float tube.

Got away from the LB ramp about 7ish. Several boats launching about the same time. Played bumper tag with them on the way out the channel. Air temp 36 and water temp 48 in the main lake. Still TDC for kitties and a lot of the other stuff too.

Had less optimism about hitting the rocks for walleyes than maybe scoring a few kitties for the smoker by fishing the flats. Started by flinging a tandem plastic rig in a few spots...just in case. No walleyes and no whities. Did get to stretch my string on a toothless golden walleye...a dorsal diner. Kept it for future bait useage. Helping the Junies one carp at a time.

No love on lures at all. So I started dragging minnows and carp meat. Made big slow S turns from shallow (3') to deep (7'). About 8:15 I had a taker on the carp meat. Set the hook into a good smoking size channel cat. Skunk be gone.

The first cat...and just about all other biters...came from either side of 5' deep. Once I found the right zone I moved on down toward the mouth of Benjamin Slough...staying out in 5 feet of water. I had several more bites...some on minnows and some on carp meat. But they were cold and finicky after the unsettled weather. I missed several bites before adding my second cat to the basket.

After a long dry spell, I put a small white bass on one rod...from my frozen stash from last year. I scaled it and made a couple of slash marks in the side to release the love potion. Bingo. Caught three more cats in the next hour on wee whities.

The breeze had been off and on...and had switched around from zero to strong...east to south to sw...and then finally, at 10:30 it freshened up from the north. Almost instantly the water dropped down a couple of degrees from the 51 it had reached with the wind calm and the sun shining. And that was that for the catfish. I never got another pop all the way back to the ramp. I hate fishing in a north wind at Lincoln Beach.

Whenever I saw sonar marks that looked like white bass...or ?...I put up a bait rod and pitched plastics for a while on my second rod. I did manage a few small white bass but they were all skinny...anorexic.

Finished up with 5 nice kitties for the smoker and a carp to bring back (in pieces) for future trips. Got some good exercise and some good tugs. Poor TubeBabe. She has to live with the 80 degree temps down in Arizona this week while I get to enjoy our "Utah Spring".
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[Jazzperch1]

nice TD, im jealous and stuck at work on this nice day.
thanks for the update on the lake
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000FF]My pleasure.

Ain't it awful that work and fish are both 4 letter words?
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[icejunkie]

Man TD seeing that pic of carp clump makes me want to grab my bow and fish arrow and come down for a combo trip never been there before .[reply][/reply]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000FF]Still a bit early for the spring fling. But as the waters begin to warm the carp always seem to start gathering on the surface on calm mornings in little groups. This is not a feeding action. Seems to be more of a social interaction...kinda like a carp dating service for things to come.

During times when the surface was flat calm I could look around the lake and see numerous "carperations". Not possible to reach them by wading but if you have a quiet boat you could doubtless sneak up on some close enough to perforate them.

By the way, that one carp I kept for bait was a female and FULL of eggs. I'm guessing that well over a pound of her 5# body weight was a mass of ugly grey green eggs. Sure helped the Junies by removing that pregnant mama from the ecosystem.
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[brookieguy1]

Glad you got some luvin' TD. Gonna take your jigs south for some early alpine trout. Probably be botherin' ya for another few dozen "brookie busters" in a month or so.
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[albinotrout]

Thanks for the update. Now I know the temps I might wait a week to go down to UL.
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[high_n_dry]

Very nice,

Good on you getting out between fronts. Excellent looking batch of Kitties for the new smokers maiden voyage too.

Can't wait for some warmer water temps to kick them kitties into high gear.
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[FishMcFisherson]

I think you claim to eat fish out of Utah lake so that you can cut down on competition when others decide to try it

You say you "drag" minnows and carp meat. What does that mean? I refuse to bait fish without being anchored. I lose too much hair deciphering hit from bottom/snag. Teach me.
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[a_bow_nut]

The way that I do it is to put a sinker a couple of feet above my hook. I add just enough weight to get it to hang down so that I can find the bottom quickly. Then reel it up a few inches and let that pole hang off the side of my tube while I paddle around fishing for other things.

When the cats are active you will not have any trouble telling what are hits. Most of the time they try to rip your rod right out of the boat. If the bites are lite then I release the spool on my baitcaster reel and set the backlash drag just tight enough to hold the weight up off the bottom. That way the lite biters can pick up the bait and run with it before they stop to eat it.
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[TubeDude]

[quote FishMcFisherson] You say you "drag" minnows and carp meat. What does that mean? I refuse to bait fish without being anchored. I lose too much hair deciphering hit from bottom/snag. Teach me.[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]I fish from a float tube but have worked it from a boat as well...in a light breeze or by a light touch on the electric motor once in a while to cover more area. From a tube, my fins allow me to move at whatever speed I want and to go whatever direction I choose.

Important to have a clean bottom with no hangups if you are dragging bait. If you are fishing over rocks or brush you need to use a slip bobber rig. I use that a lot and use a weighted "bobber jig" to present the bait and keep it at depth. (see pic)

My usual rig is to tie my main line to a barrel swivel and then use about a 3' leader of heavier strength, to hold up against abrasion during a battle. I put the hook on the end of the leader but do not add any weight besides the swivel and hook. That is usually sufficient to sink the meat or minnows and keep them on the bottom...unless I move too fast.

I cast the unweighted bait out about 30-40 feet behind my tube...usually. Sometimes I fish it in closer to make it easier to kick back and lift it away from a "hangup". Spooking the fish is not much of a consideration with tubing. I have caught lots of big fish right under my tube in fairly shallow water. But if I am using two rods...in my "bait-riggers" (see pic Right Rigger)...I like to have both baits well out away and spread as far as possible.

Utah Lake and Willard Bay both have most areas with flat mud bottoms...ideal for dragging bait. I leave my rods in my bait rigger rod holders while I kick slowly around, trying to find the fish. The bail is open on my reels and a loop of the line goes under the end of a piece of plastic spoon handle to be released when a fish takes the bait. The line pops free and the fish can swim off without feeling any resistance.

Depending on how large my bait is, how the fish are acting on any given day and my gut instinct...I close the bail at some point, point the rod at the fish, wait for the line to come tight against the fish and then set the hook. I use small ring eye hooks...size 4 or 2. And if I hook the bait with point exposed they act just like circle hooks if I let the fish pull tight before setting the hook. Almost every fish is hooked in the corner of the mouth.

I always use a net to "control" my cats, and I do the belly hold while I break off the spines on any fish I plan to keep...before putting them into my basket. Makes it easier on me and my gear to have fish despined before further handling.

I have no argument with anyone who anchors their bait in place with lots of lead. Cats will still grab it and drag around all that stuff...sometimes. But when they are being touchy...like they were yesterday...they drop the bait as soon as they feel resistance. I know. I had quite a few missed opportunities yesterday...pop and drop. So if your line is not good and hangs up when spooling off the reel...or if your bail is closed...the fish drop the bait and do not return.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000FF]Yeah. Once the weather settles down a bit...if ever...we can maybe plan a trip more than a day in advance with some expectation of success. I did not know until early Friday morning if or where I was going to go.

Looking forward to firing up the new smoker.
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