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I think I'm getting too old for these weekend camping trips that are supposed to be "get away and relax" things.
I spent most of my day after 10 AM getting out, checking, repacking, camping gear. Checking all the extra fishin poles. And getting coolers and camp tubs packed. Will have to do the last minute stuff in the ice chests in the Oh-dark-thirty morning. Hope to be at Hyrum by 8 AM tomorrow. Then have options for side trip (or 2) to Benson Marina, or Bear River. Got my Glow Stick rigged for a hoped for BIG Cat. Re-spooled it with 40lb Braided Stealth, got a small stock of Big River Bait Hooks, a fresh can of Deep Woods Off, and a new L.E.D. Head lamp.
So sometime in the wee hours of Saturday pre dawn I just might be able to talk the two sons into crawling out of comfortable bunks and getting on the water at Benson.
We will be easy to spot, small 14 ft. Lund with 3 guys, all looking kind of oily from lots of bug spray, and probably tired and hungry from getting skunked all night.
I'll let ya'll know the final score sometime after we get back, Sunday.
Pic is from last years Hyrum Trip start.
"Vegetarian ...... old Indian word for bad fisherman"
[fishin] [fishin] [fishin]
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"OCD = Obsessive Catfish Disorder "
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Good luck TC I went last night and got 9 fish but the largest was only 23" so no new scorers. It was really slow but the bugs weren't as bad. Good luck. J
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"Get away and Relax" is a myth, unless you're on a beach on a hammock being served drinks. haha
Good luck catching the big one, TC.
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Well despite all the planning and work, things did not go as planned. Had a great weekend with the 2 oldest sons, at Hyrum and Benson too. But the fish catching was only enough to say we didn't get skunked. We all caught some rainbows at Hyrum and son caught 1 nice Bass. All released.
Didn't make it to Benson as early as hoped. Got on the water about 6 AM. Weather was nice, and we fished and moved every 20 to 30 minutes. Started at the first irrigation slough on the west edge and moved north from there all the way to what I believe is where the 2 rivers meet ? ( one channel turns right and goes east, and one narrows down and continues north)
Anyway, caught pesky little bullheads non stop all day. One son hooked up a very large Carp, and it worked him around the front of and under the boat for 5 minutes, came up shallow enough to see then wrapped around the anchor line, and "Snap" GONE !
I caught one small Carp that we cut in strips for bait. It had several nibbles from small fish that couldn't take the whole piece and the larger hook I was using. But nothing of any size. Left Benson about 2 PM and back to Hyrum to chill out, have couple cold ones, a nice Wiper, Walleye, Catfish dinner and kick back and relax till about 11 PM. Got up late this morning (7:30 AM) had breakfast burritos of summer sausage and scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa. Broke camp, packed and cleaned the cabin and on the road by 9:30 AM. No record breaking fish catches, but good times.
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Excellent!
Ya, that first irrigation area has not produced much over the last year or so...I think that whole west side gets hit too much, I've picked up lots of trash along there over the years. Have you ever went south along that bank and fished down that way? I have a couple spots I like to hit. Plus, the hot summer months are generally slower for catfish in my experiences.
Sounds like you had a great time...I'm jealous.
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Yeah, that first arm never has cats at all ever, and never any of size. Just mudders. Everyone should just stay away from it, and don't think any of my crazy catch days ever came from there. Cuz they didn't. And there's no bass out there either. Just lots and lots of carp.
Want your duck-head back Lava? Maybe it's a goose!
When the pump is running, I think it spooks fish.
TC - glad you got a chance to let your freak flag fly, adn got the boys on the water. Sorry the o-dark-thirty outing didn't happen. At least by gmwahl's reckoning, it's a good time. There's something of a maze where the river connect, and a number of sloughs that can get wicked shallow, though the carp love it!
Were you trolling for trout? Wonder if they are down deep with the warm water and abundance of recreation wreckers out there.
Catmaster and Ninjasets got into some nice bass over at Hyrum. Either that, or they are really good photographers! Not like they'd ever photo-shop a bass picture! [:p]
Almost thought of stopping by to look you up, but my weekend adventures took me in other directions.
Thanks for the report. Sounds like some good eats!
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That first irigation slough was where I got the last 2 Cats in July that bumped up my Cat score a couple inches.
I have been under the bridge on the south side and all the way to the south west edge, but didn't venture east of there toward the island. My depth finder has been giving me some concerns last couple trips to Benson. This last trip we were sitting what I knew was shallow less that 3 feet and the sonar was showing over 60 feet at one time, then would jump around from 1.6 feet to 18, to 21, and sometimes even close to correct at 2.7 feet. I think I may need a new sonar skimmer unit. I think I have one that has never been used in a drawer of my tool cabinet, just haven't looked for it yet. The other functions of the Fishfinder I have (Eagle 502C with internal GPS) all seem to be working fine. Temp and speed seem good, and the depth finder seems to work on Willard or Hyrum or other places where it may have a hard bottom. But Ithink the mud bottom at Benson is acting like the stealth radar absorbing material on aircraft. It is absorbing or scattering the return signal so it skews the accurate reading returned to the display unit. Gonna swap out that skimmer this week if I can find it.[:/]
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Yeh, we were trolling Hyrum. And the bows we caught were small planters I'm sure. We were running about 2 mph with chrome 2" rat-l-traps, and they were hitting pretty regular. I know there were several boats down in the south west corner opposite from the dam where it was the deepest. They all looked as if they were running down riggers. Don't know what or if they were catching, but the park Ranger said when we got there Friday morning that's where most of the best catches were coming from. I don't have down riggers, and the power squadron vessels were chopping it up pretty good, so we didn't do much in there.
Now, I did have one curiosity that I haven't figured out. Both Friday and Saturday night, well after dark about 11 to 12 PM, we could see lights on the far shore line from our cabin. Green glow sticks and possibly a camp fire. Could hear voices from there. What would they be expecting to catch that late at night? They appeared to be just watching lines that they had in the water. Bait fishing?
Yep, we did eat good. Goodthing we took Wiper, Walleye and Catfish with us. [laugh]
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Who knows...maybe crawdading?
As for Benson, I've caught good ones all up and down that west side, (I even still have my tomato wire fishing pole holders still over there)..All I'm saying is that more and more people fish that area now, basically because it's fairly easy access...and that in turn means it's generally not as good fishing as it 'should' be. Of course, there are still moments when certain spots ARE pretty good producing.
I've scouted out a few different places, and I have some 'go to' honey holes...but the fact remains I STILL haven't caught my 30" er! lol
Heck, I'm about ready for Ice Fishing Season...tired of this heat.
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Hey Forest, not positive this is the answer to your glow stick mystery, but there are some catfish in Hyrum. Maybe some have figured out how to catch them.
Glad you got a great time with your crew. Nice to make memories while we can. Thanks for sharing your trip. Later J
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Now if I had known or thought there were catfish in Hyrum, I may have been able to convince the boys to stay up later or get up earlier and give them a try.
I guess I shouldn't refer to them as "boys". One is my oldest son and turns 41 today. The other is my #3 son (he was on the Flotilla with me in June) and will be 25 in September. The trip to Hyrum started 3 years ago as a birthday get away for me and the oldest. Because of both our work schedules, we have to plan that about 6 months in advance (and to reserve a camp site).
You are right about the memories. The oldest has been fishing with me since before he was 3. Now the yearly trip to Hyrum is more of the time spent together than catching fish. As long as we can have that weekend without getting skunked, then we are perfectly happy.
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Yup nothing better than fishing with your Dad, nice job making that happen for your boys. Sounds like a fun tradition. Later J
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