10-26-2015, 08:25 PM
I had Saturday off and the weather looked good, so Dave and I decided to head out to Lincoln Beach and brave the shallow channel one more time. We got there about 6:30 A.M. and by 7 we had already had a bite or two. The water tamp was almost 55 and topped out at just over 60 around 5 PM.
Our goal was to catch some cats, almost anything else would be considered a bonus. Our plan was to work along the point in the early hours casting one rod for whites or walleye and dragging one for cats. We put the lines in the water in 3.5 feet just outside the jaws and headed toward the first spring. It was still dark when Dave’s cat bait stopped and his rod bent slowly over as the boat kept moving. I’m snagged” he said and started leaning on the rod to see if it would dislodge. “I think that’s a” was all I got out when tip bobbed twice and then the rod bent hard. “It’s a fish!” Dave said, and just as he said it the fish let go. “Did you see that?! That thing was heavy, did you see the bend and that’s my heavy weight rod with the 50 pound braid on it!” I had seen it and it must have been BLK’s 36” cat. Well, we can say that since it got off[
] It was a heavy fish!
Less than a minute after we both got over the shock of losing a big fish, my cat rod pulled free of the release and the line started peeling off the reel. I reeled up the slack and set, the anticipation was great, but it was just a cookie cutter. Nice channel, but about a foot shorter than anticipated.
We were pumped though, the sun was barely beginning to lighten the horizon in the east and we and one nice cat and had lost a bigger one. Then it just stopped. We worked our way around well past the third spring without another hit on the cat rods and no fish on cranks or soft plastics. I think between us we had on hit that stole a piece of crawler off a fly and I and one solid thump on a crankbait that resulted in a big golden scale on one of the trebles. Nothing!
About 9 we headed out to the Island and found more of the same. Nothing all along the West side and we made it almost all the way across the North end before we finally got another hit and landed another cookie cutter. We picked up 2 more along the East side so we stayed there. The bite wasn’t ever hot, but it was steady. Dave had to be back in Spanish Fork by 1 PM to watch Football and some friends of his wanted some fresh catfish, so we cleaned the 6 we had and went to the dock just after noon.
I was still hoping for another contest kitty, so I called my wife on the way to the dock and she said “I’m having fun without you, go ahead and stay.” So I dropped Dave at the dock and headed back for round 2.
On the way out I visited with a guy who was casting off the end of the north jetty. Hi son was waving a net around with a mud cat in it so I inquired about their success. He reported that they were looking for channel cats and so far they had 4, plus one white and a mudder. There was a large group of grebe’s working the area southeast of the jaws so I spent an hour checking out the activity and go only one hit, a mud cat.
I got back out to the Island about 3 and the fishing was just like we left it. Slow, but steady. I got one here and there all afternoon, all cookie cutters. I was having fun, but wished I could see something different size wise and right on que it happened. I got a hard hit and the line streamed off the reel. I closed the bail and set the hook and a minute later landed the smallest channel I had caught all year, maybe 14 inches. Be careful what you wish for!
The fish came just about half on carp meat and half on cut white bass. In the late morning and afternoon, the bite never got fast, but the fish were feeding aggressively. We had to cut the hooks off on nearly half the fish we caught. All of the round 2 fish were released, but I recovered 4 hooks from the 6 we cleaned for Dave’s friends. The cats are still preparing for winter!
As evening approached the bite slowed and I took a few pictures. It was a good day and beautiful weather. Between us we ended up with 4 mud cats, 14 (3 to 5 pound) “cookie cutters” and a 14 incher. Try as I might 14 and 14 didn’t add up to the 28 I was looking for, but it’s still out there!
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Our goal was to catch some cats, almost anything else would be considered a bonus. Our plan was to work along the point in the early hours casting one rod for whites or walleye and dragging one for cats. We put the lines in the water in 3.5 feet just outside the jaws and headed toward the first spring. It was still dark when Dave’s cat bait stopped and his rod bent slowly over as the boat kept moving. I’m snagged” he said and started leaning on the rod to see if it would dislodge. “I think that’s a” was all I got out when tip bobbed twice and then the rod bent hard. “It’s a fish!” Dave said, and just as he said it the fish let go. “Did you see that?! That thing was heavy, did you see the bend and that’s my heavy weight rod with the 50 pound braid on it!” I had seen it and it must have been BLK’s 36” cat. Well, we can say that since it got off[
] It was a heavy fish!Less than a minute after we both got over the shock of losing a big fish, my cat rod pulled free of the release and the line started peeling off the reel. I reeled up the slack and set, the anticipation was great, but it was just a cookie cutter. Nice channel, but about a foot shorter than anticipated.
We were pumped though, the sun was barely beginning to lighten the horizon in the east and we and one nice cat and had lost a bigger one. Then it just stopped. We worked our way around well past the third spring without another hit on the cat rods and no fish on cranks or soft plastics. I think between us we had on hit that stole a piece of crawler off a fly and I and one solid thump on a crankbait that resulted in a big golden scale on one of the trebles. Nothing!
About 9 we headed out to the Island and found more of the same. Nothing all along the West side and we made it almost all the way across the North end before we finally got another hit and landed another cookie cutter. We picked up 2 more along the East side so we stayed there. The bite wasn’t ever hot, but it was steady. Dave had to be back in Spanish Fork by 1 PM to watch Football and some friends of his wanted some fresh catfish, so we cleaned the 6 we had and went to the dock just after noon.
I was still hoping for another contest kitty, so I called my wife on the way to the dock and she said “I’m having fun without you, go ahead and stay.” So I dropped Dave at the dock and headed back for round 2.
On the way out I visited with a guy who was casting off the end of the north jetty. Hi son was waving a net around with a mud cat in it so I inquired about their success. He reported that they were looking for channel cats and so far they had 4, plus one white and a mudder. There was a large group of grebe’s working the area southeast of the jaws so I spent an hour checking out the activity and go only one hit, a mud cat.
I got back out to the Island about 3 and the fishing was just like we left it. Slow, but steady. I got one here and there all afternoon, all cookie cutters. I was having fun, but wished I could see something different size wise and right on que it happened. I got a hard hit and the line streamed off the reel. I closed the bail and set the hook and a minute later landed the smallest channel I had caught all year, maybe 14 inches. Be careful what you wish for!
The fish came just about half on carp meat and half on cut white bass. In the late morning and afternoon, the bite never got fast, but the fish were feeding aggressively. We had to cut the hooks off on nearly half the fish we caught. All of the round 2 fish were released, but I recovered 4 hooks from the 6 we cleaned for Dave’s friends. The cats are still preparing for winter!
As evening approached the bite slowed and I took a few pictures. It was a good day and beautiful weather. Between us we ended up with 4 mud cats, 14 (3 to 5 pound) “cookie cutters” and a 14 incher. Try as I might 14 and 14 didn’t add up to the 28 I was looking for, but it’s still out there!
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