Lindon Smoke, Algae and Whities 8-6-18

[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]Ya gotta go for the gusto when things line up right. Wind forecast for today on Utah Lake was favorable so I launched at Lindon. Air temp at 6:30 departure was a nice 60. Water temp 75. Water level was just under 3 feet all the way out to the open lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As soon as it was light enough to see I noticed a greenish sheen on the water...with some areas heavier than others. Algae. Yuck. But there was never more than the merest ripple all day. Most of the time the surface was like glass.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Tried a few casts inside the harbor and around the corners of the dike going into the main lake. No love on my tandem tube jig rig.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Full power down to the bubbleup. Water level barely 4 feet at the end buoy...and no water coming in out of the pipes. That usually spells poor fishing. Not today. Started worked down the pipe from the end toward the shoreline. About the fifth or sixth cast I found a school of hungry whities. Pow, zing. Every cast was an almost instant hookup. Kept a couple for bait and released several more.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One of my objectives was to try to bump my kitty score with a couple of bigger fish. So I moved out to deeper water and started soaking bait. All quiet on the kitty front. So I worked my way back to the 3-4 foot zone to see if they might be shallower. They were. Got a few...but nothing over about 24". Also got some @#$%& white bass that somehow snarfed down the 6-7 inch big minnows meant for big cats.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As I got close to the area I had found all the jig munchin' whities I fired off some more tube jig casts in their direction. Musta really been a school of them. I got doubles on the next ten or twelve casts. No monsters but filletable sized 10-11 inchers. I ended up keeping a couple dozen for "surf and surf" but released at least twice as many more.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The heat was rising and the green sheen on the water was increasing by a little after ten. The smoky haze was still ugly but visibility was a little better when the sun got higher. I figured I could probably get off the water early and still count it a good day. I had caught some cats and was thoroughly abused by the white bass. Coulda been worse.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As I pulled away from the bubbleup I pitched out a big LHBE minnow on one rod and rigged a flig with a smaller piece of minnow on the other. I had just taken a bite of my "brunch" sammich when the line popped off the clip on the bait rod. But it did not go ripping off like it does when a good sized kitty comes to play. I figured it might be another minnow munching white bass. I flipped the bail closed, reeled down until the line came tight and then WHAM...set the hook. But, instead of a broken-necked whitie on the end of the line there was solid resistance. My rod tip did not move back toward me. And then my reel began that song I love...the one about losing line and all that.
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[#0000ff]That fish kicked my old behind. Took a while to get it close to the tube...with several short runs against the drag. And once it was closer it wanted to make me dizzy...taking me around and around in my tube. I had already counted it as being over 30 inches. But when I laid it on the bump board the best I could get was 27.5. That fish definitely punched over it's weight class. And I was pleased enough with it that I sent it off to fight another day...after a few pics of course.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That was the grand finale. I continued to drag some bait and cast some jigs for a while but I was ramped up and packed up by noon. With the dropping water levels and the green goo making another appearance it might be my last trip to Lindon for a while.
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[pa]

What a day. Glad you were able to avoid the scum. Yuck is right. I should have stayed out of the deer camp and came with you. The bubble up has always produced
white bass and kitties. Glad it was good to ya today.
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[Kent]

Always fun to get into a school of white bass. They fight hard for their size and especially fun to catch on light tackle.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Looks like a blast Pat and a good cat to top off the day... nice job... Later J
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Yes, indeed. Decent sized white bass on light gear are fun fishing. As a non-elitist, I enjoy all species. And I have always enjoyed the wacko wide-open mayhem of fishing an active school of whities.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I haven't really gotten into any good white bass action for a couple of years. So I sacrificed some big kitty time just to play with the scrappy little whities while they were there and available. No regrets.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Thanks. I'll put that fish on the contest board...with appropriate picture.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Sounds great Pat, always fun to tangle with a big kitty.

Last Friday I made it out for a morning trip and hooked into a fish that was by far the strongest and hardest pulling thing that I've tangled with since a barn door halibut in Alaska. First off this one was on my heaviest set up it has 30 or 40 pound powerpro braid with my heavy rod and strongest reel. Solid 5/0 hook and I can basically horse most anything in on this setup. Well it wasn't happening this fish was peeling line and going wherever it wanted to and I couldn't do much to change that. I figured I had that 36"er. Well after 10-12 minutes of struggling with this monster, I started to use the halibut lift up reel down method to try and gain ground on it and get it off the bottom. I'd cranked my drag down as tight as I dared and I finally started to gain some ground on the fish. Well I ended up getting it to the surface and then the disappointment set in. It was a 25.5" cat foul hooked in the bottom fin just in front of the tail. Still don't know how it pulled so hard, talk about punching above its weight, this one was 6 or 7 times its weight. Sure was fun but one heck of a disappointment.

Anyway I'll get that one of yours entered as soon as I can today if you get it posted. Thanks J
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[Piscophilic]

Thanks for the great report. It sounds like you had plenty of fun for your morning. I was a bit surprised that you found a big school of whites this time a year. Most of the time in this part of summer people report finding indivuals all over, but no significant schools.

Any thoughts one the school you found?
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]As I mentioned, my past experience at the bubbleup has shown that there are usually more fish present when water levels are higher and there is some water coming into the lake through the pipe. I almost did not even begin working along the pipe as I normally do...casting tandem jigs across the pipe, reeling them slowly up over the pipe and then letting them drop on the near side. That will usually catch something if they are there. Imagine my surprise when a cast well beyond the pipe was instantly attacked almost as soon as the jigs hit the water.
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[#0000FF]There was an area about 50' x 50' that seemed to hold a thick school of the white bass...and on both sides of the pipe. If I didn't get hit on one side I would get hit on the other. And a few times I got hits right on top of the pipe...where the water was only a foot or so deep.
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[#0000FF]My guess is the pipe served as fish-attracting structure in a lake that has very little structure outside of the (now shallow) harbors.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I have fished the bubbleup many times over the years and it is different on every trip. I have caught just about every species in the lake along that old Geneva Steel pollution delivery system. Big old channel cats like to snuggle up under the pipe during the spawn...and I have caught some gorillas on the small jigs I throw for whities. I have also caught a lot of walleyes around the bubbleup. Sometimes near the pipe but often by working larger plastics or cranks a few feet away. They also slurp up the minnows I drag around while casting lures.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]There are some humps and bumps off Lincoln, the island and the Knolls that often see schools of white bass hanging around during late summer into fall. But it is always subject to depth, temperatures, water clarity and current weather patterns...and luck.
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[Piscophilic]

Thanks for the insights. I know when I find a school of whites it is strongly influenced by the luck factor[]
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[cat-tech]

I get worried about eating fish out of there now with the water the way it is right now.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Tests have shown that the algae does not affect the fish edibility at all. There is no buildup in the tissues like there is with mercury or PCBs.
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[cat-tech]

great thanks for the info I will take my grandson down to fish then he has been wanting to go.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]The big issue with the algae is that it can cause problems in humans when ingested. That's why they advise against any kind of swimming or water play. As long as you keep the youngun out of the water you should be okay. And be sure to thoroughly rinse and clean any fish you keep.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Good luck.
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