Catfishing 5-16

[RiverRat77]

Met Tubedude and the Babe out at Utah Lake for some fishing... It was the first time I fished with the Dude but it certainly won't be the last. I had a great time Pat, and thanks for the use of the wetsuit.... it actually was quite comfortable after I got the water up to body temp. Hey, let me know when you want me to bring your "loaners" over to you also.... I have them all dried out and ready to return. Thank you also for the use of the bobber and your hooks. I only lost one and the other that I used the rest of the time sure got a workout. The red paint is chipped all over that hook. I know you already posted your report and its all good but Leaky and I stayed in the water until about three. I wound up fishing around some weedy coves and inlet areas after the Dude and Babe bailed. I found that if I pitched bait to the shady side of the reeds or any sort of little cuts back into the weeds, there were still cats in there willing to bite. I wound up catching seven more cats after moving on down the shore from my partners. Leaky had Sparky so he had a tougher time getting into fishy water. The biggest cat I caught was probably seven pounds or so. I let Leaky have that one and I took home a couple four pounders and my little white bass. Thats the first white bass I've caught in a long while. Anyway, all I was doing was following the dude's example and fishing one of his "bobberhead" jigs about three feet under a bright orange bobber. Man, those cats just suck that bobber right down and its game on. It sure was fun getting turned in circles by those cats... these were the first cats I'd ever wrassled with out of a tube. I've always caught more than my fair share by wading but the higher water is taking that technique out of use this year in most of my spots. Anyway, I had a great time... so thanks to Leaky, Sparky, Tubedude, and Tubebabe for the company and thanks to the Dude for the use of the light waders and for showing me a "west side" spot.... I'd never fished over there before, although I've heard great things about the fishing on that side. Here's some pictures of the day.

Long distance Tubedude

Bobber setup

Leaky and Sparky

Close up of the Pest

Leaky and the Large Orange Bait

Nice cat and bait chunk

Head on Catfish

Pullin Line

Thought she was done

Rat in a wetsuit holding cats

Closer view of the Rat accompanied by the everpresent Fetcher

Shot of the catsmackin gear

Shot of the basket

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[leaky]

Hey bud, did you get my e-mail with the pics. and my explaination for the "weaving"?[] Didn't hear back? Did you play ball that night? Acoording to Wendy, you were bushed. Should we have stayed longer? Next time you take Sparky and I'll fish, ok?[unsure][][][] I'm leaving on our trip now so stay out of trouble, ok?[cool]
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]Great report. Hope you get those pics added soon so we can check them out. Sure is fun wrasslin' cats from a tube, ain't it? I love that stuff. Gotta get out to U.L. soon. Don't know if I'll eat my catch though...
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey Rat, glad you had some enjoys after we left. Wondered if you might have overdone things. That severe cough you had that kept you from going to work had me worried.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That really was a great day on the water. Too bad Leaky had to spend so much time Sparky-sitting. I'm sure he would have enjoyed being towed around a bit too. It really is a hoot to wait out one of those big dudes that doesn't want to come any closer to your tube.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just bring the loaner stuff by whenever you get around to it. It's all spare stuff, for when I gotta outfit rookies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That bobber and jig rig really does do the job doesn't it? I have had a couple of inquiries on "What the heck is a bobberhead", so I will post a link to a writeup and pics I posted last year.[/#0000ff]
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=221089;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread"][#333366][size 1]BOBBER-HEAD JIGS[/size][/#333366][/url][size 1] [/size]
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[RiverRat77]

Yeah, Leaky, I got your email. I'm glad that the weaving was something as simple as pillow adjusting. I did go to the game that night but should have just stayed on the lake longer.... We wound up getting killed... just like I told you I was worried about. We absolutely sucked it up... 22-14 and half the runs were given up by our center fielder. Guess its back to the outfield for me.... gotta plug that leak. Anyway, we went out and had a few drinks after the game to drown the sorrows and I called in the next day too.... only I was really in no shape to be at work. So stupid.... but I thought that during the game... man, I could still be fishing. [cool] Anyway, I'm itching to go back and hit that shoreline again... Dude, I had the greatest time getting towed around... I actually found that one effective way to get the cats out of the weeds was just to lift my rod and kick backwards until I had them out in the clear where I could wait them out effectively. I actually got some of those nasty drowned voles in my fish basket too... I thought they were gobs of moss until I cleaned it out.... DISGUSTING!!! You know Leaky, next time we go, I'll have to babysit Sparky for you for a while.... maybe take him out chasing bunnies or keep him with me while I shorefish or something. Gotta get you out of your cat slump. Tubedude, that bobber rig is a killer..... and fun too... good way to keep my interest, just waiting for that thing to dive out of sight. There was actually one fish that I had turned around and started talking to Leaky and when I turned back around, my bobber was gone... that kind of stuff just makes it that much more fun. Never missed a hookset because they always had the bait pretty firmly in their mouth if they were taking down the bobber. I'll give you a holler tonight and see about bringing the waders, booties, and fins by. I really do appreciate the loan for the day. I get off around sixish so I'll call you probably around seven or so.
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