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[cool][#0000ff]Wow. When I drove down the dirt access road to the Knolls it looked like someone got a special deal on POSTED signs. Evidently the property owner has finally had it with the trashers and has closed off a lot of the area formerly popular with the trashing campers...and anglers. You can still get down to the road along the water and it is open for a ways...but posted from about 100 yards east of the end of the road. A lot of BFT bank tanglers are gonna hate that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Parked in my usual drive up and launch spot. Air temp 45 and water temp 49 at launch...7 am. A bit cooler water than yesterday. Surprised since it was warm yesterday. But that shallow lake cools fast.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water was a good "walleye green", in spite of all the wind we've been having. Hoping for more of those toothy critters like I got yesterday at Lindon. Nope. But plenty of fun with whities and kitties.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fished minnows, carp meat and small whole (dead) white bass on the bait rods. Threw a variety of plastics on the jig rods. Nothing at all in water shallower than 5 feet...but that will change. Water temp when I left at noon was up to 55. Won't be long until the whities get frisky.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Caught my first fish...a white bass...by bottom bouncing a jig in 6 feet of water. Just got ready to cast back out when my minnow rod bounced and the line popped free of the clip and started running out through the guides. First kitty was a bit over 20" and a solid 3 plus pounds.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had a goal of getting at least 4 or 5 mid sized kitties for the smoker today. My smoker has been whimpering and is feeling neglected. And I been a hankerin for some smokitty. The first kitty was just the right size for the smoker...as were several others brought to the tube throughout the day. I think I caught about a dozen...keeping 5. Some were only teen-inchers but the biggest was about 24 inches...and a chunk.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Got my larger cats on chub minnows but got the most hits on carp meat. But the silly white bass also smacked the carp meat. They also hit pretty good on small tube jigs when I could find them. They were scattered and in different depths.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water stayed pretty calm all day. I covered a lot of water and did not beat myself up too bad with the fins. Helps to have the electric motor for fast moves...or to drag the bait along slowly when you don't wanna kick.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A nice first trip to the Knolls this year. Disturbing to see all the posted signs. Attached is a picture of something left up in a secluded corner of that newly off-limits area. Looks like somebody ditched an old boat...or a stolen one. No wonder the owner has finally had it. [/#0000ff]
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Disappointed to see the signs. Especially after talking to Sovereign Lands about getting more access at UL. Hope his new "toy" provides useful!
Good catching today! We may have to get out and do a floatilla soon. My fishin itch is getting worse everyday. The only cure for it is to go fishin.
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Nice fish. I thought it was public up to the fence. Was I wrong about that. Can they put posted signs in the middle of public property?
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Nice Fish! Thanks for the report. 2 questions about UL, What temp does the water need to reach for the whities to turn on? Who controls the water flow at the Bubble-up?
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[quote fishjon]Nice fish. I thought it was public up to the fence. Was I wrong about that. Can they put posted signs in the middle of public property?[/quote]
[cool][#0000ff]Not sure where the exact boundaries are. The fence encloses the owner's grazing land but I think his ownership extends a bit further.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also not sure about the "public" property. There are federal, state and county owned parcels around the lake. And if they become subject to "nuisance" or vandalism they can probably be made off limits within specified guidelines.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, that new phragmite flailer is great. We need to run it all around the lake. I tried to get him to send me a video file to share but haven't heard from him.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Let me know when you have a (fishing) hole in your schedule and we will rassle some kitties. Next month is gonna be gangbusters for all species.[/#0000ff]
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Is your launch spot potentially in danger too?
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[quote MERCURYMAN]Nice Fish! Thanks for the report. 2 questions about UL, What temp does the water need to reach for the whities to turn on? Who controls the water flow at the Bubble-up?[/quote]
[cool][#0000ff]1. White bass spawn between 60 to 65 degrees. That is the time they swarm the shorelines and run up the tributaries. Once the ambient temperatures stay above 60 degrees you can catch the heck out of them all day. But on days when overnight cooling drops the temps much below that the hot bite will not start until later in the day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. Not sure who controls the flow valves on the bubbleup. Might be the county. They are in charge of all that shoreline and they put in the buoys.[/#0000ff]
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Sweet, Thanks for all your help!!!
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[quote Gemcityslayer]Is your launch spot potentially in danger too?[/quote]
[cool][#0000ff]Optimistic that it will not be closed. The line of posted signs seems to run along a line about even with the access road on the east and just above the road along the edge of the lake. I suspect that the historic high water line has something to do with where the owner's property rights extend. But there are no posted signs at all to the east of the main access road coming in from Hwy 68 (Redwood Road). I suspect that all the land between there and Pelican Point is state or County land and not subject to closure.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That picture "Thanks Trashers" is on the shoreline road just a short distance west of where I launch. It is where the road leaves the actual shoreline of the lake and is a bit above the high water line.[/#0000ff]
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Another great report! I am dyeing to get out there... Question on smoking fish; do you only smoke the kitties, and what kind of recipe and wood do you use? I don't have a smoker yet, but it is on my list.
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I'm disgusted that I had to back out of this trip. Completely affronted. Bamboozled, irritated, and befuddled!
I should've been there. Great post, great fish, great pics. Can't they look at the numbers on that boat and find out who the owner is/was?
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Glad you managed a few fish AGAIN!!! It is too bad that those folks that cant pick up anything they bring have caused that area to be closed. I guess I will have to kick farther or wade farther to get to the areas I usually fish. I usually park in that little area right off of that little ramp by the fence so it looks like I will have to move a bit. Looks like you launched off that shallow gravel area. Anyway as usual a great report, great pics. I was thinking this weekend again but sounds like mama nature might have other ideas.
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[cool][#0000ff]I have been smoking fish for a whole lotta years and I have tried smoking just about every species. Some come out better than others. These days I smoke mainly trout and catfish. Trout are more delicate and take less smoke and seasoning to come out delectable. Catfish are a heavy fleshed fish that can take a lot of both smoke and spice. I smoke them until they are almost jerky and are absolutely great either with bread or crackers or by themselves...or when blended in a dip...or when crumbled into a salad.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here are a couple of writeups that might help. Of course smoking is a very individual preference thing and there are hundreds of recipes for cures and brines...and lots of different opinions on what woods to use and how long to smoke, etc.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]Sorry you couldn't make it...again. Beginning to wonder if you are a flake...or if you just got bad luck or bad timing. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Seriously, I probably made it sound like the fishing was easy. It was NOT. I had to use all of my powers of deductive reasoning and past accumulated knowledge of that area to get into any fish. The bites were not fast and furious and came just often enough to keep me interested. It started slow and at one point I was asking myself "Is this gonna be my first skunk day on Utah Lake?" That was when the first everlovin' whitie smacked my jig and the skunk smell went away. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Even though the water is warming and there are a few good reports popping up, the fish are still cold and not as active as they will be in a couple of weeks. It was what I would classify as semi-tough fishing. I am sure I could have got you bent on a few fish but anybody not familiar with fishing that area may not have done very well.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is going to be plenty of good fishing ahead. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About the boat. I took a pic of the numbers and will be getting it to the Sheriff's dept. for followup. The boat may have just been dumped but it is likely that it was stolen and stripped before being dumped. The numbers and registration sticker show an '03 registration...and on the other side that had all been removed. Might be tough to trace.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks for the heads up on your recent posts. I doubt your too disappointed with the results from that "prospecting mission." [  ] It does look like you covered a fair amount of territory though to earn your booty.
Who knows, maybe it will be a good cat year even for those of us that aren't as skilled at finding them seemingly in the middle of nowhere. [laugh]
Oh, and nice job on the photoshop work (I have a teeny bit of skill there to be able to appreciate) from your trip to Willard of those REEEEEALLY skinny fish. That report didn't make me feel so alone after MY first trip to UL this year. [sly]
After such a lackluster ice fishing season - I'm sure ready for a "gangbuster" trip.
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks Bro. Glad you appreciate my "artistic" talents. Praise from the master is happiness.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'll try to return the soft fuzzies by passing on more potentially rewarding suggestions for the kitties as the year develops and patterns emerge. Seems like every year is a new year and requires modified approaches. Some things remain the same...but I just can't remember them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe was out of town over the Easter weekend so I thought I would hide my own eggs...as usual. Been able to do that for a few years now...at my age. Problem was that when I went looking for them I couldn't find ANY of the eggs...until I came back in the house and found the carton of uncooked and uncolored eggs I had left on the counter. It's tough gettin' older...but, considering the alternative...[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Okay, remedial fishing lesson. First, THIS IS A HOOK.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Am I going too fast fer ya?[/#0000ff]
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I still hide candy for my boys on Easter, and it used to be that I got to have what they didn't find. But since they are getting better and found them all - this year I instituted a "candy tax." Not quite what the government charges. [laugh]
So lemme see if I get the pattern of what yer sayin':
My "eyes" are fuzzy and there is a "gap" in my logic. My "shank" isn't straight and my "bend" in philosophy needs rethinking. And if I don't like the results of the "barbs," I can just go "bite" it.
Whew! I think I got hooked for sure! Maybe I'm reading just a teeny bit too much into it - but now I may be ready for the next lesson! [img]../../../images/gforum/laugh.gif[/img] I'm lookin' forward to it!
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This interactive website will show if a parcel is federal,state or privately owned. And after clicking on allot of that area it is all privately owned,It looks like most the land owners don't care if you use it but looks like that land owner which owns a very big chunk right there is sick of the trash and I don't blame him a bit.
Enjoy it while you can guys I'm sure the others will follow suit her soon.
http://mapserv.utah.gov/rasterindicies/Parcels.html
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Does the Hydra swift look sea worthy? If not I am sure my father in law could use a new project.
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