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I've been hitting the LB area for cats at least 4 or 5 times a week for the past three weeks. Lots of cats but all smallish... best ones have been around 25 inches. I usually get there at 6:30 and stay until the sun forces me out. Fun but just not producing the big ones I seek. I remain undaunted.... maybe next week...
Got home today all bummed out and relegated to yard duties when the nice lady from the DWR called to ask if I was interested in a bear permit that someone had surrendered??? Yep, I'm interested and popped out the credit card on the spot. Maybe the world is not going to end after all.
BLK
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[#0000FF]Glad you are getting lots of action. The old muddy pond has been good for kitties this year.
My experience over time has been that the biggest cats tend to feed more after dark during the warmest waters of summer. And they sometimes come in very shallow to hunt for sunfish, small bullheads and other vulnerable tidbits. A whole dead white bass...scaled and with a double hook rig can be deadly on some hefty daddy cats after dark.
There will always be some bigger fish cruising and feeding almost any time of the day or night. But when the smaller ones are active they often beat the bigguns to the groceries. Some problems in life are better than others.
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Thanks TD for the info. This has been a very good year for the cats. Most of the ones I have been catching are purty green ones with big white pot bellies. I appreciate your suggestion on fishing after dark and I will give it a try asap. Next couple of days look kinda windy so I'll just watch for a good night and get after them.
The white bass are hard to come by this year as you have noted previously. The little crowd that was thick in the launch area last year has not put in an appearance yet. I have a ton of carp meet and it has been a favorite of the cats. I'll work the springs area and maybe the launch channel and see if I can pick up a few white bass for bait. Any special way to rig the double hook set up?
Watch for a pic of my big 30+ incher soon.
BLK
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[#0000FF]I neglected to point out that night fishing on Utah Lake can also be a great weight loss program...if you don't cover up well and use lots of powerful skeeter juice. That is one of the reasons I no longer fish at night. I hate West Nile virus.
Used to be younger...with more stamina. Staying up all night fishing was all in a day's work. And that's when I caught most of my biggest ever cats. Several over 15 pounds and one 24 pounder. Best I have done in recent years are a few over 30 inches and 12 to 14 pounds...mostly early spring or late fall during daytime hours.
Fresh carp meat works okay but a whole dead carp 10 to 12 inches long works well too. Those "yearlings" are usually early spring captures. Again, I like to scale them and cut slashes in their sides to release more flavor.
Lots of ways to rig a double hook rig. You can tie up a sliding snell above with the leader knotted to the bottom hook...size 6/0 to 9/0 octopus is my favorite. But I sometimes prefer to tie my main line to a strong barrel swivel and then two short leaders off the bottom ring...different lengths. I hook the top hook through the nose, with the hook point well exposed. The bottom leader can be wrapped around the bait and hooked back near the tail. I'm attaching a pic of how I rig smaller white bass.
The whities did not get off a good spawn this year so there are not likely to be as many younguns swarming in the harbors to volunteer as bait. I'm glad I devoted a couple of late summer sessions last year to catching a bunch and freezing them up for this year. Might be the onliest ones I get.
TubeBabe and I were codgertatin' about hitting Lincoln Beach on Friday but Mama Nature heard about it and has scheduled another hissy fit. Color us not there.
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Great to see a report from ya, felt like it been awhile. July was full of vacation & moving for me, but I plan to hit August & September pretty hard to find that 30" plus cat. I know my holes, know the right bait, and have the time - just hoping a little bit of luck will make the difference.
Last time I checked the north is about 1.5" ahead. Their largest is a 30.5" and smallest is a 26.5". Our largest is a 29" and smallest is a 27.5" - so 28"+ is the ticket right now it looks like.
Still got 2 months left!
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