Posts: 35,821
Threads: 266
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
52
[#0000FF]Wanted to go fishing. Deer Creek was the lesser of 3 weevils...or whatever. Starvation was a long drive for the forecast of steady rain. Willard was supposed to be more breezy. What? Willard? So I headed for the Island boat ramp on DC.
Launched about daybreakish...6:30. Overcrashed skies with light breezes. Air temp just under 60 and water temp still over 67. Didn't even need the new waders I was trying out. Figured the water would be cooler. Nope.
Water level is already much lower than the lowest point it reached late last fall. That's a long hike back and forth on that ramp for an old fat man launching and retrieving a float tube. But the slope on the ramp is still good enough to launch a good sized boat...and several did launch and trailer without major problems. Just gotta stay in the middle of the ramp and drive out a long ways if you got a biggun with a deep draft.
Dragged jig and fly combo over to the island (now a big peninsula) and started pitching a tandem plastic tube jig rig for perch...or whatever. Got a lot of whatever...small smallies. For a half hour or so they kept me busy. All from 8 to 11 inches. Fun on light gear but not the perch for which I searched.
The "big" bite shut off suddenly. It was over. But I did get another funny munch and reeled in a feisty 12 inch bullhead...a yeller belly. Kept him as is required under the regs.
Bottom bounced the tube jig rig deeper and deeper, watching sonar for some perchy looking blips. Not much on TV. Finally, out in 24' I saw a couple of likely marks and got a rattle-rattle perch peck. Set the hook in the first of several 7-8 inchers. Then they went bye bye.
Kept working back and forth...shallower to deeper. Finally got into a few larger perch in 18-20' of water. Missed several good munches but landed one ten incher and one 11 incher. Basket fish. Lost one that would have been a footlong and also lost a plate-sized crappie at the tube. They don't call them "papermouths" for nothing.
"My spot" suddenly got popular with new arrivals. A bank tangler and a rock hopper took up station and started fanning casts around me. Then a couple of boats kinda moved in...pretending I wasn't there. And I wasn't there much longer. The fish had shut off there too. Those who inherited my honey hole didn't harvest anything from it.
Just for grins I worked two rods with different tandem jig setups out over areas that had produced in the past. But where it used to be over 40 feet deep during low water it was now less than half that. But I did find some fishy marks in 30 to 32 feet of water and had some good pokes. Did manage a couple more smallettes and had one fish about halfway up that felt a lot like a walleye. Since I lost it before a positive ID it can be anything I want it to be. Those are the rules TubeBabe and I established a long time ago.
Weather stayed calm and overcast. There had been the prediction of rain about 9ish. Whaddayaknow? Within a couple of minutes of 9 it began to sprinkle and turned into a fairly good soaker...for about 5 minutes. Didn't improve the fishing...but didn't make it any worse either.
Kept one 11 inch smallie to go with the two perch I had kept...to make TubeBabe some scampi and noodles. Then headed for the ramp.
One of the boats that had gone out after I did returned to the ramp about the same time. Three people in the boat had all limited on trout...up near the cooling inflow of the river. They used mostly "bottle baits" in water only about 10 feet deep. I didn't see any of the boats trolling for trout in the main lake bring anything in.
I also didn't see any identifiable surface action from trout. But I saw LOTS of carpkind slurping the surface...singles, doubles and clusters. Some of them looked like buglemouth boils. Coulda been some fun times with a proper flyrod setup.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Posts: 11,125
Threads: 4
Joined: Mar 2006
Reputation:
0
From what I have seen with this low water the fish are not where they should be or ain't. It is just a wierd year for fishing. Glad you got something though.
[signature]
Posts: 729
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2012
Reputation:
0
[quote TubeDude][#0000FF] Did manage a couple more smallettes and had one fish about halfway up that felt a lot like a walleye. Since I lost it before a positive ID it can be anything I want it to be. Those are the rules TubeBabe and I established a long time ago. [/#0000FF][/quote]
I'd put my money on a bull shark! [  ] Sounds like a fun morning Pat. I want to fish DC on the hard deck this year, and hopefully catch something!
[signature]
Posts: 35,821
Threads: 266
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
52
[#0000FF]A valid observation. Fish set up travel routes, [/#0000FF][#0000FF][#0000FF][b]hangouts, and [/#0000FF]feeding locations based upon depth, water temps, food availability, etc. When their fave spots ain't there no more they gotta find some new ones. Makes it tough on fisherfolk who have to do the seek and ye shall find routine on every new trip.
Fortunately, I have fished Deer Creek for several decades and have seen extreme low water conditions before. Prior to Jordanelle Dam being built upriver Deer Creek filled to the brim every spring and dropped lower than it is now in the late fall almost every year. But, that was when there were tons of perch and largemouths, a few walleyes, lots of trout...but no smallmouths, crappies, bullheads, white bass, etc.
Some of the best fishing of the year was during the last weeks of fall...and lots of big fish from shallow water. Hope we can get into some of that this year.
[/b][/#0000FF]
[signature]
Posts: 771
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2011
Reputation:
0
we have been kill 2.5 to 3 pound bow in less then 5 foot of water all summer at deer creek we move any deeper then 8 foot we start to get the little guys how strange is this but you are right the fish are not where they are at normally
[signature]
Posts: 35,821
Threads: 266
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
52
[#0000FF]Wondered if you guys might be getting in on that action. Water temps are going to start dropping soon and the patterns will change again.
Glad you are still amongst us and giving the fishies some good exercise.
Ready for the hard deck yet?
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Posts: 11,125
Threads: 4
Joined: Mar 2006
Reputation:
0
[quote TubeDude][#0000FF]Wondered if you guys might be getting in on that action. Water temps are going to start dropping soon and the patterns will change again.
Glad you are still amongst us and giving the fishies some good exercise.
Ready for the hard deck yet?
[/#0000FF][/quote]
Great! Just after we figure out a pattern it changes. Oh well, it'll. be fun trying to figure it out.
[signature]
Posts: 1,181
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2006
Reputation:
0
[#502800]Those smalletes aren't too bad on the grill ...... I bought one of those holy pans at Smith and Eds to keep them from falling in the fire....... I also found a product in the spice aisle called True Lime ...... It shakes on like salt and kicks up the flavor a bit.[/#502800]
[signature]
Posts: 35,821
Threads: 266
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
52
[#0000FF]I like those little buggers on the table. But there sure is a lot of whimpering and whining from the bassaholics when you mention that kind of thing.
I have been using a fish basket for fish grilling for quite a while. Great for cat fillets too.
I'll have to check out the lime stuff. Love lime...and all kinds of citrusy flavors.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Posts: 450
Threads: 15
Joined: Jan 2010
Reputation:
0
I have been hitting that area by the island for a few weeks, getting a lot of those small sm, occasionally a few keepers.
I like how others come fish right by you when they see you catch one, and don,t think a thing about it.
Also got a few of those large crappies, but few and far in between.
[signature]
Posts: 1,586
Threads: 5
Joined: Mar 2004
Reputation:
1
Good to see you are still gettin out. Been a long almost fishless sumer for me. I wish a bunch of folks would keep some of the little smallies in deer creek. There are too many and they aint never gonna get big. Nice to see ya managed a couple basket worthy perch
[signature]
Posts: 533
Threads: 1
Joined: Dec 2003
Reputation:
0
Nothing wrong with keeping some small bass. Helps the bass left over to thin the herd a bit. I have to admit though, I hate seeing a big one killed for a meal when they could have harvested some small ones instead. Smallies are darn good eating. I've got some in my fridge waiting to be cooked tonight.
[signature]
Posts: 35,821
Threads: 266
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
52
[#0000FF]I generally keep a few of the underfooters but always release the larger fish. My comment about bass guys getting upset about ANYBODY keeping ANY bass was not directed toward you. We both know where that came from.
By the way, once the early inshore action dropped off I continued to pick up the occasional small smallie even out to over 30 feet. The shorter daylight hours, dropping water level and slight dropping of water temps seem to be starting the annual fall migration to deeper water. I doubt the topwater action will hold up much longer.
I really miss the late 70's and early 80's when Deer Creek had big populations of perch, crawdads and largemouths. Easy to have 20 fish days on largies that averaged over 2 pounds...with more than a few up to 4...and bigger. Whenever the lake filled enough to flood the flats by Charleston it was crazy bed fishing. Also great with buzzbaits both over the weed beds in the north and in the back of Walsburg.
The introduction of smallies in the 80's put a hurtin' on all the other stuff. Larger smallies ate up the crawdads and the young ones mopped up the newly hatched perch each year before they could grow large enough for anything else to eat them. Smallies are fun to catch but they sure changed the ecosystem in Deer Creek.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Posts: 35,821
Threads: 266
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
52
[#0000FF]Hey Brent, Dr. TD prescribes more fishing...if you can find any water left in the lakes.
Yeah, I found a few perch, but my poor old heart hurts when I reckymember the "good ol' days". Heck, even three years ago it was a lot better than it has been the last two years. Still perch in the lake but they are much fewer and in only a very few spots. Gotta hunt a lot harder to find them on every trip. The bottom of the lake used to be covered with them...all over.
Hope you are doing well.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Posts: 1,430
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2011
Reputation:
0
nice, way to get a few of those finicky DC perch to bite.
For me at deer creek the last few years ive gone out and targeted perch in my tube a number of times on all ends of the lake.
Ive still gotten into good numbers of perch but not as consistent as people I know that have been doing well there for years, Heck ive caught more nice crappie than perch out of there this year.[crazy]
[signature]
Posts: 1,986
Threads: 16
Joined: Apr 2007
Reputation:
7
Masterdaad hit on a good topwater bite upthere several weeks ago, which I have been taking advantage of for the past two Saturdays. It has been pretty consistent, even when the power squadron gets going. They do make it difficult to move out into deeper water and work slow the way you do with your tube. The big red Skeeter tends to be wave tossed more that a tube. Still, it has been lots of fun. Been using both Pop R's and small Zara Spooks. The smaller Sammy's would be great, just can't bring myself to pay 15 bucks for one !!
Regarding keeping SMB !! I am about as protective of the SMB and LMB populations as anyone, but keeping some of those under footers is good for the system. The 12 and overs are the ones that we need to protect and release. All of our waters with SMB are over populated with small 8-10 inch fish that need to be harvested for the good of the fishery !! Besides, they really taste great on the table !!
WATCH OUT FOR THE BIG RED SKEETER !!!!
PS: No pics, everyone knows, I hope what a 8" SMB looks like !!
PPS: Those were the days TD. You need to drag out that pic of the day where you had 4 browns, 3-4 walleye, and a dozen or more jumbo perch. Make everyone drool !!!
Posts: 533
Threads: 1
Joined: Dec 2003
Reputation:
0
I really don't care for smallies. They tend to overpopulate and stay pretty small on average. The good ole days of deerk creek sounds pretty bad ass. I could go for 2 lb average bass instead of 11 inch smallies. I would love to see mandatory catch and release of largies in Deer creek or at least a slot limit. Protect the bigger bass that could put a hurtin on some of the smaller smallmouth.
[signature]
Posts: 35,821
Threads: 266
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
52
[#0000FF]My ol' buddy, Therapist, can verify the days of Deer Creek largies. We both fondly remember hitting the flooded willow clusters in the north flats...using black and chartreuse plastics...to win local tournaments with fish that averaged almost 4#.
It was believed that by adding smallmouth to Deer Creek it would add another "level" of fishing without much of an impact on the other species already in the lake. At that time the rocky shorelines around the lake were swarming with crawdads. The largies dined well on them but there were "plenty" left over for the newcomers (smallies).
But it didn't take too many years for the smallies to explode in both size and population. There was some great fishing for a while. Then the smallies became bad neighbors...eating all the food needed by other species as well as eating the young of the other species while they were at it.
Most bassers recognize the different habitat preferences between largemouth and smallmouth. They can both live almost anywhere, but smallies prefer rocky shorelines whereas largemouths like protected coves and vegetation. Smallmouths outnumbered the largies and left them less habitat for spawning, feeding and hanging out. They continue to "coexist" but the brash little newbies are just a bit more aggressive in carving out the spots they want for themselves.
Until a largemouth gets big enough to push the smaller cousins around they have to put up with a lot of rowdy teenagers (smallies) pushing them around. A big largemouth gets old and cranky, just like humans, and is able to hold its own against most smaller fish. The only problem is that in Utah it takes a long time for one to get big...and the typical Utah tangler tends to want to take them home to show off...before dumping them forever into the freezer.
I, for one, am opposed to too many new regulations. Especially ones that are difficult to enforce with limited CO coverage. Hard enough to catch the folks who fish without licenses, trash the shoreline and keep overlimits. But I could definitely support at least a temporary moratorium on keeping largemouths in a tenuous ecosystem. That would mean training all the dimbulbs in being able to tell the difference between a largemouth and a smallmouth. Good luck with that. A lot of folks who catch either have no idea what they just caught.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Posts: 1,156
Threads: 1
Joined: Jul 2012
Reputation:
0
My SMB to LMB ratio at Deer Creek this year is 20-1.
That lake is rife with aggressive SMB this year. Finding a Largie is a relatively rare treat.
Even as a bass newbie I've never thought LMB and SMB were that hard to tell apart... between the mouth and the color patters they are pretty different.
Enforcing a CR policy for LMB is another matter -- I would favor that also. It's really no different than the Cutt slot limit at Strawberry -- heck it's even less confusing than that. Many of us will follow the rules. Some won't. That be life.
I had another fun morning up at DC reeling in Smallies on the Pop-R. I imagine that's going to shut down here fairly quickly as the water temp drops.
The recent rain has had a positive impact on the water level... it was actually a foot or two HIGHER than last week with the walking end of the dock in the water.
[signature]
Posts: 533
Threads: 1
Joined: Dec 2003
Reputation:
0
If an angler can't tell the difference between species, they are most likely going to break the law anyways. All bag limits are based on species.
And as far as law enforcement goes, I say " what law enforcement?" I've only been checked for a license like three times in the last ten years. I see the warden every weekend though. I think they prefer air conditioning and burning gas as opposed to doing their job.
[signature]
|
