Fishing

Fished the bubble up around 10:30am.....Nothing. Went further out from bubble up, circled around a bit, and didn't even get a bite. We were looking for cats, but didn't find a single one. It sounds like we are not the only ones having a hard time finding them from reading some previous posts......However..... We did find some Whiteys just north of Lindon harbor. We found them around 1-1:30 and it was non-stop action for the next hour until we had to go. All the fish were pretty good size. No little guys, every fish was about the same as the ones pictured. I thought I finally had a bigger something on other than a white bass, but it just turned out to be twins.

Nice to hear people finding the Whites still but with some size to them.

shhhhh on the hot spots....

I never tried the north side though I always see people fishing from shore. I think that most of the whities left their regular areas with the cold and moved on elsewhere.

I'll try the north side sometime these next 2 weeks.

The mouth of Battle Creek is just north of the harbor...with fresh water coming under a culvert under the railroad track. It is tough to find unless you know it is there. And with higher water conditions it is also difficult to know where the old channel is. But if you know it and/or can find it there are often white bass in the area. Also lots of walleyes and kitties at times.

Ya...we brought home 40 and it was nice to have some decent size fillets.

What are the best lures to use down there for walleyes?





Los Ladrones! Who's stealing all my posts?

Wherever the water is open enough to fish cranks you can run hardbaits. I generally prefer to fish 3" to 5" plastics...on a jig with a large hook and a light head...to allow fishing low and slow without snagging a lot.

They will also hit spinners...and jigs with spinners attached...like the Roadrunners. And they like minnows and worms...either floated up off the bottom on a corky rig or suspended below a bobber.

The first hardest part is finding the fish. The second is getting them to "yawn".

Thanks! I might try that tomorrow but I always snag up every cast in there when pulling a jig slow. Maybe I'll pre-tie 20 or so onto a swivel and hook that to the swivel on the end of my line. Seems kind of weak though.





Los Ladrones! Who's stealing all my posts?

It really helps to know the little channels between the reeds...especially the old creek channel...cut through in days of lower water levels and before the big growth of reeds and phragmites. Not a sure cure but it does cut down on snagging. Otherwise, you learn as you go.

Again, it helps to fish with the lightest heads on large hooks. I pour and paint my own and I prefer a 1/16 oz. head on a 2/0 hook..with about a 3" or 4" plastic. See pic.

is it legal to fish that inlet when the walleye are spawning? i've fished there before and have caught plenty of white bass and quite a few walleye

Once the creek flows into the lake it is legal to fish. The creek goes under the railroad in a culvert and then enters the lake. You can't fish to the east of the culvert but you can fish where it dumps into the lake...but only after it becomes a part of the lake.

Lake levels can affect the legal fishing point. In other words, when water levels are low enough that there is actually a creek between the culvert and the lake you cannot fish in that creek. But when the lake is high enough to flood up to the opening in the culvert then the creek becomes a part of the lake and is no longer a creek.

It used to be possible and legal to drive around over that big vacant lot and park near the waste transfer station...and then hike up over the railroad tracks to the mouth of the creek. Now that area is being developed and public access is not allowed. But if you don't mind a little walk you can park outside the gates at Lindon Harbor and walk down the tracks to the creek inlet. But when the fish are in there you have to bring your own rock to stand on. You will have lots of friends.

Here's a map of the channel...but sorry, no markers for where the fish are.

Pat,
I really like your jig design. The extra long barb to hold the plastics on longer looks great. I search everywhere for the best barbs but have never found much. Do you sell yours?
Shane

One of the major reasons I began making my own jigs...long ago...was to be able to get exactly the sizes, shapes, designs and colors I wanted. Part of my evolutionary process has been to acquire a whole lotta jig molds and to modify most of those to turn out different jigs. In addition to cutting and drilling on the molds to allow making SHBH...small heads big hooks...I also enlarge the barbs on most of my molds. I hate "getting my pants pulled down" every time I get a bite or a snag. Besides being aggravating it tears up the plastics a lot faster.

That minnow head mold is the one I use for making small tube jig heads too. and they hold those tubes until the fish have shredded them.

I already have a couple of molds that include two barbs on the shank...but I have also enlarged those barbs. They are on round head jigs...1/8 and 1/14 ounce size. However, I have modified some of my single barb molds to produce double barbs...both for tube jigs and to better hold larger ones.

I do sell some of my stuff. Not a big commercial operation but I help out quite a few guys on the boards. You would be welcome to visit my playroom and look over some of the options. You can bring some of the plastics you use and profile them against sizes, shapes and colors.

Let me know if you'd like to come over and I'll shoot you the address and directions.

Now THAT'S one approach I didn't try on my failed trip. For a "low and slow" presentation, I'll definitely have to try that, hoping I get out again before it doesn't matter what you throw out there. That is.... as long as I can find 'em again.

TD has jig heads galore in sizes you wont see over the counter. He has some unique stuff and some stuff that he has spent many hours researching (fishing) It is well worth a trip just to see.