Four over four...on 4/4

[TubeDude]

[cool][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][#0000ff]I had planned to make a speed run to the west side (UL) this morning. But, the changed weather forecast showed the northerly flow changing to southerly. Combine that with the murky water conditions and poor visibility for lure tossing, I headed for Lincoln Beach.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Launched the tube about 7 AM. Air temp 41 with a light southerly breeze...as forecast. Water temp 53 and still murky from the recent winds.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Concentrated on lures for the first hour. Had a few hits on plastics and a couple on spinners, but nothing to show for it. Finally kicked out to deeper water and started dragging bait on one rod while I continued to prospect with plastics.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Still no walleyes or white bass. The first channel cat came about 8:30. It was a nice 22"er that weighed 4.8#. Kept her to add to the two I got yesterday for my smoker. The second was bigger and really kicked my behind. 23" and 5.8#. Those two fish were just about identical in size to the two I got yesterday at Lindon. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When the north breeze (what else) came up at 10...right on cue...I figured I was done. I started kicking slowly back toward my launch spot. Zing...cat number three. Bigger still. 24" and 6.5#. What a way to finish. So much for the north wind jinx.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A few minutes later, I had a snag. The rod just bent slowly over as I kicked and the line pulled free from the clip. I put up my jig rod and tightened up on the bait line to pull it free. It pulled back. Game on. About 15 minutes to land that 26" fish that went 8.5#. Made the drag sing several times. Fun, fun.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just after 11, as I started kicking a bit faster to hit the beach at my self-imposed noon takeout time, my line popped free once more. This fish was serious. Like the energizer bunny it kept going...and going...and going. I flipped the bail and set the hook against the stiff rod. The tip of the rod just stayed there and the drag on the reel screamed. Oh my![/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fought that fish for over a half hour. I had already decided it would be bigger than I like to keep so I would just take a couple of pics and release it. I also guessed that it was probably a big male daddy cat. They are not as good eating anyway. Still, I was disappointed when after getting the fish close enough to see it a couple of times it just came unbuttoned. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I use small size 4 hooks. They are very sharp and strong and work well with the minnows and small strips of carp meat I use. When fished and hookset properly, they act just like circle hooks. A large percentage of our fish are hooked in the corner of the mouth. But, on some big cats with tough mouths, those small hooks are overmatched. They just never get a good bite or the bone is too hard.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The big grey head on that cat looked to be as wide as my large net. I never got a look at the full length but I am guessing well over 36 inches and a weight of 20 pounds or more.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I quit fishing then. First, it was past noon and I had things to do. Second, I was shaking too hard to make another cast. Third, the fish had been getting bigger with each one. I didn't want to even think about how big the next one might be. As I stood up to beach my tube I thought I could hear the faint sounds of the music from Jaws. Da Dum. Da Dum. Da Dum.[/#0000ff]
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[grilw]

Great report Tube Dude ! Always enjoy them !

How do you go about fooling them kitties ? Chicken Liver ?

More importantly , how do you go about presenting your bait without constantly moving it , given that youre in a float tube (which constantly moves) and not on a bank ?

Keep'em comin!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Chicken liver is for lazy midwestern cat fishermen who believe that catfish only feed at night...and on stink baits.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I seldom fish them at night, and I have found that natural baits work far better over all. I use fresh dead (or frozen) minnows that I catch and preserve myself. I also use fresh pieces of carefully filleted and stripped carp or sucker meat. Fresher always outproduces "aged" stuff for me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish the bait without weight, tossing it out and slowly moving along in my tube, letting the bait move naturally over the bottom. Catfish often roam, and are seldom all in the same spot. Moving helps me find more fish. I fish with the bail open on my reel, and when a fish takes the bait, I let it move off for a short time without setting the hook. Then, I close the bail, let the line come tight and WHAM.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am attaching one of the writeups I do to help answer questions from folks to whom some of my methods are not clear. This system not only works for catfish, but for many other species as well.[/#0000ff]
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[Majja]

Nice to see that the fish came out to play, to bad about Super cat would not pose for the camera.

and to bad he probably was a running in the wrong directions, maybe you could a roped ya up a tow into the beach.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]My universal fallback is "Big fish don't get big by being stupid". Not saying that he knew all the tricks and used them. Just that he used his size and strength to outlast me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also have an expression about missing strikes or losing fish. "Must have been an inexperienced fish. Didn't know how to hang on."[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Of course it is never MY fault.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No reason to tie a rope to a big kitty. They move far to slow to get me up on my water skis. Now, a big marlin or great white shark.... Come to think of it, if I hooked or saw a great white shark I would be running on the top of the water and wouldn't need water skis.[/#0000ff]
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[Bluegillman]

I noticed you are using red hooks... do they make a difference? One guy who fishes where I go says use the lure with red hooks as he caught the most on it than he does one with other colors....
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[tubeN2]

Nice job. I guess it must be tough having to fish every day. hee hee.[cool]
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[zonker]

Very nice fish. Those a bragging size by anyone's standards. Great report.

z~
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[basstoon]

Tubedude,

Good report, Sweet story []

I've just had a good day after a few bad ones.
It's always the best when you find the fish[]

Bluegillman,

I use red hooks when I can't make the bait look alive and well.
(With LM Bass) When I use lures or presentations that I don't have that much confidence in, the red hooks have made a difference.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I pour a lot of my jigheads on red hooks and I have just started using them for bait fishing. The Eagle Claw #84 ring eye bait hooks now come in either bronze or red finish. I got a few to try this year and I think I have proven to myself that on some days they draw more strikes. When I fish with minnows there is a lot of hook exposed. The red possibly gives the impression of blood or gills. Whatever, if it works I am sticking with it.[/#0000ff]
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