10-17-2019, 12:07 PM
[#0000FF]There is an old saying "I'd rather be lucky than good." That was the case with the small minnows. My regular chub spot has had it's ups and downs with the drought the past few years and has not been too productive. But I received a tip from a fellow BFTer who was doing some hunt scouting and found a small trickle with a bunch of minnows in it. Of course I followed up on it and was able to score a few bags of the little chublets. A return trip a couple of weeks later found my spot dried up and no minnows to be had.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]The creeks below Scofield and Lost Creek both hold numbers of chubs. But since big chubs eat little chubs, the little ones either grow fast or disappear into the larger ones. Howsomever, the larger ones make great bait for cats...whole or pieces. And if you just want to sweeten a small jig, try filleting the big ones before freezing and using small pieces of fillet on fligs and jigs.
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[#0000FF]There are small creeks and ponds all over Utah that often have populations of chubs, shiners or fathead minnows...all legal and effective. The shiners usually suffer softness after freezing and fathead minnows are generally not as effective as chubs. At least that is my experience doing side by side comparisons on the same waters the same day.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]What you have probably already deduced is that minnow dunkers are kinda secretive. They ain't include to provide GPS numbers for their fave minnowing spots. And for good reason. The place I had been using since the 1970s was still producing after I moved back to Utah in 2004. But shortly after that someone on the board posted it...along with detailed directions on how to get there...and for a while it was hit heavily.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Since then it goes up and down with varying water levels...and annual visits from pelicans and cormorants. Sometimes you can make a decent haul. Other times you don't get enough to make it worth the drive. And I have learned the hard way that "loose lips sink chubs"...or however that goes. On almost every occasion I have taken someone there to show them...in spite of protestations of secrecy...my next visit either finds others cleaning out the chubs or evidence of heavy visitation...like empty worm containers and other trash, etc.
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[#0000FF]The creeks below Scofield and Lost Creek both hold numbers of chubs. But since big chubs eat little chubs, the little ones either grow fast or disappear into the larger ones. Howsomever, the larger ones make great bait for cats...whole or pieces. And if you just want to sweeten a small jig, try filleting the big ones before freezing and using small pieces of fillet on fligs and jigs.
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[#0000FF]There are small creeks and ponds all over Utah that often have populations of chubs, shiners or fathead minnows...all legal and effective. The shiners usually suffer softness after freezing and fathead minnows are generally not as effective as chubs. At least that is my experience doing side by side comparisons on the same waters the same day.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]What you have probably already deduced is that minnow dunkers are kinda secretive. They ain't include to provide GPS numbers for their fave minnowing spots. And for good reason. The place I had been using since the 1970s was still producing after I moved back to Utah in 2004. But shortly after that someone on the board posted it...along with detailed directions on how to get there...and for a while it was hit heavily.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Since then it goes up and down with varying water levels...and annual visits from pelicans and cormorants. Sometimes you can make a decent haul. Other times you don't get enough to make it worth the drive. And I have learned the hard way that "loose lips sink chubs"...or however that goes. On almost every occasion I have taken someone there to show them...in spite of protestations of secrecy...my next visit either finds others cleaning out the chubs or evidence of heavy visitation...like empty worm containers and other trash, etc.
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