03-17-2007, 03:07 PM
[cool][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][#0000ff]Arrived at Lincoln Beach just before 7 AM. Lovely crescent moon hanging over Spanish Fork canyon with some pink from the impending sunrise under it. Don't get no better than that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We were geared up and launched before 7:30. Air temp 35 with a cool north breeze. Water temp 44. Launched off the end of the south dike. Boat channel wide open and several boats went in and out during the morning.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe blasted off towards her catfish honey hole. I started in the other direction, toward the first spring. But, something told me that the water level might be too high to effectively fish the structure I wanted to work. I made a few casts along the north dike, hooked some rocks and a 5 pound mirror carp. Got to get the kinks out of my stick and string.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Didn't see much on sonar from shallow out to 10 feet. Some smaller fish suspended and a few near bottom. I bet to myself that they were white bass. I did catch a couple of those fiesty rascals as I whipped the water to a froth in my compulsive search for walleyes. Didn't have even the merest bump that felt like a walleye. And, all of the boats moved around a lot, so I am guessing they did not do much either. Didn't see any of the half dozen bank tanglers score even a bite. None of them had fish when we came in.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I kept playing with plastic even after TubeBabe gloated over the radio about landing her second big catfish. I told her to fill up the basket because I had a hankerin' for some smoked kitty. The bigger fish are still okay when cut into small strips and fried, but they are WONDERFUL when smoked. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finally, after about two hours of being ignored on plastics, I couldn't stand it any more. I switched to my "full contact" bait setup...two rods, one with minnow the other with carp meat. Both walleyes and white bass will eat those baits, but the main goal was to hook into some of the big cats that prowl that area after iceout.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I managed to catch a couple of decent cats, while TubeBabe netted still another honker. Looked like she was gonna whack me today...as she often does with catfish. She is the catfish queen. I am actually happy for her when it happens. Yeah, right (gritting teeth).[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]With the score 3 to 2 in favor of TB, one of my rods bounced and the line popped free from the clip. As line was streaming out the second rod popped and I had two runners at once. Been there done that before. I did a good double hookset on the first fish, which felt substantial, and then adjusted the drag on the reel and put the rig in my outward slanted rod holder. Then, I picked up the second rod, flipped the bail and set the hook into number two. It was a decent fish but I whupped it in fast, broke off the spines and dumped it into my fish basket. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Then, I turned my attention to rod number one. It had been getting a pretty severe bend in it and line had zinged off the reel a couple of times. When I came tight on the fish again, it really felt like it had shoulders. Yeeee Hawww! That's what we come fer. Finally coaxed it into the net and I guessed close to ten pounds. The digital scale later stopped at 9.8 and TubeBabe wouldn't let me fudge. If the fish had not barfed up that 10 inch carp it would have been over ten.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That was about 10:45. We both had a couple of "pop and drops" after that, but the Willard sized 15 incher I landed on the way back in was our last hookup.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe's trio went 24" (6.0#), 26" (7.4#) and 26" 8.0#)[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeDude's quintet scored 29" (9.8#), 25" (6.2#), 21" (3.3#), 19" (3.0#), 15" (1.4#)[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We caught fish on both minnows and carp meat. Got the most on minnows but all the biggest fish came on carp meat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We fished aggressively in all depths from about 3.5 feet to 9 feet. Just about all of our fish came from water 6 - 6.5 feet deep. Who knows what combination of water temp, clarity and food source made them happiest in that depth, but tomorrow it could be completely different.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]#$%&# walleye! They are just not as plentiful or as predictable as they used to be. They are getting my dandruff up. Wish I knew where the hatchery truck planted them this week (Ha).[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water clarity was not bad. Lot of green but more murky near the inlet of Benjamin Slough. The water temps were actually warmer in the shallow water, going up to just under 50 degrees before we left, while the main lake temps were still only 48.4.[/#0000ff]
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[#000000] CRESCENT MOON.jpg [/#000000][/url](296 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22566;"][#000000] WHITIE ON TIGER.jpg [/#000000][/url](274 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22567;"][#000000] BLACK BITIN' WHITIE.jpg [/#000000][/url](312 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22568;"][#000000] SMOKING SECTION.jpg [/#000000][/url](311 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22569;"][#000000] TIMP AND TUBEBABE.jpg [/#000000][/url](273 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22570;"][#000000] TD'S FIRST KITTY.jpg [/#000000][/url](237 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22571;"][#000000] MEAT EATIN' MAMA.jpg [/#000000][/url](297 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22572;"][#000000] TUBEBABE'S TRIO.jpg [/#000000][/url](346 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22573;"][#000000] TUBEDUDE'S QUINTET.jpg [/#000000][/url](370 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22574;"][#000000] COOLER FULL.jpg [/#000000][/url](375 KB) [/size][/black][/font]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We were geared up and launched before 7:30. Air temp 35 with a cool north breeze. Water temp 44. Launched off the end of the south dike. Boat channel wide open and several boats went in and out during the morning.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeBabe blasted off towards her catfish honey hole. I started in the other direction, toward the first spring. But, something told me that the water level might be too high to effectively fish the structure I wanted to work. I made a few casts along the north dike, hooked some rocks and a 5 pound mirror carp. Got to get the kinks out of my stick and string.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Didn't see much on sonar from shallow out to 10 feet. Some smaller fish suspended and a few near bottom. I bet to myself that they were white bass. I did catch a couple of those fiesty rascals as I whipped the water to a froth in my compulsive search for walleyes. Didn't have even the merest bump that felt like a walleye. And, all of the boats moved around a lot, so I am guessing they did not do much either. Didn't see any of the half dozen bank tanglers score even a bite. None of them had fish when we came in.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I kept playing with plastic even after TubeBabe gloated over the radio about landing her second big catfish. I told her to fill up the basket because I had a hankerin' for some smoked kitty. The bigger fish are still okay when cut into small strips and fried, but they are WONDERFUL when smoked. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Finally, after about two hours of being ignored on plastics, I couldn't stand it any more. I switched to my "full contact" bait setup...two rods, one with minnow the other with carp meat. Both walleyes and white bass will eat those baits, but the main goal was to hook into some of the big cats that prowl that area after iceout.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I managed to catch a couple of decent cats, while TubeBabe netted still another honker. Looked like she was gonna whack me today...as she often does with catfish. She is the catfish queen. I am actually happy for her when it happens. Yeah, right (gritting teeth).[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]With the score 3 to 2 in favor of TB, one of my rods bounced and the line popped free from the clip. As line was streaming out the second rod popped and I had two runners at once. Been there done that before. I did a good double hookset on the first fish, which felt substantial, and then adjusted the drag on the reel and put the rig in my outward slanted rod holder. Then, I picked up the second rod, flipped the bail and set the hook into number two. It was a decent fish but I whupped it in fast, broke off the spines and dumped it into my fish basket. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Then, I turned my attention to rod number one. It had been getting a pretty severe bend in it and line had zinged off the reel a couple of times. When I came tight on the fish again, it really felt like it had shoulders. Yeeee Hawww! That's what we come fer. Finally coaxed it into the net and I guessed close to ten pounds. The digital scale later stopped at 9.8 and TubeBabe wouldn't let me fudge. If the fish had not barfed up that 10 inch carp it would have been over ten.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That was about 10:45. We both had a couple of "pop and drops" after that, but the Willard sized 15 incher I landed on the way back in was our last hookup.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeBabe's trio went 24" (6.0#), 26" (7.4#) and 26" 8.0#)[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeDude's quintet scored 29" (9.8#), 25" (6.2#), 21" (3.3#), 19" (3.0#), 15" (1.4#)[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We caught fish on both minnows and carp meat. Got the most on minnows but all the biggest fish came on carp meat.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We fished aggressively in all depths from about 3.5 feet to 9 feet. Just about all of our fish came from water 6 - 6.5 feet deep. Who knows what combination of water temp, clarity and food source made them happiest in that depth, but tomorrow it could be completely different.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]#$%&# walleye! They are just not as plentiful or as predictable as they used to be. They are getting my dandruff up. Wish I knew where the hatchery truck planted them this week (Ha).[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Water clarity was not bad. Lot of green but more murky near the inlet of Benjamin Slough. The water temps were actually warmer in the shallow water, going up to just under 50 degrees before we left, while the main lake temps were still only 48.4.[/#0000ff]
[/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22565;"]
[#000000] CRESCENT MOON.jpg [/#000000][/url](296 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22566;"][#000000] WHITIE ON TIGER.jpg [/#000000][/url](274 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22567;"][#000000] BLACK BITIN' WHITIE.jpg [/#000000][/url](312 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22568;"][#000000] SMOKING SECTION.jpg [/#000000][/url](311 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22569;"][#000000] TIMP AND TUBEBABE.jpg [/#000000][/url](273 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22570;"][#000000] TD'S FIRST KITTY.jpg [/#000000][/url](237 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22571;"][#000000] MEAT EATIN' MAMA.jpg [/#000000][/url](297 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22572;"][#000000] TUBEBABE'S TRIO.jpg [/#000000][/url](346 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22573;"][#000000] TUBEDUDE'S QUINTET.jpg [/#000000][/url](370 KB) [/size][/black][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/font] [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=22574;"][#000000] COOLER FULL.jpg [/#000000][/url](375 KB) [/size][/black][/font][signature]