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[cool][blue][size 1]Last week Lake Pleasant was only 55 degrees (water temp) and cloudy, from the rain and hail it got the previous Thursday. I figured that after a week of mid eighties to early nineties, the water would be clearer and warmer. TubeBabe and I prepared all week for another assault on the white bass, with maybe a largie or striper in the mix.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]Friday night, the wind came up and blew hard most of the night. Saturday morning, it was calm and only a couple of small clouds in the sky when I went out to get the paper at 4:30 AM. As we left the house, at 4:50 AM there were more clouds and a light sprinkle.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Within a couple of miles up the road, lightning began flashing and rain poured down. We had not thought to bring rain gear and did not turn back to get it. We watched as some of the more spectacular lightning bolts arched clear across the sky. Optimistically, we hoped it would be a fast moving mini storm and that the light show would be over before we got to the lake. We are smart enough to stay off the water when thousands of volts of electricity can "light up your life".[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]It rained all the way to the lake, but stopped as we bought our daily pass at the gate. That's the good news. The bad news is that it had rained enough to turn the dirt access road to muck. Didn't need my 4X4 but several others later couldn't make it back up out of the steep areas...even with 4X4.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]We hit the water about 6:30, after having to dodge about fifty cars full of runners, who were doing a long distance run along our road. Silly people. We went fishing. Air temp was 55 and the water had cleared a little and was up to 61 degrees. I was cautiously optimistic...until my sonar showed no fishies in the area we had found them the week before.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]When the wind blows from the north on Lake Pleasant, it blows the shad back out into the main lake. We were fishing in the Castle Creek arm, and it had been blown out. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Looked kinda grim after fishing a couple of hours without a hit. I went to plan B and kicked about a half mile out of the channel to a gravel point that runs out into the lake. It hadbeen a good staging area for both largies and whites in the past. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Using my sonar, I located the break lines and moved back into shallow water (10 feet). I cast straight out into the main channel, into about 20 to 25 feet of water, using a 1/4 oz. chartreuse Roadrunner on a medium light stick with one of the new light Daiwa baitcasters I had just got from BassPro. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]About my second fast retrieve up through the water column, I got a reaction bite from a 13" male white bass...1.2 pounds. I hollered at TubeBabe that I had found some fish and to get over there. A few casts later, without any other hits, I switched to a smoke sparkle twister (3") on a silver glitter Roadrunner with a chartreuse eye...good medicine for cool murky water on Lake Pleasant. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Boom, surge, drag. I thought I had a largie and was expecting a jump. Nope. A 17" male whitie, that later weighed out at 2 pounds even. I had our dinner. TubeBabe was now throwing up a rooster tail trying to get to where the fish were. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I helped her get into position and coached her on the "right" lure. It didn't work. She caught nothing, but I did hang my biggest fish shortly after she got there. It was an 18", 2.3# female. Bent my stick and stretched my string.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Then the boaters noticed us catching fish. A steady stream of trollers came right over the top of us and the fish departed. They caught nothing and we caught nothing else in two more hours of fishing. One of the attached pics is of a pair of trollers who would not respond to my question as to whether they were running short of water to fish as they came within a rod length of my tube.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Tried out my new lightweight rod holder. Only 1.5 pounds, using schedule 20 PVC instead of 40. Will provide diagram and more pics if anyone wants.[/size][/#0000ff]
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How are you coming on that stealth tube, so that you can catch those fish without the boaters noticing?
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[cool][size 1][blue]Hi Kent. I d[/blue][blue]on't really think it is the actual catching of the fish. My personal theory is that boaters (in all states) tend to view any craft smaller than their own as "pylons"...to be used as markers for their trolling runs. The bass blasters simply use us as "connect the dots" on their high speed runs around the lake.[/blue][/size]
[#0000ff][size 1]It's always good to get on the water, but sometimes it requires all of my self control to refrain from "acts of terrorism" on the high seas.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]In a related note, I AM using a new deodorant called VANISH. It doesn't do anything to make you smell better, but you just disappear...and everybody wonders where that foul odor is coming from.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Might be some application in fishing. But then, would the disappearance also apply to the fish...or would someone look across the water and see a fish seemingly emerging from the water all by itself? That could result in some even more undesirable consequences.[/size][/#0000ff]
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When I woke up this morning and it was raining, I thought about you and worried that it would affect your trip for the worse. I made it out today too...I'm going to post it up on the Utah board though..to try to make a few people jealous.
-Jack
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Hey there TubeDude,
I have a brillant Idea. If you're interested in the concept, let me know! On ESPN now, they have a program called 'Caught Ya' i.e. outdoor sportsman's candid camera!
How about this idea? We establish a website where idiots like the one you photographed could be displayed with an explaination as to their transgression. Poachers, idiots, alpha-dog fools....! It would be like the sports 'Wall of Shame' deal.
With about 100 or so photo's... just a camera exposed ought to get us run ove....... oh never mind!
Oh Ya... have two shutter bugs! Back in Business!
JapanRon
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[cool][blue][size 1]Interesting idea, JapanRon my friend. But, only another float tuber would believe the footage we could produce. To everyone else, it would be UNREALITY TV...stranger than fiction.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]Maybe we could doa takeoff on Ripley's Believe It Or Not. We could call it TubeDude's Believe It Or Else.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Personally, I would rather just go fishing...in less troubled waters. That is the game plan after the end of March. We will be limited to short trips near home until April. Then we hope to expand our horizons and hit some places with fewer idiots. Idiots just the same, but fewer of them.[/size][/#0000ff]
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LOL! TubeDude you and JPRon just crack me up! I was laughing hard after every post! My co-workers probably think I'm nuts! [crazy] Dang my secret's out now.
Anway, good to see you got into a couple fish before the idiots showed up. Fitting title to their picture that's for sure. Maybe this year I'll keep a bag of rocks in my float tube in case retaliation is in order.
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So did you cuss them out pretty good for comming so close? I think I would have tied on a 1 oz jig and set it pretty hard into one of his seats and said sorry didnt mean to tear your seat.... Damn thats one inconsiderate boater... [mad] Godd pics of the whities,,,
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They sure don't grow the whities like that here at Utah Lake, THAT'S for sure!!
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Man TD,, you simply need to remember to drag the radio controlled torpedo launcher along! Just remember to lock the torpedo in the "do not return mode" [cool]
Hummmmm,, Lake Pleasant huh? That seems to ring a bell [  ]
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like hopfully a trip in may right? hehe . makes me miss those lakes down there until you point out how people are and pushing in on you. nothing makes me madder sorry to hear about that. thats the one thing that is pushing me to pick up other hobbies. i have zero tolerance for people who feel their fun is done at the expense of your fun. dang i want to catch a white bass like that i would have the bugger mounted.
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[cool][blue][size 1]Hey Cat_Man and Mr. X, there's no doubt the whites in Pleasant are decent sized. I have taken them up to almost 4 pounds...and the newly introduced stripers in there are getting to be almost 20 pounds now.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]But, it might interest you guys to know that in the early sixties...during my first years fishing Utah...I caught quite a few whites out of Utah Lake over 2 pounds. The last October I was there I fished in the deep pools of the Provo River between the little bridge and the river outlet and caught several whites over 3 pounds. They seemed to run in cycles, with years of bigger fish and other years of dinks. Same with the walleyes. Most of it was related to how the carp spawn came off and how many carp minnows made it into the food chain. That's what I caught all my biggest whites on...carp minnows frozen from the spring spawn and fished dead in the fall.[/size][/#0000ff]
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Well now,
That was interesting, I now have a better idea of what the idiots are like down there. How far were they away, hard to tell from a pic. Looks like the same here in Utah. What I've done on ocassion was to tube over to their boat and grab hold, and generally be a pest, asking questions, etc. and tubing all around their boat being obnoxious. That along with Bud swimming all around discourages them and they generally leave. He, he.
Even with what happened, with everything, I'm still jealous! I put up with that kind of stuff, mud, people, and more as a routine and don't have quite the same results, and ya know what I'm happy!!!! Try living in most all other countries, we have it gooooooood! The key is count your blessings and enjoy. Don't get me wrong, There are a*** holes out there, but don't let em get to ya and ruin your day!!
You know how to hurt a guy with those white bass. How do they taste as compared to other bass?
[crazy][crazy]Leaky
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[cool][blue][size 1]Hey Leaky, howya doin'? Those guys trolled right over top of my line, while I was casting, several times in a row. I simply asked them if they were running out of water to fish, and they said nothing. A couple of times I could have just about reached out and touched them with my rod.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]In my younger and more hot headed years, I would have made the evening news...if they found the bodies. Not worth the aggravation any more. They had already trashed the skittish fish that were holding on the breakline. When I went back over that spot with my sonar, it was blank. So, I kicked back in and made an early day of it.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]White bass, wipers and stripers are all great eating. They have firm flaky white flesh that you can cook almost any way you want. The one thing you need to do, for the best taste, is to slice out the area of dark flesh between the skin and the lateral line. That is sensory tissue and it has a stronger taste. It is a problem only in the largest wipers or stripers though. I don't worry about it in even larger whites.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I like them fried, baked, oven broils, grilled in a basket over smoking hickory chips, scampi style (with sherry, garlic and butter) and especially in my "Pig Out Chowder"...with a cream of potato soup base. Hard to mess them up. They are good any old way you cook them.[/size][/#0000ff]
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Da**d jerks, I just found my 22 auto. pistol. Maybe a few holes at their water line on there big $ boat might have produced the desired results. What do you think? Trouble is, we're more vulnerable in a tube!!! How about taking a pic. of their reg. number on their boat and puplisizing it in the local news and forums? I'd allmost come down there to help out, get in trouble, just to met ya. LOL.
Leaky
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[cool][blue][size 1]You would always be welcome, but I think we could probably find some kind of fishing that was not "full contact". Right now the spring fling is just getting started for crappies and white bass, so all the nimrods that can troll a lure are out trying to catch some of the dumb ones. Problem is that when the fish are spooky, they just ruin it for everybody else who knows how to fish the finesse approach. This is the only time of year some of those guys ever catch fish so they are out there trying.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]One of my original sayings is "Discretion is the better part of cowardice." It seems like everybody is carrying a gun these days and most are not very respectful of the rights and property of others. It doesn't bother some of those people at all to just blow somebody away. We have "road rage" stories in the paper every day.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I'm big and mean, but I ain't as fast as I used to be. At least I ain't fast enough to outrun a speeding boat or a bullet. Sometimes it's just better to let it go, and to appreciate it when you find some fish and solitude in the same place.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]By the way, I appreciate your immoral support.[/size][/#0000ff]
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I think you realize I'd never do that kind of thing myself but one can dream or vent, right? Also, I'm not big, but I am mean. I believe if you go back to my original post I kind of alluded to that same kind of tact. Toatally agree with appreciating the solitude and peace that fishing, hunting and the outdoors however one experiences it has to offer. Too bad that every once in a while it's not always that way. I have yet to read anything in any or your posts that I don't agree with. Besides, my 22 isn't working right now. LOL Having great fishing on the Weber!!! Looking forward to my first float tube trip with ice out up here.
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Hey there TubeDude,
A little off subject but I am a History Channel junkie and I saw an hour program on derringers. Seems like many ladies and gentlemen carried these small concealed firearms, some even being on watch chains.
The currator being interviewed said that in many towns as late as the thirtys, people minded their manners more than they do now just because at that time you never knew who was carrying a firearm or not!
Very interesting,
JapanRon
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[cool][#0000ff][size 1]I think I saw a similar program. The old principal of "deterrence" is a sound one. As long as you fear the possibility that someone else can do you some harm, you don't start anything. Discretion is the better part of cowardice.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]That's another reason why the burlaries and other property crimes are not as prevalent in areas where there are a lot of hunters. Burglars just don't want to risk coming face to face with a deer rifle. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I have been known to go armed upon the waters. I have used old plugs with lots of fishhooks, heavy sinkers and even slingshots to ward off pesky waster skiers and PWC. But, as I found out, even if they are violating the laws...as well as your tranquility...you are breaking the law if you harm them with preventative measures. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I have actually gone armed with a 45 on a couple of occasions. Didn't ever use it, but I did have to show it once...in New Orleans...to keep from being assaulted and ripped off by three fellow "sportsmen" waiting for me to come back to my car with a basket full of redfish. I could easily hear them talking, across the water, plotting what they were going to do. If I had not been armed, I may have become a statistic. As it was, I made three new "friends" who claimed they only wanted to see my fish and to congratulate me.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]It's getting to be so that I don't get excited about going some places anymore. You never know when somebody else is going to be armed...and want to demonstrate their toys. A lotta whackos out there.[/size][/#0000ff]
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