Lincoln Beach Flotation Flotilla

[TubeDude]

[cool][blue]What steenking wind? Gotta admit I was concerned when I could hear the breeze blowin' through the trees at 5 AM. Was sorta worried when the flag at Harmons was straight out and cracklin' in the south zephyr. Began to get a sinking feeling when we went through Spanish Fork and my vehicle was being pushed around by the wind. But, when we got to Lincoln Beach it was glassy calm. Does my anti-W dance work or not?[/blue]

Had a good turnout. I didn't count but I'm guessing 10 craft that hit the water. Of course, a couple came back in when they began going flat. Tough luck, Al.

Wouldn'tcha know it. The newbie tuber (mikecromaine) brought the only walleye to net...in my borrowed Fat Cat. Nice fish Mike. Sorry about not posting the pics yet. I am writing this on my wife's computer, while I am trying to reinstall Windows on mine.

Several white bass brought in, and a lotta hits we did not convert. I scored one small white, one mud cat and finished up about noon with a 22" 3.2# channel cat. I lost one nice walleye that hit as I was lifting my jig to cast back out, and had another larger fish on for a short run, before it came off. Probably a carp, but it can be anything I want it to be. Right?

FlyFishingMoose, Uncle Ray and young Dakota (FFM's daughter) soaked bait all morning and finished with 3 mudders. The water temp was down under 60 early and the channels did not start moving until about noon. Then, shortly after noon, and most of the wimps had already left, W came in from the west. I got off the water and noticed that the last three holdouts were heading in too.

It wasn't what you would call a stellar day, fishing wise, but it was fun. Got to meet a couple of new faces from the BFT family today, including Tincanfish...the kayak dude. I think us small craft nuts all agreed that we should do some more silly stuff like that.

I will put up the pics of Mike's smiling face (and his fish) as soon as I get my computer talking nice to me again.
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[mikecromaine]

thanks pat for one great day on the lake. thanks for letting me use your tube and gear. i may just have to get a tube of my own here. but boy does it work your ankles and legs but great fun even better was getting that 25 in walleye yeeepieee
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[CBR]

Thanks for coordinating this little outing. I look forward to the next ones. It was great meeting all of the BFT'ers I did. If any of you need a fishing buddy on any outings don't hesitate to call.

I did ok. Could'nt get any of the fish to play with plastics. But the cats came out to play.

Caught 6 Bullheads. biggest being about 15 inches and chubby.

Below are some photos of the day. From top to bottom. Morning Glass, a cat that played with my bait, The Dreaded W, More W (Around 1:00 PM), and the gear being washed after.











Good fun, can't wait til the Walleyes and Bass come back out to play.
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[fairwayphilly]

Well, I didn't come out of the flotilla with as nice a fish as Mike, but I know my legs will feel better than his tomorrow. Picked up my first ever white bass early on, missed a few other bumps through out the day and had a great time. Finally got to meet some of the BFTers. I was the second to last one out of the water and didn't start in until the wind picked up, just in time for my battery to give out on my motor, so I started to row and my oar gave out, so I had to kick like mad to the shallows and walk my boat the last 400 yards to my launch site. I can't wait until the next flotilla!
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[CBR]

We definately are troopers with our toons. I was the last out of the water. Get in touch, I wanna float something mid-week. Would be good to have some company.

Cheers.
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[crossineye]

I SAT HERE AT WORK ALL DAY WATCHING THE TREES BLOWW THINKING ABOUT YOU GUYS OUT THERE. WONDERING IF WHO WAS WIND SURFING. WELL GLAD HERE ALL WENT WELL AND NO ONE WAS BLOWN TO LEHI. LOL KEN
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[ALAN]

Well, I got my tube fixed this afternoon. I had a good time anyway. It doesn't make any difference to me if I fish from the tube or the shore, just as long as I can go fishing. I enjoyed meeting more of the BFT family and being with good friends and having a calm day is all anyone can ask. I might go looking at toons later today. Ya never know. Al
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[Tincanfsh]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the fun trip. It was great meeting some new fishing buddies. I was feeling a little under the weather so I was the first wimp off the water. I did try a buzzer at the last minute with out any success. I only had 2 hit's the whole time that I was there. I did get to find a new place to fish so it turned out to be a good day.



Tincanfsh
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]It was nice to meet more fishin' buddies today and put board monikers to faces. I'm new to this warm water fishing stuff, so it's good to be around people that are so experienced at it. That wind got pretty nasty there at the end. It blew me and my tube about 1/8th of a mile down toward 3rd spring. Had to kick like hell just to get back sideways to shore before I got blown past the springs and out into the main lake. Last tube off the lake, and I still got skunked! I was also one of the guys that got a leak![pirate] Turned out I didn't have the valve screwed down tight enough. Silly me! Good thing my head is permenantly attatched to my shoulders or I'd forget that too. That is pretty freaky when you're out there pretty far and your right side starts to feel like it's getting lower! Special thanks to Fairway for dragging me partway back to shore with his motorized pontoon. I think I had a hit at one time, but it's tough to tell when you're bouncing a 1/4 oz. jig off the bottom trying to trick an 'eye!

That was still fun being back in my tube for the first time in three years (forgot how fun being in a tube can be!), and I can't wait to hit that place again when the water gets colder and the 'eyes really start to come in!
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[hustler898]

Sorry to hear that more action wasn't had. Only one Eye...Hmm, still at least 2 more left in the pond, I may have to go and get em might quick!

Whats the problem with your computer Pat? If your having trouble with the usual, viruses, spyware, ect. I have a bunch of free utilities that will keep your system running smoothly. Would take a bit to get all the links together.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue]Hey Al, I have more stuff for viruses, adware and spyware than I need. I keep my system pretty clean. My problems have been mostly Windows and IE. I changed browsers, to the Firefox, and that helped, but it was suggested that I reinstall my Windows XP Pro. [/blue]

I got it started, and it went like a champ right up to the next to last part..."Installing Windows". Said I had 37 minutes to go. Then, I got a popup notice saying that I did not have enough virtual memory (one of the other problems I have been unable to fix permanently). That's when my computer started just stopping for long periods. It will run the program for a few minutes and then stop again.

I tried shutting down and stopping the install, but it was too far along and will not boot up to the old Windows. So, I put the disc back in and am letting it run. It is finally at the last stage..."Finalizing installation" Last night it said I had 9 minutes left. This morning, I only have six minutes left. Heck, it should only be a couple of days now and I MAY get my computer back.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue]Hey Phil...and everybody else...we WILL be having more more flotillas. I had forgotten how much fun they can be. Back in the "olden days" I was one of the very few folks tubing Utah waters. After initiating quite a few newbies, we started having group fishing trips on the various waters with good tubing potential.[/blue]

One of our greatest events was the "Gorilla Flotilla" at night, on Willard Bay. That was before wipers and there were still lots of big cats in there. We assigned ranking of cats, by size, from "bitty kitty" to "gorilla"...a cat over 15 pounds. Never caught one that big on a flotilla trip, but did have a lot of fun and caught a lot of fish. Some of the contestants hung bananas over the sides of their tubes as attractant.

I can see us gathering upon several waters in our tubes, toons and yaks (okay, Billy?). Possibly the next one might be the semi planned "mack attack" at Cisco Beach on the 30th of October. That's around Halloween, and Utah has a tradition of snow then, so it will either be "trick or treat".

Probably won't be too much potential for an endurable flotilla until next spring, but a return bout with Lincoln Beach, during the walleye spawn, could be a possible. Then, as the waters warm...and hopefully rise...we can hit Willard, Pineview, Deer Creek, Strawberry at ice out, Jordanelle, Starvation, etc. Then, for some distance, we can plan on Flaming Gorge and Powell. And, let's not overlook all the other trout ponds around the state. So many waters, so little time.

Just for the record, there does not have to be any kind of BFT planned event for a couple of tubers or tooners to "hook up". I always suggest having at least two folks out together. Things can and do happen, as we experienced Saturday on Utah Lake. It can be literally a life saver to have somebody else nearby to help you out of a "situation". Of course, that also makes for witnesses. If you have a good fishing buddy, they won't post ALL the embarassing stuff.

So, let's communicate when we have something cooking. Post your plans for potential tubing buddies or fire off some PM's. Trade phone numbers with those you can stand enough to invite more than once. Share the enjoys and be safer too.

As we have experienced, flotation flotillas are not like boating. We can launch almost anywhere, without having to wait in line at a ramp. It is quieter, less expensive and the only gas fumes are...well, we don't need to go there. And, it is a great way for less experienced tubers (and anglers) to pick up some "fins on" experience. That helps a lot more than anything you can read. See, feel and try has always worked better for me than reading, drooling and anxiety.

Anybody got any good ideas for potential group get-togethers for the remainder of the year?

By the way, Phil, it was great to have you join us, and I know that several of us benefitted by your good sportsmanship and spirit of helping. We'll catch more fish next time.
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[iconoclasticPaul]

Hey Fairwayphilly, it was nice to have finally met you! I was of the guys that was talking to you besides Mike Cromaine when he came in out of the water. Now I have a face with a name to go with it.

It was fun to get out with all the BFT boys.

By the way Tube dude, that was me that snuck up behind you and said hello. I realize that maybe you didn't understand me because of my speech impediment due to my deafness. I wished I could have talk to you a lot more but figured that you were very busy tying your lure and trying to get a eye just like the olden days.

While out there, I caught two baby whities and a baby LMB but that one got away before I can take the spinner out of its mouth. Nothing else, I suspect I had a bite of a walleye, because the worm I was using on Tube Dude's roadrunner (purple glitter) had the distinctive walleye teeth pock marks on it. Dang!!!!!!!
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[CBR]

Toons sure are sweet. I love mine. Glad your tube is fixed. Was a bummer when you started to loose air.

But alas, the fishing was great and so was the company.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue]Hey, Paul my friend. Of course I knew who you were, and we sommunicated just fine. Let me know if you lose all the paint off those jig heads, or maybe need some more. I have some new metallic paints and am experimenting with some new plastic dyes too. I will be posting some pics soon of the wild and wacky new stuff.[/blue]

As I have told you in our PM's, I have great empathy and respect for the ambitions course of study you have taken upon yourself. It requires some sacrifice of fishing time while you are getting it done, but hopefully it will earn you the positions and the income that will allow you more fishing freedom in the future. Many of us have been there and we are pulling for you.

I was happy that you could carve out a couple of hours to join us. Glad you got to feel a couple of tugs on your line and that you got to meet some more of the board folks. Look forward to seeing you again, when our little events are timed right so that you can make them.
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[kastmaster]

TD

Sorry I missed out on another BFT get-together. Doggonefishin and I got together and checked out Deer Creek in my boat. DGF and I marked a lot of fish in the bottom (c/b walleye) and a lot of suspended fish. One place that I can suggest is Wallsburg Bay at DC. The action may not be fast at times, but a chance at a big rainbow or a walleye or a smallie is always in the making. Access to Wallsburg is just past the Deer Creek State Park entrance, free, not too bad of a walk, a decent launch area, and somewhat protected from the wind. How about a get-together on the 23rd of this month? , or maybe even first part of November before the white stuff hits.

Just my .02 cents,
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[TubeDude]

[cool]I have done well in Wallsburg in the past. It fishes well clear up in the back, when there is water in it. The steep banks across from the State Park are also good for ice fishing, when there is ice.

I will be in Idaho, over the weekend of the 23rd, on some family matters, but I do not need to be there to make it an official fishing trip. If you can get a couple of folks semi committed informally, then go ahead and post it for anybody else who might want to join up.

That's how the Lincoln Beach thing got started. Emuscud had the morning off and asked if I would join him. We both thought it would be fun to let others know and we ended up with a great little trip.

Although DC has not been heavily mined lately, it can be a great producer in the weeks before total winter sets in. The smallies go deep, along with the wallies and the remaining perch, but the rainbows and browns stay pretty active for troutaholics. Some browns are still upriver taking care of the next generation, but when they move back out in the lake they put on the feedbag.
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