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Willard Wipers and Kitties
#1
[cool][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][#0000ff]TubeBabe and I launched at the south marina about 6:30 this morning. First time there since the big drawdown. Ouch. Water is so low the fish are wearing tennies to get around. Almost.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had about 3 feet of water off the end of the launch ramp. Water temp inside at launch only 54. Reached 57 by the time we kicked out to the channel entrance. Saw lots of fish on sonar but nothing wanted any of the plastics or hardbaits I tossed on the way out.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About 7-8 feet of water in the channel. When it started to shallow up out past the buoy I put a minnow on one rod and kept throwing lures with the other. The kitties wanted to play. Three quick cats on minnows. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Saw some surface activity in less than 4 feet of water and it did not look like carp. Started slinging a fire tiger finish diving minnow. BOINK. Wiper on. Turned out to be a chunky 18 incher. Looking good. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Kept catching catfish every time I threw out a minnow. Also got a couple on the hardbait. Had quite a few hits on the crankbait. Some were likely small cats, but a couple I had hooked briefly fought more iike wipers. About 8 I landed another wiper, just about a twin to the first. Looking good again some more.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Shortly after that a boat approached from the harbor entrance. Wiperhunter2 and Petty4Life had warned me that they planned to show up too. We went fishing anyway. No sense staying off the lake just because those two might be using it. As it turned out, they didn't abuse it much. On their way back in about noon, as we were heading in too, they cruised by and said they had only had a couple of hits trolling.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe stayed close to the marina area and caught a bunch of kitties. She had some wipers on, but did not put any in her basket. She still had a good time and kept a limit while tossing quite a few others back.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I absolutely spanked the cats. I went through two packages of a "long dozen" (14-16) minnows. One package of chubs and one package of redside shiners. The cats munched them both as quickly as I could get them out there. I only missed a couple of strikes so I probably caught somewhere between 20-25 cats...from 15"-20". Good eating size. No biggies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The shiners were their usual soft selves. So, I tried an experimental "jigger" hook...a wrapped and painted jig head on a size 1 red matsuo jig hook. Fine wire, and sharp. I pinned the hook up through the head and tight lined it. When the fish grabbed the bait that sharp hook hung them almost every time. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just about the time I ran out of bait, and started kicking back toward the marina, I saw some more surface activity. I fired a blue back chrome crankbait out and had it about halfway back in when WHAM...nice wiper on. Hit hard and stripped a lot of 6# line off my light reel. Much fun. Finally got it in and introduced it to the other two stripers and the 8 kitties I had kept.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I kept casting on the way back in, but only a couple more light whacks. I noticed that the water temp had risen to just over 60 degrees on the outside. I figure it's gonna get a lot better pretty soon.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My biggest wiper decided he would decline my invitation to join us for dinner. Just before we rounded the corner on the marina entrance, I looked down in my basket to gaze upon my harvest. WOW. Half my fish were gone. I raised the basket to get a better look and saw a fist sized hole in the outside of the metal basket. Mr. big had found a broken wire and had punched his way out...inviting 4 of his whiskery cell mates to join him in freedom.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I made a temporary repair on the hole with some heavy monofilament and we cruised back into the ramp. My basket was a bit lighter than when I had started back in, but that just meant less time at the fillet station. WHOA. They still don't have the fish cleaning station open at the south marina. So, I got to bring them home and make a mess in the kitchen.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There were some bank tanglers throwing bubbles and jigs across the channel from the rocks on the south side. One of them caught a small wiper as we were coming in. I have heard recently that some of the guys are doing pretty good from the shore. You can cast all the way across the channel and wipers are coming inside in the deeper water...deeper than outside anyway.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'd like to say it was a pleasure seeing Curt and Jason again. I'd like to...but my mama told me to tell the truth.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Absolutely beautiful weather today. Couldn't have picked a nicer day to go fishing.[/#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=24275;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] #1 WIPER.jpg [/#333366][/url](235 KB) [/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=24276;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] #2 WIPER.jpg [/#333366][/url](276 KB) [/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=24277;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] 21 INCH HOUDINI.jpg [/#333366][/url](302 KB) [/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=24278;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] BIG BEAKED DUCK.jpg [/#333366][/url](235 KB) [/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=24279;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] POWERLESS SQUADRON.jpg [/#333366][/url](270 KB) [/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=24280;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] TOO WINDY FOR TUBEBABE.jpg [/#333366][/url](327 KB) [/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=24281;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] CHUB KITTY.jpg [/#333366][/url](202 KB) [/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=24282;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] TAIL HOOKED TUNA.jpg [/#333366][/url](345 KB) [/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=24283;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] JIGGER RIGGED REDSIDE.jpg [/#333366][/url](156 KB) [/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=24284;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] JIGGERS.jpg [/#333366][/url](327 KB) [/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=24285;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] BANK TANGLERS.jpg [/#333366][/url](284 KB) [/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=24286;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] TUBEBABE'S 8 KITTIES.jpg [/#333366][/url](249 KB) [/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=24287;"][Image: image.gif][#333366] TWO FER DINNER.jpg [/#333366][/url](408 KB) [/size][/black][/font]
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#2
Nice report and pics Dude! those stripers look fun to catch! I bet they can pull ya around a bit! and they are good to eat too? wow, ya got to like that![Smile]
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#3
Nice report Pat too bad about the basket. Guess they don't make um like they use too. I just replaced mine and have an extra [blush] .... I'd be glad to redonate. It doesn't get much nicer than today for fishing Willard. Those were some awsome pics.
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#4
[cool][#0000ff]Thanks Marty. That has only happened like that once before, and it was with some large white bass down in Arizona. I guess it's in their genetic makeup to bust down doors...or make their own...to find a way out.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I usually only plan to get about a year out of each wire basket before retiring it. As you know, my stuff sees the water a lot and gets a lot of stress and strain...from fish loads. The baskets also get wear and tear when going through brush or during launching and beaching when there are rocks or other bottom hazards. Sooner or later, those fine wires wear out. When one breaks, it weakens the integrity of the whole basket. If a fish is wild and desperate, it can butt a hole in a weakened basket and wiggle through. Not many fish wilder or stronger than a large wiper.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My defunct basket was at least a year old. It has served me well. Over a hundred trips and who knows how many fish of how many species have "enjoyed" a ride in that now broken accessory. It will be retired...with honors...to the dumpster. Later today I shall visit the closest venue for Sportsmans and donate another $10 to my future fish harvesting efforts. My guess is that I will probably find something else I can't live (or fish) without and spend even more. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I don't know if you know it or not, but I am a major stockholder at Sportsmans. They just never send my certificates or dividends.[/#0000ff]
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#5
[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Bro. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yes, wipers do pull hard. They are a sterile hybrid between white bass and stripers and they have the best fighting characteristics of both. They hit like a freight train and pull like a nuclear submarine. They don't go airborne, but they really make your drag scream.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most of the wiper fans in northern Utah fish for them by trolling (washing lures). Since wipers are schooling fish, that cruise around the whole lake and don't stay put much, trolling is a good way to find them. But, it is not always the most efficient way to catch them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you know the general area where the wipers are hanging out, chasing their food source...gizzard shad...you can launch a tube or toon and catch plenty. Use your sonar and your eyes to watch for wiper activity. You can find them around bait schools and fish them deep...or you can watch for wipers smacking shad on the surface and get in on some wild action.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The guys who troll for them usually use heavy tackle. They need it to keep from breaking off on the strike. But, they also horse the fish in while the boat is still moving. What fun is that? I fish them with medium light rods, light reels and 6# line. Not only can I cast and work my lures better but when I hook a fish it is more fun than I can stand. The 21" fish that I finally netted yesterday took off on a couple of runs over 50 yards, and it was at least 15 minutes before I got it to the tube. They do not give up until they are in the net...and, as that one proved, they keep trying to escape. That one actually tore his way out of a metal fish basket. That's tough. I gotta salute a fish like that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]They are also terrific on the table. Firm white meat with a simple bony structure. Easy to fillet and good almost any way you want to prepare them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And, in Willard Bay, the limit is 6 fish and you don't have to feel badly about keeping them. They are planted to keep the huge gizzard shad population in check and to provide a fishery. The state Fisheried Dept. monitors the populations and just adds more as needed. Since they are sterile, you do not have to be concerned about taking spawning fish out of the gene pool by keeping some for the table.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After a good day with the wipers you have to go to the doctor...to get the Smile surgically removed from your kisser.[/#0000ff]
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#6
Great fishing report, TD. Kudos. Wouldn't mind pursuing some of those Wipers myself - or the cats for that matter.

Once again the superiority of the tube as a stealth fishing tool is seen. Those poor trolling guys will hit a school of fish, hook one, then keep trolling away from the school. Unless they mark the spot, turn around (long process that gives the fish time to move on), come back and anchor they simply run off and leave them, not connecting again until they hit another school and repeat the short-lived process. Very poor efficiency. They also present a much higher profile in relation to the surface so they must stay back or spook the fish. Add to that the movement of the school and the difficulty of manuvering the boat without making noise and you have a very inefficient system - nothing matching the ability of the tuber kick and fish at the same time to stay quietly on them. The only way I can see that the tuber can lose in such a situation is if the fish move too quickly through the area and he/she can't keep up. Obviously I'm not a Wiper fisherman but packs of hunting fish slashing through schools of shad is not beyond my experience. I've seen large trout and suspended bass do the same thing when large schools of shad are present. The only way I can see that you might improve is to have a fishfinder with a side finder so you would spot them even when they don't break the surface.

Obviously your experience has taught you all these things and many more. I'm just making fishing talk.

Love to read your reports when you connnect like this. Great inspiration to get out - SOON!

In fact, this time last year I was fighting off those 5-6 pound largemouths in the lake that ODFW was trying to control. Word is out that the fish are there again this year - only they're one year larger. Same circumstances. "Please come and take as many as you can" is their request. Such a burden! Coincidentally I got word yesterday from my doctor that for the next two weeks I'll be under a mandatory "gag order" - no speaking, teaching, blabbering, etc. to allow my vocal chords time to recover from the nasty throat problems I've had. I hope to wisely put this therapy together with a couple of weeks of vacation time and go over there to chase those pre-spawn LMBs. Your missive above is the perfect stimulus for putting all that together. If it happens I hope to have a good report or two.

Again, thanks for the great report. Keep 'em coming.

z~
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#7
Well it looks like school was in session yesterday. And it is ok TD you do not need to make us stories about geting all soft and letting half your catch go. We understand. [Wink] Really way to go those are some good looking fish in you have there and TB looks as if she did awsome as always.
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#8
[cool][#0000ff]Sounds like your doctor understands fishermen. To prescribe "shut up and go fishing"? Couldn't ask for a better prescription than that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Interesting that you should comment on the advantages of tubing vs. trolling. One of the other BFTers from Utah was also out there on Friday, and here is his report...and my response.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=330483;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread"]LINK TO UTAH THREAD[/url][/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck with the largies. I suspect that you have been tying up new bass fly patterns since last year and you are more than ready for a rematch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, good luck with the recovery process. I can only imagine how a "vow of silence" is going to impact your lifestyle.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We look forward to good reports and pics of your "therapy session".[/#0000ff]
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#9
[cool][#0000ff]Oops. I guess my secret is out. No foolin' a real fisherman, I guess.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hey, you need to take your new red ride up there. The fish won't recognize that it is you in that new tube and you might even catch something.[/#0000ff]
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#10
That's an interesting read on the Utah board. And I agree with your observations and reluctance to go with somebody in a boat who will never change methods when necessary. I go for the companionship and the outdoor experience but I mainly go to catch fish.

I've fished with several guys who like to catch kokanee (as I do). They're trollers. Trolling is a good method for finding schools of fish. However, these guys just blindly troll around and never stop, leaving behind many fish. When I'm in my own boat trolling with downriggers, I run with a very short drop back length. This makes quick turns easy. If the wind is blowing and I can't stop to jig over a school of fish (usually the case) I'll mark them with the handheld GPS as soon as I hook up and then do short figure 8's, running through the school multiple times until the fish either break up, get spooked, or move on. This method is good for 3 or 4 fish sometimes before things taper off and I have to go find a new school. If I can stop and hold over them, jigging will take even more. The blind trollers usually get no more than one or maybe two fish out of a school, then leave them behind.

Sometimes the simplest adjustment in thinking can make a big difference. I was once trolling kokanee in my boat with a friend. We were using the same lures at the same depth but he was catching fish and I was catching nothing. That went on for a couple of hours and was frustrating. I watched him carefully to see if he was rubbing some kind of secret ointment on his lure and not telling me. Then it hit me. I watched his dropback length carefully (distance from release clip to lure). That, plus his forward position in the boat showed me that he was shorter on his troll than I was. Now think about that. Who is coming through the school first? He was. As soon a he hooked a fish we'd slow the boat. (You can't land kokes with their soft mouths while moving very fast.) My lure would drop out of the fish zone and catch nothing. He was catching fish because he was first through the school. I may be dumb sometimes but I'm not stupid. I shortened my drop back so that I was coming through the school first and now I was the one catching the fish. And yeah, after gloating for awhile I told him the secret.

Discovering these "secrets" are what make fishing fun, fun, fun.

z~
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#11
And for good measure I have even let Kevin take it for a whirl so that way I can hide even further.
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#12
Hey TD I forgot to ask did that "tail hooked tuna" meet a free Gill-ectame before swimming free.
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#13
[cool][#0000ff]Under normal circumstances, that large scaled tuna would have most certainly received the complimentary cutting. However, since my other rod was dancing with something that had eaten my minnow, I grabbed the lure, ripped it free from the tail fin and picked up the other rod. The rest of the story? By the time I got to the second rod, the fish had grown impatient and no longer wanted to play. He left with the bait and did not accept my invitation to dinner.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That carp really had me fooled at first. He slapped the lure with his tail and it felt like a wiper chomp. When I set the hook, he took off on a wiperlike run and continued to feel like a wiper for a couple of minutes. Then, I felt the tell-tail chug, chug, chug of a tail hooked fish and suspected what the species would be. That was about the time the line on the second rod went zing. If the carp had not been so large, I would have horsed it in faster. And, if it had been hooked only on an inexpensive jig (of my own making( I might have popped it off. But, those crankbaits ain't cheap, even though I buy the blanks and finish them myself. Also, I hate to lose a good lure that has caught fish...and that one had produced a couple of wipers already.[/#0000ff]
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#14
oops i forgot to log in... sorry
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#15
you eat the carp too? hmmm[crazy][Wink]
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