Dodging Icebergs at Willard Bay

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe and I launched from the well covered ramp about 7:30 AM. Air temp 37, water temp 42 inside...43 outside. 14 feet of water in the channel. Shallowest spot on the way out was 10 feet deep. Sure looks good to see all that water again. About another 6 or 7 feet to top it off.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Clear and calm...and chilly enough for gloves in the light breeze. Open water for about 200 yards out from the marina entrance at launch. Moved in later with a west breeze. Saw several flights of honkers and a couple of bald eagles out on the ice.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe caught the first cookie cutter kitty about 8:30. I caught the second and she caught the third. Then, nothing but pop and drop for another hour. I got two more and then she finished our catching with a 21 incher...biggest cat of the day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We had to dodge ice chunks going out and coming back. Interesting. Several boats worked down the open channel in the ice and headed for the north dike or the west side. One was jplacquay and another was Michael, Crankem's son. Michael returned a bit later and said the hole with the fish in it, on the west side, had closed up and he had a tough time getting out through the rotten (but thick) ice. We watched for JP, but he did not come in. Either the fishing was good or we will have to send out the Mounties.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Michael was mostly working for walleyes and wipers, with walleye rigs and baits. When he came back to the east side he said he had only a couple of bites but missed both. He finally put the hook in a fish just as we were going inside the marina about 2. It was a whiskery walleye.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Saw BFTer Lee Rasmussen on the ramp, with a couple of other fishing buddies...with tubes and toons. They had been fishing inside the marina without success.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water temps fluctuated from 42 next to the ice to 47 inside the marina as we returned. Saw lots of shad on sonar but nothing that looked like wipers. The deepest water we could reach with tubes, inside the ice edge, was 17', straight out from the marina. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The remaining ice is really rotten. A couple of days of wind and waves should turn the north dike white.[/#0000ff]
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[fatkidfishin]

Dang Tubedude, I have got to meet up with you and go out catching[] Nice job on the kitties. I am thinking to hit UL for some of those cats you posted the other day. I want to start the softwater season off with a success so let me know if you would like to go out sometime. I have a 14ft jonboat that fishes 2 comfortably and I would gladly pick you up and haul you anywhere you think would produce some fish[]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Might hit Lincoln Beach Wednesday or Thursday next week. Leaving Friday for Arizona for a few days. PM me after the first of April and we will gang up on some kitties down there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]PS...There is NO jonboat in which I could fish comfortably. But, we can launch together and fish near each other...with walkie talkies like my wife and I use.[/#0000ff]
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[fatkidfishin]

Dang and I thought you were crazy for fishing in that tube all the time[] Are you scared of the jonboat ( lol ) or just prefer your set up in the tube? My kids will go in the boat with me but my brothers won't. April sounds good to me, I don't have any walkie talkies so maybe I could burrow one of yours. Thanks in advance[fishin]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I have owned boats, and have fished from many different kinds of boats. I prefer fishing from a tube.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Jonboats and canoes do not allow me to stand or move around. I cramp up if I sit too long in one position. I prefer a big flat deck and pedestal seats if I am going to be on a boat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My style of fishing from a tube includes being able to constantly monitor the sonar and to keep myself in position for casting to my desired spots...or to move around until I find fish. In other words, I like to be able to control my fishing destiny. When I am a passenger in someone else's boat, I almost have to adopt the attitude that I will just enjoy the boat ride because there will not be as much fishing going on. The only times I do not catch fish are when I am in a boat with someone else running the show.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Nothing personal.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I will be able to provide a walkie talkie if we split up.[/#0000ff]
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[fatkidfishin]

I totally understand that. It is a little awkward to try and stand in the jonboats. I figured I would just drive to wherever you pointed and let you run the show[] But I am fine with following you around and learning anything you are willing to teach me[sly] I have a fish finder that is similar to the one I have seen on your tube. I believe mine is the model bellow yours and I was hoping you could show me how to use it and read it a little better. My offer still stands to drive you out there, I am sure your tube and gear would fit in the bed of my truck.
Thanks again[fishin]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]For a lot of my fishing I use the sonar mostly as a depthfinder...not as a fishfinder. Since I seldom fish right below my tube...unless vertical jigging for perch...I almost never see any of the fish I hook. I just find he right depth and keep myself in the zone. That can be critical. But, it does not take a $1000 sonar to find bottom in less than 20 feet of water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No problem with using your vehicle and boat as a "tube transport system". I have done that a lot, including loading my tube on a bassboat or houseboat and running many miles up a side canyon on Lake Powell. Once at the chosen fishing hole, the tube goes in the water and I enjoy some super fishin'.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have also done more than a few "mixed" trips...boat and tube. Most places I fish do not require a long run from the launch spot so we can fish together. In fact, in my tube I usually find the fish and help put the boaters on them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The big thing about tubing that has appealed to me over the years is the "hands free" thing. No need to fuss with motors, oars or anchors. I just keep the fins going to find fish and then to maintain position. If a breeze comes up, I just position with my back to the wind and keep on casting...or bottom bounce back against the breeze. When a big fish climbs on, I can follow it without pulling an anchor or spinning around in the wind.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If the wind gets too strong for me to fish, I go home. And I feel a lot safer riding the waves in my tube than in a jonboat...especially on Utah Lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In short, simpler and (for me) more efficient.[/#0000ff]
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[zonker]

A very pleasant interlude reading your post, Pat. Makes me really want to get out again. Glad you two did well.

z~
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Z. Hope you are doing well too.[/#0000ff]
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[Bluegillman]

Me too, Zonker! Glad you are doing well. I always open this site frist as I enjoy everyone's tubing/fishing reports.
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