Perch in Bear Lake

[southernman]

then give the thermos to your worst enemy . .

[]

sm
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool]Or, leave it closed up for a few days and then put it on the counter for your spouse to find and open. Better have a good divorce lawyer waitin' though.
[signature]

[Matador]

You did that too? How long did you have to stay at your parents house?[]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool]Even worse. They moved in with me. And I still have TubeBabe too. Boy, talk about punishment.

That does bring up a good point though. If you do not take care of your perishable baits, they will get back at you. This does open up opportunities to get rid of that "fishing buddy" who just won't take no for an answer and insists on showing up whenever you hook up your boat. When he asks where the bait is, just hand him a container "left over" from last trip. When he finishes downloading that breakfast he conned you into paying for...because he forgot his wallet...he will probably be ready to go home. And, he will probably not be so anxious to get back on your boat in the future.
[signature]

[Kayote]

Special K eh?. I like that TD LMAO. I used to fish the lower Colorado a lot in my younger days. Mostly for channel cats and bass. Nice area, but the skeeters will pack you away.

Matador,

On my post above about foot in mouth, I noticed the post about disease from Stonlenti. That's Scott Tolentino, the DWR bio at Bear Lake. Good guy. So, I guess we have our answer on Bear Lake. Hehe.

Good Banter, Kayote
[signature]

[cat_man]

Hey TubeDude, thanks for the info. I've used it cut into small pieces before, but that should be helpful for my next outing to Utah Lake. I used to go catfishing like 3 or 4 times a week, mostly using worms or carp meat in 1 inch cubes. All I ever caught on worms were thousands of mudcats. They don't really seem to bite the carp meat that much though. I have pulled in a few nice cat in the 10 to 15 lb. range from the shore at the bubble up using carp meat. Haven't been able to go much ever since I got married (year and a half this month). Would you say carp meat or white bass works better? I prefer carp just because I can catch one and half enough bait for like 2 weeks!
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool]Yo, cat_man, if you wanna use carp meat, and it works for you, then go head on til your head hurts. Heaven knows there is an unlimited supply. I have never had nearly as much luck with carp meat, on a side by side comparison basis, as I have with white bass, sucker or chub. I have never tried fixing it as I suggested with the smaller fishes, but I'm betting that it would improve the attractiveness. Salt and additional fishy scent couldn't hurt.

After saying that, I will amend it by mentioning that I have used carp meat quite a bit on Yuba. There are a lot of the "mirror" carp in there, with only a few scales and smooth skin. Whenever I caught/snagged one, while fishing jigs or spoons for perch or walleye, I filleted them and uses small strips for flavoring...but I never just soaked chunks for whatever wandered by. For making into jig strips, I sliced most of the meat away from the skin and used a two or three inch trailer strip. They both fluttered enticingly and gave off a flavor trail that resulted in some nice perch, walleyes and channels. Also caught a couple of decent northerns on them too.

I know of quite a few big cats that have succumbed to carp meat. And, why not? Carp are a big part of the food chain from the time they are small fry until they get too big to swallow. They grow fast, but that is still several months each year. I used to seine a bunch of carp minnows out of the lower Provo when they were still schooled up and only two or three inches long. I froze them in dozen packs and used them all year for just about everything in Utah Lake. They worked especially well on big white bass in the early fall when they moved up into the holes in the lower Provo. I fish them with a size 4 or 6 hook, with no weight, and just let them float naturally to the bottom. That also works while drifting out in the open lake, from a small boat or float tube...unless the wind comes up.

Just be careful you don't kill too many carp in your quest for bait. You wouldn't wanna deplete the resource. (Tee Hee)
[signature]

[Matador]

I guess I'm knawing on my toes too.

m
[signature]

[cat_man]

Hey TubeDude,

When you server up a piece of white bass meat cut in strips like you described, do you actually use it as a jig and hook it on instead of a plastic grub jig skirt, or what? I've never fished bait like that before. Or do you tip a regular jig or lure with it?

BTW thanks for all the great info.

Kevin
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, CatDude, glad to help where I can. You just found our little forum here, and have probably not seen some of the past posts I have put up on the line of "bait bugs" and roadrunners I make and use. I started experimenting with these back in the late 70's and have added a lot of different colors and refinements over the years. Here is a pic of some of the better models for Utah fishing:



In answer to your question about how to use the bait strips, there are several ways you can make them work for you. If you cut long pieces (two or three inches), you can rig them with a plain hook and drag them or soak them below a bobber...as plain old bait. If you are fishing from a float tube, pitch a long strip out behind you on either a plain hook or a light jig hook. Kick along just fast enough to keep the strip fluttering close to the bottom, with an occasional lift and drop. It will seduce cats and walleyes, with occasional whiteys and LMB voting for it.

The small strips can be similarly hung below a bobber, for white bass, crappies and small cats, although some big ones will slurp them in too. I make the small strips mostly for adding to my small jigs. You don't have to have jigs like these. You can use Foxees, marabou crappie jigs, small tubes and even twisters and other grubs. Use a thin piece, with a tapered tail, for flutter, and it will add both action and scent to your plain old jigs.

Sometimes a plain jig head, decorated with a piece of worm or fish meat, is one of the deadliest methods for many kinds of fish. However, the baitbugs I have developed seem to draw strikes when even the guys using live bait (legal here in Arizona) are not getting bit. I use the whites and rainbow colors a lot during clear warm water periods, with a small piece of meat, and I often take home a dozen or so nice yellow bass for the pan. It is not unusual to find no remnants of food in their gut when filleting them. In other words, the bait bugs and "sweetener" stimulate reaction bites even when the fish are not actively feeding. But, when they are feeding, it is difficult to get your lure to the bottom.

I have had days of catching literally hundreds of fish, with strings of 20...30...40 or more fish on consecutive casts. Some of those trips we were surrounded by boats, dropping spoons, plastics and even live bait, that were not getting bit. It is often a matter of finding just the right color, size and presentation and then gangbusters.

I am attaching the two pieces I wrote awhile back on making and using bait bugs...including my procedures for preparing the bait strips. Until recently, we couldn't add attachments on the Utah board, but since we now can, look for those at the bottom.
[signature]

[Kayote]

Hey Little Tube,

That wasn't enough info, could you expand on that?. LMAO...............

Good Writing, Kayote
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool]Get off my BASS. I coulda inflicted one of my "large" writeups on ya.

YAK ON! POWER TO THE YAKKERS...and all that stuff.
[signature]

[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Do we have enough bandwidth? [/size][/font][][cool]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool]Now you're askin' those really PERSONAL questions. Well, you can just byte me. I'm gonna pull up my folders and go home.

By the way...ain't this thread strayed a ways away from the original subject? Never see that happen on a well-moderated forum. (Snicker snicker).
[signature]

[Kent]

I was casting a road runner tipped with a nightcrawler on the Snake River last week and they loved it.
[signature]

[Kayote]

Hey Tube,

Peace Bro, I was just yankin your chain. Your write ups are always extremely informative and you are very generous with your time. I'm sure we are all truly appreciative of all the time you spend to educate anglers on the ways of the world. Keep up the good work my friend.

Good Fishing, Kayote
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool]I never took it any other way. Thanks for the kind comments. When I get back up there we're gonna have to get together and thrash some water together.

Ya can't beat fun.
[signature]

[FlyFishingMoose]

Hey TubeDude! I love those long drawn out highly informative write-up you give us. I've printed out many and keep them in a binder for future reference. You give us all a wealth of info.

Thanks again
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, FFM, caring and sharing. That's what this forum is all about. I have had the good fortune of having fished with a lot of folks with that same kind of attitude over the years, and I feel I would be ungrateful if I did not pass along what I can. Of course, sometimes my flying fingers outstrip my feeble thought processes...or vice versa...and all of a sudden I end up posting far more stuff than most people really want or need.

In my advanced years, I often get more pleasure out of helping others find some of the same enjoyment I have found than I do in going out and racking up a big fish count myself. That is especially true whenever younguns are involved, as I believe you have expressed a time or two.

I delude myself into thinking that I may have some writing skills, so I am prone to cranking out endless pages on short subjects. I have a pretty fair collection on a wide variety of subjects and I am happy to forward them to anyone who is masochistic enough to request them.

I also continue to read and experiment, and I am a world class net surfer. I love to get lost on the web while starting off looking for some minor thing and end up discovering a whole new gallaxy on a new fishing topic. Ain't it great? (No, my friends. It ain't just "adult"sites. I prefer naked fish pictures)

Thanks for letting me know that someone reads my meanderings.
[signature]

[FlyFishingMoose]

TubeDude,
Since I've never targeted just perch before the I'm at a lost as to what to use. I have some Panther Martin's and some curly tails and some other things.

I've just really gotten into fishing this past year, yeah I liked going out but I was just a wormer with a bobber.

Last fall I started getting interested in flyfishing, then I found BFT early this summer.

Now I need to expand the arsenal, and this is right place to learn what you need to do a better job fishing and to catch bigger fish.
[signature]