Bunny Gulch Birthday

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Today was my birthday. At my age I no longer celebrate them. I try to not even think about them. So I went fishing. TubeBabe and I met up with albinotrout at Starvation's Rabbit Gulch. First time there for him in about 10 years.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water level has dropped about 2 feet in the last week. Water temp was 66 when we launched about 7:30. Rose a couple of degrees during the day before we got off the water just after 1.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe was first launched and took care of the first fish jinx. I left her to work a slot outside the rock hump and I moved on to prospect along the edges of the channel. Kevin kinda worked all over, getting familiar with the lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe had a couple of keeper perch in the basket before I brought in anything besides a dinkster. But then I found the ZONE. There was one area between 32 and 34 feet deep that warranted my tossing over the marker buoy and working it more thoroughly. Unlike many other areas in the last three weeks most of the fish were at least 10 inch basket perch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I probably had close to 20 eaters in the basket by the time it slowed down. I had also caught quite a few dink perch and had one session in which I brought in at least 12 to 15 micro walleyes...all under about 10 inches. Yeah, I know, fish for the future. But if I added them all together they wouldn't have made one good fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I had been experimenting with a new "double dropshot" rig...sinker on the bottom and two weightless 1 1/2" plastics above...at 14" and 30" above the weight. Piece of worm and drag it across the bottom as I vertical jigged something else. Got several of my biggest perch on that rig.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About 11 AM the perchin' had slowed way down. Then my rod with the double dropshot went way down...and I was bendo on a bigger wallie. Yeah baby. Just a notch under 20 inches. Fine eatin'. Happy birthday to me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]During the lull I heard the sound of an approaching boat and looked around to see ripnlips and his child bride Robin coasting in for a chit chat. He said they had been camping up on the hill at the State Park for a couple of days. Wind had spoiled their boating part of the time but they had caught a bunch of small perch and some eaters too. They had to leave to make an ice run, since they were out. Good to see you guys. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Scaled down my vertical jig offering to something smaller...to catch the increasingly finicky bigger perch. Continued to score one here and one there as I moved back across the channel toward our starting point. I figured we would probably leave the water about 1ish...since that is usually when the "breezes" start picking up. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There had been some building clouds and we had commented that they were looking serious. One of them suddenly developed a big leak and there was a brief 3 minute downpour...just as I went bendo on another nice size walleye. Got it in and managed to take a picture with the rain in the background. Cool. That one was just a notch over 20 inches. Very satisfactory on my new 5 1/2' ultralight rod I just made.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I picked up a couple more decent perch and a couple of dinks and then the weather looked like it might get hinky so we all agreed to scoot to shore. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Kevin only ended up with a couple of porky perch but like us he also got to play with a lot of tiny tykes. He also released a couple of the wee wallies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe brung in almost a dozen decent perch and released a bunch more smaller ones...as well as some small fry walleye.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I was more than happy with the basket I brought in. Enough to finish off the fixin's for the family fish fry chowder pot and a couple of meals of walleye fillets. Pretty darn good birthday if you ask me.[/#0000ff]
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[Bassassin714]

Well I'm glad to see the fishin' gods were shining bright on your birthday ( or Un-birthday)!!! however you wanna look at it. Happy B-day TD !!! Hope you enjoyed your day, looks like your gonna have a full schedule with that basket you managed to fill. You accepting presents? I see you've yet to commit to some shade on your ride, could help with alot of that weather you guys experience up there, not to mention winds not much of an issue now with that sweet trollin
setup.[cool]
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[albinotrout]

Happy birthday to you TD and happy birthday to me as well. For tomorrow is my big day.[cool] Colors I used were a chartreuse plastic grub with red fleck to catch my first walleye of the day. Actually it was the first ever for me as well. [sly] Pic attached. Also found after the first plastic was destroyed by perch and put on a chartreuse with silver fleck that they preferred the red fleck today, Last time I came the smallies preferred smoke colored with silver fleck. Yeah I know its a small one but it was fun on 4 lb test and an ultralight rod.[] Used one of TD's red glitter with chartreuse as well, found that the pech would rather impail themselves on it then hook in their mouth. Got a small three incher that way right through the middle. Nice of im to volunteer at bait. Hooked it onto one of TD's pech colored jigs and wham, three nice perchies in a row, Kept only two of them though. Had several bites while I tormented the perch as well. Took the fish homne and mamatrout had a fish fry. Going to have to go back real soon![] Gotta play with the rock pile to find them smallies!
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[albinotrout]

With as hot as it was earlier today I was actually thinking of adding some shade.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]SHADE? I don' need no steenking shade. I lived in Arizona over 20 years and fished in over a hundred degree weather lots of times. Fried my brain but fishin' was usually pretty good. 90 degree days in Utah are enough to make me put on a jacket.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I actually rigged a Bimini shade cover at one time. It worked okay but was in the way more than it helped. And when the breeze came up it became a sail. Yeee hawww. Looka da water skier.[/#0000ff]
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[mamatrout]

[fishin] Happy B- Day Tube Dude. Thats why I was glad Kevin got out ,it's his B-day Wed. Sounds like ya had alot of fun. Sorry I did'nt make it Kevin still have to work on his daughter to get out on her boat before I commit to coming.[cool] Till then Kevin has some work to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![fishin]
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[peter805]

Very nice going big guy !!! Happy B-day.[]

Peter
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[idahopanfish]

Happy birthday TD, yes that was a wonderful birthday[cool]
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[pa]

Happy B-day TD. Good work.

pa
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks guys.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, in case anybody is wondering what my age REALLY is...it's PLENTY NINE.[/#0000ff]
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[wagdog]

Happy Birthday, Pat. Mine was on the 18th but I didn't get to celebrate it fishing. A basket full of perch and a big walleye sounds like a great present to me. I'm trying to sneak off to Utah Lake tomorrow if I can figure out how to remove the chain from my leg to my cubicle at work.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]We had been planning a trip to the Knolls tomorrow but bagged it when Mama Nature decided to get huffy about it.[/#0000ff]
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[Bluegillman]

Happy Plenty-Nine Birthday Fella![fishin]
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[albinotrout]

Sorry to hear mama nature finally caught up with ya. Took a little time today myself for a quick trip to the Colorado River and had a little fun harassing the fish until mama nature found me as well and dumped a bucket of water on me.[:/] Maybe I will try again tomorrow morning and see what else I can pull out of there.
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