It's About To Get Crazy On Utah Lake

The White Bass are in the beginning stages of spawning at Utah Lake! Once you find them, the fishing is fast and furious. I landed several today in the half hour I had to fish before work. They will be the start of my cat fish bait supply to get me though the year. I have a feeling May is going to be epic!

Results of  30 minutes of fishing!

Eyeing the Walleye at Utah Lake

With spring brings all the different seasons of fish on Utah Lake. It starts off with the Walleye, which is really good fishing right now. The Walleye are doing their love dance this time of year. You will find them cruising rocky shorelines. Early morning and evenings have been the best for me. I've caught a couple on crank baits, but most have come from slowly working curly tails on the bottom. If you go out, bring lots of gear, because you will lose it in the rocks. Also, Please release all the females.

 

Last night a took my float tube out to a spot that is know to have good numbers of walleye. I left around 7:30 p.m. The lake was calm and peaceful other than the occasional carp letting me know they were there with their jumping tail dance. Once I arrived, I set up for the night and started making casts. I didn't have much action until it got dark. After losing two crank baits due to snags, I switched to the cheaper curly tail jigs to save my fishing budget. My first hook-up came about an hour into fishing. I got the fish to the net rather quickly, and it was a nice hen walleye which I released.

 

I landed a few smaller males after that, but they progressively got bigger as the night went on. When I hooked into the last fish of the night, I knew it was big. I felt a couple good head shakes as I battled this fish in the dark. When I got him to the net, I knew I had just landed the biggest male walleye I had ever caught. He measured out to 24 inches! On that note, I called it a night. I ended up catching nine walleye, with five keeper males. This was the best night of walleye fishing I've experienced. We will be eating well for the next few days. Now to find a good walleye recipe...

Beautiful calm night heading out.

Sight fishing at night.

Biggest hen of the night. All hens were released.

This big hen kept swimming within feet of the rock I was standing on.

Biggest male walleye of the night at 24 inches long.

Loaded up, and ready to head back to the truck.

I got 4.5 pounds of delicious Fillet's from tonight's outing.

Trips to the Jordan River and Utah Lake

 

This time of year, the fishing can be hit and miss on both Utah Lake and the Jordan River depending on the weather.The past week, we've had all four seasons of weather which has really messed up the fishing. The first trip to the Jordan, I managed a little largemouth bass, while seeing countless other fish that had lockjaw. It was the same story this morning when I took my niece and nephews out to fish. The day went from cold and windy, to hot, then back to cold and really windy in a two hour period. We all got casting practice while on the river, and that was it!

We fished Utah Lake for about a half hour, and managed a really nice 26 inch hen walleye. She was chuck full of eggs, so we got a few quick pictures and released her back in the lake safe and sound. The walleye spawn is happening now, so now is the best chance to catch a few. Please release any females that you catch if you go out. The cold wind made short work of us at Utah Lake, so we called it a day. I'm hoping in a month when they come to visit again, the white bass will be ready to tangle.

Schools of two inch black bullhead catfish.

Only fish from the Jordan.

 

Spiderman pole.. check... game face... check!

26 inch hen Walleye.

Check out those chompers...

First Carpin of the Year

I took a few hours today and went to Utah Lake to scout out some of the spots I like to hit. People are still ice fishing the harbors, but the lake is really starting to open up. It won't be long until we will be able to launch the toon and get after it.

 

I checked several spots, seeing if I could see anything to cast to. Most spots had nothing to speak of, but one spot was chuck full of carp. It was game on, as I tied on an orange and black beaded woolly bugger and made my first cast. It took me some time to figure out what presentation they wanted, but once I did, carp were more than willing to dance. The bite was crazy light, and I missed several fish.  I finally had a good hook set, and I started to strip him in. I don't think the carp knew he was hooked for the first few seconds, but my drag let me know as it started singing as he tore off . There is seriously not a better sound in the world than the sweet song of burning drag!

 

I played the fish for several minutes before I got him to shore. I had a little tripod for my phone that I used to get a few pictures (I need to work on that). I ended up landing a few more before I packed it in. I'll take four carp in two hours anytime. admittedly, this made that itch to get out on soft water that much worse. spring can't come fast enough.

First Carp of 2014.

 

Even ugly fish need some love...

A shot of the second victim.

Fish Tacos and More Fishing

After the nice day of catching white bass and catfish, Roger and I decided to have a fish fry. Roger was nice enough to share his batter recipe with me (I'm working on having him let me post it because it's goooood)! We decided to make fish tacos, and I'll tell ya, they were some of the best I've ever eaten! Roger fried up the fish to perfection! We used corn tortillas and put cabbage, chopped cilantro and onions, a touch of tarter sauce, and some green salsa from a local Mexican restaurant called Beto's. We topped it with a splash of lemon juice and then ate til we about popped.

 



Almost time to chow down!

Best fish tacos I've had.

After we had our fill and cleaned up, my Father-in-law called and wanted to go fishing. Since my wife was headed to a concert with her sister, it was game on for another afternoon fishing trip. After eating, I wanted to go catch more white bass. That, with finding out that my Father-in-law had never caught a white bass on the fly, we decided to go back to my honey hole. We launched around 6 p.m. and were lucky enough to get the spot all to ourselves. I kept joking that I'd catch one on the first cast, but it turned out I got one on the first three! The hole was on fire again, and it was great seeing my father-in-law get his first white bass. He couldn't believe how fast the fishing was. We landed 50 in the hour we fished and kept 15 big ones for the fryer. Purple Woolly Buggers were the trick again.

Future fish taco.

All the keepers were about this size.

one of many doubles we had today.

Headed back after a successful trip.

We made it back to my house and started filleting the bass. While we were doing that, Roger came over to see how we did and to shoot the breeze. While we were all talking, it was decided that we needed to end the day with a night fishing trip to add some catfish to the mix, so we finished cleaning the fish, put the boats away and were off again.

 

We went to Pelican Bay Marina, since Roger did well there a week ago. We landed four catfish while we were there, but it was pretty slow going. The bait of choice was a chunk of white bass meat. we called it quites after a few hours. I love the time and stories shared on these fishing trips with family and friends. It really doesn't matter if you catch fish or not when you're with great company.

 

Night fishing at Pelican Point Marina.

Roger with the first catfish of the night.

Utah Lake by Land and Sea

Roger and I skipped the river today, and instead headed to Utah Lake to try our luck there. We wanted to have a fish-fry tomorrow, so Roger set up on the bank to go after catfish, and I headed out on my pontoon in search of white bass. As I headed to my honey hole, I fished for carp along the way. but the wind made you some difficult casting. I had a few chances at them, but no one came to the party. I continued on to a spot that usually holds white bass and started flingin flys.

 

I made my way around the area for about 20 minutes before I found them, and once I did it was game on! I started out using a purple wooly bugger, and the fish were fighting over it. As I stripped in line, I could see several flashes in the water as several whites were jockeying to see who got to eat it. I even had a little large mouth bass that took it.

 

After I landed several on the wolly bugger, I switched to a clouser minnow, and the fun continued. It got to wear I would only cast my leader out and drag it towards me, and I would get takes. It goes without saying that I love days like today. I ended the day catching 70 fish and keeping 63 white bass for the fish fry and also for catfish bait.

 

When I got back to the marina, I found that Roger had also gotten into some fish. He held up a stringer with four bullheads and a nice channel catfish. He also tangled with a big carp, and was able to land him. Needless to say, the trip was a success, and I can already taste the fish tacos we'll be eating tomorrow.

 

First hook-up today



even this little Large Mouth Bass  seemed to love the purple wooly bugger.

The clouser minnow got in on the action as well.

One of the bigger ones

Roger's four bullhead cats and nice channel catfish with my 63 keepers. Fish tacos, here we come!

Utah Lake Carpin'

The Carp are here! I launched from American Fork Harbor to gusting winds. There were white caps in the open lake so I hugged the shoreline which helped. I found schools of Carp all over once I left the marina. I started out with my fly rod casting a few different dry patterns, but the wind was really affecting my accuracy. It would take several casts before I got the fly where I wanted it. Once I did, more often than not today, It was fish on!

As I cruised along the reeds looking for rising schools of Carp, I also got to enjoy seeing all the waterfowl swimming around me. There were a variety of different ducks and several pelicans. Once I spotted a dark patch of water in front of me though, It was time to focus on fishing again. I was typically able to get some action on most of the bigger schools, and the drag on my reel was put to the test repeatedly. These Carp don't like to give up. After a few hours, I called it quits for the day. The Carp should be pretty thick for the next month, so now is the time to get out if you've ever wanted catch one on a fly.

The hunting ground.

Three different schools. Take the closest to you and work your way in.

It was tough casting dries in the wind, but it paid off.

Some spinning rod action when the wind was to bad to cast.

Another Carp on!

Several this size were landed today.

Recon Trip To Utah Lake

It's almost time to start "Carpin" again! It's still a touch early, But I decided to do some recon and see what I could find. I launched at American Fork boat harbor at around 10 in the morning. and fished until Noon. I mostly cruised around to some of go-to spots for Carp to see if any were rising yet. Upon arriving, most areas were empty of any signs of fish. I made some blind casts in each spot but came us with nothing.

The last spot I went to had three carp that I could see right ion the serface. I made several casts at them without so much as a look. I switched from a purple wolly bugger to a brown one and my second cast had action. I set the hook, and the fight was on! I kicked away from the shore line to get away from anything breaking me off. Seriously, the fight that a Carp will give you is hard to match in freshwater. I landed him after several times of getting him close, only to have him make another run. I think it's going to be couple more weeks before you start seeing big numbers of Carp on the surface. All-in-all, it was a great two hour trip.

 

First Carp of 2013.

The Lake Giveth, And The Lake Taketh Away

I took a lunch break and hit Utah Lake. I took my 4 weight rod to target white bass. I got my tube set up and headed to the spot where I've been smashing the white bass. I made my my first cast, Then another. Could it be? The white bass didn't want to play today? I made several more casts and tried several different flies without so much as a single hit. How can it go from catching a fish on every cast to not a peep in just a few days? I found this rather odd, so I moved to another spot.

On the way I saw some carp, and I couldn't help but make some casts even though I only have my 4 weight. I soon had something on and the line started ripping off my reel. I kicked out from the reeds and tried controlling the fish, but he wouldn't have it. This carp could do whatever it wanted. It made a run for open water which helped me out big time. I continued to fight this fish for what seemed like an eternity before I finally landed him. This carp was all my rod could handle! I left him in the net and head to a white bass spot. I cast and let it sink some before stripping the line. All at once I had another fish on, and it felt to big to be a white bass. I kicked out to deeper water and the fish kept trying to bulldog his way to the bottom. When I finally got my first glimpse of what it was, I couldn't believe what I had on. It was a channel catfish! I had no idea they would hit a fly. I soon landed him and the excitement I felt was amazing! I left him in the net as well, And made more attempts at white bass with no luck.

I decided to call it a day and started heading back to the marina. I stopped and made some casts at several carp with no takes. Then it happened again! Same story as earlier. The carp did what it wanted and it took forever to tire him out. While trying to land him, my catfish made it out of the net which was a bummer, but I finally landed my second carp of the day. I kept him and made one last cast, and it's a cast I wish  I could take back. I snagged up on something and in trying to get the snag loose, I snapped my rod in two! Could I really be this dumb? I can land carp on a 4 weight, But I break my rod on a stupid snag? I felt sick to my stomach! To make it worse, it was a new custom built rod I've only had since March and this was the second time I used it. The rod came with a lifetime guarantee, so I hope I'll be able to get it fixed. It was a horrible way to end what was a great day of fishing.

My First Channel Catfish on a fly!

The Purple woolly bugger was loved by all... except the white bass.

24" and 26" Carp landed on a 4 weight rod.

Not the way I wanted to end the day! I could punch myself right now!

100 Fish Day

That's right, Utah Lake produced a 100 fish day for me today! Actually it was 161 total in four hours of fishing. The weather was perfect today and no wind to speak of. Except for a couple of ski boats that thought they had to fly by me within casting distance, It was a perfect day! All the white bass were caught on clouser minnows and wolly buggers, and it was insane! Many times I didn't even have to cast. I would simply drop my fly from the end of my rod and they would smack it. I even had a fish take off with my wolly bugger while it was dangling in the water while I took a picture. I've never seen anything like this.
On the way back to the marina, I noticed a school of carp, so I pulled out the 8 weight, and after a few casts had a carp on. It fought for a few minutes before coming to the net. It's interesting netting a fish when your net already has 10 fish in it. I took the last 10 white bass I caught along with the carp for some catfish bait. I'm planning on night fishing a few nights this week. Hopefully the kitties will be as fast fishing as the white bass. We will soon find out...

Clouser minnow pattern

Clouser minnow pattern

There's room for everyone!

Future catfish bait.

Acrobatic White Bass Came To Play

We lucked out and had another perfect day, so I took a few hours and headed back to Utah Lake to try out the white bass with my fly rod. This was a first for me, but after the success I had with the carp yesterday, I figured why not? I headed to a spot I have had success in the past with spinners and there was a fisherman already there. He told me he had caught thirty or so and I watched him catch a few while we talked. He was packing up and he asked if I wanted the spot to which I gladly took it.

Once I got in and settled, I tied on a fly (I have no idea what the name of it is) and on my first cast I had a fish on! It didn't take long to land, and I can now take this species off my list of fish caught on a fly! I caught a dozen or so in the short time I was there and lost more than that. It was such a fun couple of hours. I tied on several different colors of wolly buggers and they all saw fish as well. All the fish were in the 10"-11" range and all were released. I guess you could say I have caught the fly fishing "bug".

My first white bass on a fly rod!

They are very acrobatic and fun to catch...

...finally got him to the net!

They love wolly buggers. It didn't seem to matter the color.

A few pelicans that buzzed over my head.