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+--- Thread: Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 (/showthread.php?tid=611328)
Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-02-2010
[cool][#0000ff]Didn't do too well on perch or walleyes today at Bunny Gulch (Starvation). Two excuses. One...the wind blew constantly...not serious but enough to make it tough for my brand of touch fishing. Two, the silly slimers wouldn't leave my lures alone long enough for anything else to get to them. Oh yeah, I had another "grand slime" (4 species) but it was much heavier on the slime today.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There was only a light ripple on the water when I launched about 7ish. But as soon as I headed out into the lake the wind picked up and it started white capping. Not good. Water temp was only 63 and I was glad I decided to wear waders today. 65 is about my lower limit for comfortable "wet" fishing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Worked the rock humps out from the launch area and got a few small smallmouth on crankbaits and jigs. Also started the dinkfest for the day on small perch. Always plenty of those. Couldn't work the deeper water the way I wanted in the building breezes so I decided to power across the lake with my electric motor. Tossed out a spinner to drag during the journey. Had to stop 3 times to rassle and release feisty rainbows. Silly slimers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Got to the other side of the channel and it was still plenty gusty. But I fished a double dropshot rig on one rod and a tandem plastic rig on the other. Very few fish on sonar. Finally found a group of likely prospects in about 28' of water. They must have all been rainbows. Didn't know DWR planted them so big. Average 16 to 17 inches. Just about every time I dropped into them I went bendo. Lots of leaping and cavorting too. Had to be careful not to whoop and holler too loud. Folks might think I was having fun. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fought the wind, a few perch and a lot of rainbows over the next couple of hours. Then the wind began to quiet down...for about 15 minutes...before picking up from the east. Looked like it planned to settle in for the day so I figured I would go back over to a couple of my spots on the south side of the channel and get off the water if it got too bad.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Started trailing my spinner again and again had to keep stopping to unhook acrobatic troutskis. Fun? Well, maybe a little bit. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finally got on my spot...for wallies. Didn't get much encouragement from the sonar. The only fish I saw all had their middle fins upraised and their little mouths closed. Did manage a few more dink perch and a handfull of wee wallies. Nothing keepable.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I heard Mama Nature taking a deep breath and getting ready to blow so I boogied in to shore. Surprised to see that I had about as many nice trout as perch. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hey gang, if you want to get the kids into some great fish, take them trolling for those rainbows. I was using a nickle spinner with red spots but they will hit almost anything...expecially if you sweeten it with a worm. Most of the ones I caught near the bottom hit the red and chartreuse jigs (RC Killers) but I also got them on whites and on pale perch. I have no doubt that I could have caught them on just about anything in the zone.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Some of the biggest bows and some nice browns have been coming to net on crankbaits. Fire tiger is always good but again almost any good wiggler will do the job. The guys dragging crawler harnesses are beginning to find the rainbows more of a nuisance than dink perch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fly flingers can have a ball on Starvation for the next few weeks. Drag around almost any size and color fly anywhere from top to bottom. Early in the morning on calm mornings the trout are on top slurping up whatever they find and you can cast to recent swirls and hook up. If you don't use a flyrod, bring some bubbles and flies. Anything that will catch bows in Deer Creek, Jordanelle or elsewhere will catch the ones in Starvation. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just in case there is a question, these fish have bright pink meat and are great eating. They live largely on a diet of the freshwater shrimp in the weedbeds of Starvation...but they also munch perchlets when they get a chance. I had one barf up a tiny perchie today as I was bringing it in.[/#0000ff]
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - brookieguy1 - 09-02-2010
I can see you now Pat, trying to hide that
while catching those fightin' 'bows. Nice job![signature]
Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - CoyoteSpinner - 09-02-2010
Not your usual cup-o-soup outa that water, but some pretty lookin' slimers, nevertheless. Maybe TopH2O and AlbinoTrout had cleaned out all the PHAT perch and Eyes before you got there.
Despite the wind - seems you found a few "tugs" to keep you busy, probably didn't use up as many worms as usual that way? AT talked up the fly-buggers getting snapped up by some plump slimers. Hadn't thought of just draggin those - might have to give that a go. Sounds like they've slapped on the fall-feed bag to fatten up as the cooler weather sets in.
Hey - it is Sept after all!!! (all of a sudden! eeeck!)
Thanks for the tips, the report, and another collection of telling photos. Nice on ya for sharing.
So - is there "primitive" camping around Bunny Gulch for those that can't make plans ahead of time? Or have the luxury of weekday fishn (sniff sniff).
Gonna hit Willard tomorrow after work. See if she'll share her riches with us this time...
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - albinotrout - 09-03-2010
Now I know you were having fun with those slimers.[cool] Cause I was when I was there tuesday. They hit and fight hard. I took me a little bit to bring them in they wanted to fight so much. The best part was the tail walk that they did for me to show how strong they were. Makes me wanna go out again.[sly]
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Re: [CoyoteSpinner] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-03-2010
"So - is there "primitive" camping around Bunny Gulch for those that can't make plans ahead of time?"
[cool][#0000ff]Primitive is all there is there. A few pit toilets, no running water and one centralized dump bin. There are lots of spots you can park a small trailer or pitch a tent. Absolutely NOBODY camped there today.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The water is murkier than it has been all summer and the temps are falling fast. That seems to trigger the troutskis. Should be good for a few weeks to come.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I was talking to a guy I see once in a while, in his boat. He is from Vernal and has been working hard to learn Starvation. We have both noticed that the larger perch are now scattered and tougher to find and catch. But he also scored a few decent perch today as well as a bunch of smallmouth...including one 18.5 incher. Nice fish from Starvy.[/#0000ff]
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Re: [albinotrout] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-03-2010
[cool][#0000ff]Hey, I love trout. Growed up with them as a kid in Idaho. I woulda killed to catch just one of those fish on any given day as a youngster.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I gotta admit that I was anticipating some trouticatin'. I had one rod rigged with a spinner and another with a bubble and fly before I even got to the lake. What does that tell ya?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have been hooking a few of those bows all year but only one or two a trip. Now that the water is chilling down they are really getting active. Okay with me. They bend my stick and zing my string just fine.[/#0000ff]
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - albinotrout - 09-03-2010
Even better on a fly rod.
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Re: [albinotrout] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-03-2010
[quote albinotrout]Even better on a fly rod.[/quote]
[cool][#0000ff]That is your personal opinion...to which you are entitled. Mine is that they are best on whatever tackle it takes to catch them...and which provides the greatest sport under the prevailing conditions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have caught a bajillion trout on fly rods. Okay, but not the ONLY way to catch them. I have also caught countless trout and other species on non fly rod tackle that would have been virtually impossible to catch using fly rod, line and reel.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ain't no purist and cain't abide elitist fly flingers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I once had a huge collection of fly rods. Down to about 5 or 6 and I have not strung one up in years. There is a reason.[/#0000ff]
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - high_n_dry - 09-03-2010
Great post as usual Pat.
You've been hitting Starvation pretty heavy this year. Usually I've been there a dozen times by now, but this weekend will be our first trip out on the boat this year.
Any idea how deep you were cranking when you caught the Rainbows on the lure? If they weren't too deep, I'll have to consider striping a streamer or two on the fly rod. I wouldn't mind a little slimmer action to break things up a bit.
Is that lure one of your custom creations?
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - albinotrout - 09-03-2010
I am not a purist by far. As you have seen I carry a wide array of rods from bait casters to ultra light spin outfits. I was just saying how much fun it is to fight a trout on a fly rod. I have caught many a trout on spoo[
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - JiggyJus10 - 09-03-2010
Thanks for the pics. Funny I spend tons and tons on lures and tackle and it seems like I don't have anything in my tackle box and what everyone else has looks better. I'll have to get some of those. Nice post.
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Re: [high_n_dry] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-03-2010
[cool][#0000ff]Yes, the spinner was one of my own creations. But almost any flashy spinner...or a Jakes lure...will work just fine.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The trout seemed to be at all levels. I caught them from the bottom...in 28' feet of water...to right on the top as soon as a spinner hit the water. When I was motoring back across the channel about noon I caught two or three fish almost immediately after casting my spinner back out after unhooking another fish. Didn't even get to put the rod into the rod holder. I hate it when that happens. HA HA.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Interesting though, is that I also caught a couple of trout by dropping the spinner down to mid depth and then jigging it like a jig. That works a lot. Just give it a couple of shakes and then let it sit...just like ice fishing. WHAMO.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As I mentioned, the water clarity has dropped of a lot. The lake has been super clear all year but with the water levels dropping it has exposed the mud banks around the lake. And with all the wind we have been having the waves have washed the mud into the lake. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That usually means that you will do better if you use something flashy or colorful for better visibility. If you are using flies don't overlook basic black. Big black wooly buggers are always effective in stained water. Black shows up better than bright colors in murky water. But don't forget purple, dark green or dark brown. They are good too...especially with a bit of tinsel or a bright red head.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I don't think you can count on any dry fly action but shallow to mid-depth stripping or trolling buggers or streamers should definitely put a few deep bends in your fairy wand. I suspect smaller patterns would work well too since the trout are feeding mostly on small invertebrates. Heck, a plain old hare's ear would probably get the job done...or a bead head prince nymph...especially when they are up swirling on the top.[/#0000ff]
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Re: [albinotrout] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-03-2010
[cool][#0000ff]Just pullin' yer chain. I know you are an "equal opportunity" angler. Glad you got to enjoy some long rod action. IT IS FUN.[/#0000ff]
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Re: [JiggyJus10] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-03-2010
[quote JiggyJus10]Thanks for the pics. Funny I spend tons and tons on lures and tackle and it seems like I don't have anything in my tackle box and what everyone else has looks better. I'll have to get some of those. Nice post.[/quote]
[cool][#0000ff]You don't have to bankrupt your family budget just to stock up your tackle box. The truth is that a few lures in the right sizes and colors will usually get the job done. Don't get caught up in lure envy. That's what the tackle manufacturers rely on to sell billions of dollars worth of worthless stuff...designed to catch fishermen...not fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I make most of my own flies, jigs, spinners and crankbaits. So I can play around with fancy designs and colors without breaking the bank. Sometimes they work better. Sometimes not. The key is to fish something enough to learn it well and have confidence in it. Whatever you can fish with confidence will produce more fish than just chucking and chancing with a new lure that you are still getting a feel for.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As long as you have a few good spinners and lures like Jakes in your arsenal you will be ready for most species on most waters. Have a few in brass and a few in silver or white. Fish the silver or white when the water is clear or the sun is high. The brass blades are generally (but not always) better when the water is murky or during low light levels.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Colorful spots and stripes can add to the appeal for some fish but are wasted on others. Making good casts and retrieving at the right depth and speed are most important. Those are things you have to determine on each trip. What depth are the fish feeding or cruising and how active are they. Do you have to wake them up with a fast retrieve or are they in slow mode? Keep changing up until you find the pattern.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - fish_fear_me2 - 09-03-2010
Once again you found the fishies. Trout that size from cooling water should be fun. And the trout from starvation have always been pink and firm. Another great post.
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - mactuna - 09-03-2010
Rainbow population seems to have exploded, have not caught as many as in years past.
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Re: [mactuna] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-03-2010
[cool][#0000ff]DWR made a huge plant in late fall of last year. Fish were in the 12" size range. Lots of them came through the ice over the winter...which made the ice tanglers feel better when they didn't catch any perch or walleyes. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]They have grown big and fast. Some of them are in the 18" class right now and will be over 20" and 3-4 pounds by next year. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have been catching at least one or two on almost every trip this year. Yesterday was some of the wildest trout action I have had since my late season trips to Huntington last year...and the fish were bigger than the tigers average at Huntington.[/#0000ff]
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - lavaman - 09-03-2010
Awesome as always. Glad you got into the troutskis, they're my personal fav to catch.
Of course, I haven't caught a Tiger Musky yet....
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Re: [lavaman] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - TubeDude - 09-03-2010
"Of course, I haven't caught a Tiger Musky yet...."
[cool][#0000ff]I have. Good to add to your fishing resume...for novelty and all that. But (my personal opinion) pound for pound carp fight better. Ditto for catfish. And those other species are not as likely to cause you to lose weight (blood) if they chomp you.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Seems like we always want that which is the most elusive.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But...about trout. I love rainbows for their battling characteristics. Tigers too. Hate cutts. Won't fish a water where cutts are the main species. Lousy fighters and often taste bad. Double whammy. Haven't wet a line in Strawberry in over 30 years. Almost enough to disqualify me for having a Utah fishing license. [/#0000ff]
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Re: [TubeDude] Rainbow-Rama at Rabbit Gulch 9-2-10 - lavaman - 09-03-2010
I haven't been to Strawberry in about 8-10 years. It's where I caught my biggest trout from this state- and from the shore with an ultra-light pole/4 lb. test. Accomplished what I needed to and haven't been back since, although I'd like to get back there again it's kinda out of the way for me.
I'll agree with you that Channels are fantastic fighters, as are Wipers.
I still want to hook into a Tiger Musky, though.
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