Saturday on Friday at Indian Bay 8-20-10

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe and I got blown off Starvation on Monday. Couldn't get back until today. Weather forecast was good and figured there would probably not be too many weekenders camped out there yet. FIGURED WRONG.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The spot we wanted to launch was blocked off by a city of large trailers, 5th wheels and motorhomes. No way anybody could get near the beach to launch within a hundred yards of the "Indian Bay Barrio". Looks like Friday is the new Saturday.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We backtracked a ways and then use 4 wheel drive across mud, sand and rock to find a launch spot. Albinotrout, Mama Trout and the Minnows came in behind us but did not follow us all the way to our spot in their van. Good move.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Slight breeze at 7 am launch. Water temp just under 67...down 1 degree from Monday. Early fall?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I started fishing deeper water, hoping to find some wallies early. We did...barely. 10 to 13 inchers. But walleyes...or wall-ettes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Moved shallower and got into a major dink perch fest. Vacuumed the worms off our jigs as fast as we could drop them down. Not good. Hooked and snagged a few, but no keepers. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I finally had eeeeenuffff and fired up my electric motor and chugged over to the area where TubeBabe and I had harvested a few decent perch on Monday before getting blown off the lake. Good move. Eight big perch in eight drops...as fast as I could get down. Hollered to TubeBabe on the walkie talkie and she came "screaming" over in her motorized tube. But, that is when the breeze/ripple died down and so did the fishing. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Over the next three hours I bagged another 8 keeper perch, a couple more wall-ettes and some small-ettes...small smallies. TubeBabe dinged a footlong here and there to put a few in her basket. Kevin also scored a few nice perch and smallies but he was no-keepum today.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The early walleyes were in 25 to 40 feet of water. Caught some later as shallow as 20 feet. The bigger perch were from 18' to 22', with a few shallower and a few deeper. I caught fish on a variety of my favorite lures and rigs. Roadrunners in red/chartreuse and pale perch caught both walleyes and big perch...and some smallmouth. My double dropshot rig with weightless tube jigs...red/chartreuse or white with red eye...caught quite a few also...as did my "flig" rig...floating jig head above a "hanger shot" sinker...a piece of clothes hanger (see pic).[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most of the fish I kept had no food in them. But some of them had 4" perch...fairly fresh. The smallies had bits of crawdad peeking out from their throats.[/#0000ff]
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[jamon_negro]

Well done! I wish I could get back over there, but won't be able to since school starts next week. I still need to make it over one of these days for another tacklecraftology lesson. Thanks for the great report.
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[bearnk82]

How do you eat the perch you catch? Just fry them or are they good smoked?

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I am sure they would be good smoked, but it is a shame to waste such a delicate flesh on smoking. Lots of larger and more flavorful fish for the smoker...like catfish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here are some of our favorite ways of preparing perch:[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]1. Sauteed in garlic butter and then served over noodles or rice...with the pan drippings.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. Oven baked for about 15 - 20 minutes at 350, after seasoning with garlic salt, seasoned pepper, lemon zest, sesame seeds and butter.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]3. Same as above...only sprinkled with sweetened coconut and finished off with the oven broiler for a few minutes at the end to toast the coconut.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]4. Fried. Use dry coatings of seasoned flour...or a mix of cornmeal and flour. Or, use your favorite beer batter or breading mix after dipping in egg wash. You can also make a coconut batter with 1/3 rice flour, 2/3 all purpose flour, seasonings and shredded coconut. Roll the water wet fillets in dry flour first and then into the thin coconut batter.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]5. Shrimp-rice "stuffing". Over a 1" layer of precooked rice, add sauteed mushrooms, onions, celery and some canned shrimp or small pieces of fresh shrimp. Put a layer of perch fillets over that, season with choice of seasonings, dot generously with butter and bake at 350 until fillets are flaky. The juices run down into the rice and it all eats real good.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]6. Pig out perch chowder. See attached recipe.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]7. Oh yeah, perch also makes great ceviche...Mexican pickled fish. Put a few 1" pieces of perch fillet in a shallow glass bowl. Add some chopped onion, tomato, green chiles (and/or jalapenos), cilantro and garlic. Sprinkle on some cayenne pepper and add salt to taste. Cover with lime juice...or a 50/50 mix of lime and lemon juice for less tartness. Let sit in the refrigerator a few hours and then serve with chips and "refreshments". By the way, Triscuits are great for putting a piece of fish on...scooping a bit of the veggies and some juice...and then munch down.[/#0000ff]
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Yet another Grand Day Out of TD and TB.
And Perchfest 2010 continues!

Another great post - another great bag. Nicely done, thanks for sharing.

Actually hit into some perch myself. Son and friend wanted to go swimming, so requested a run to Hyrum Friday afternoon. After realizing I wasn't going to catch any bass - turned onto the perch nibblers, and started bringing them in. Dinks by your def! But they were fish nevertheless! Kept me busy enough I never didn't get to targetting trout...

I'll put up a post - but wanted to thank you for the timely recipes. Have some fillets (and some fresh bait-eyes), and was just pondering how I'd prep-em. Always good with butter....hmmmmm buuuuuuttteeeerrrrrr.

Also curious - on your "labelled" photo- you mention "perch rash" and hence the gloves. Do you get itchy palms from handling fish?
My son has (ly) developed fish-allergies. Salmon in particular - makes his mouth tingly. He LOVES Salmon ('specially once I learned how to smoke it right!), but seems trout-salmon, we don't know what else 0- make him react. So he's just kinda scared off fish. Hope he grows out of it. (big ocean fish don't seem a problem, not sure about kitties and such. Trout-n-Salmon are so close, and oily fish...). My daughter is a fish monger! And will eat-n-eat fish! Yay I say.

But I notice my hands - palms - get all itchy when I've worked a batch of fillets. Is that just general scaly irritation or allergy? Seems you've had some experience with the same sensations..... Just wondering.

Sounds like Starvation is kinda busy of late - on the weekend. Isn't there a campground close for destruction or some such? Guess I'd better make advance reservations if I'm hoping to go over Labor day. So - Friday is the new Saturday, so maybe I should go up Thursday...spend more time on the water....

Chus.
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[TubeDude]

"Also curious - on your "labelled" photo- you mention "perch rash" and hence the gloves. Do you get itchy palms from handling fish?"

[cool][#0000ff]That is a euphemistic term I use to describe what my hands look and feel like the day after a sustained perch handling session. In addition to the sharp spines, perch have very sharp protrusions on their gill covers that can cut you deeply and painfully. Small perch are not as bad. But when I am catching a few bigger perch I like to wear the protective glove. They are quite strong and can twist and turn to inflict the painful cuts and punctures when you handle them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am not qualified to guess as to the cause of the allergy reaction your son has to handling specific species of fish. That is a job for a medical professional specializing in allergies. I believe they call them "allergists". Imagine that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I used to work on fishing boats in California and some of the guys occasionally had a bout of "fish poisoning" in their hands. But, it was usually a case of getting stuck by too many of the poisonous spiny rays on some of the rockfish species we caught and filleted.[/#0000ff]
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"Sounds like Starvation is kinda busy of late - on the weekend. Isn't there a campground close for destruction or some such? Guess I'd better make advance reservations if I'm hoping to go over Labor day. So - Friday is the new Saturday, so maybe I should go up Thursday...spend more time on the water.... "

[#0000ff]They are in the middle of a major "makeover" on the lower (main) campground at the state park. A lot of the spaces have been closed for awhile which creates overflow into the other camp areas. That is a big part of the reason for more camping activity at Indian Bay. The guys with the big rigs usually prefer to stay where there are hookups and running water. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you are planning to go there over labor day you will not be admitted without your Masochists Anonymous membership card. It will be a zoo and I am not sure you could get reservations even now.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most years the overall activity drops drastically once school starts and the water temps start dropping in the fall. Power squadron bozos are wimps. Some hang in there with wetsuits for skiing and wakeboarding but the sissies with daddy's boats prefer to stay close to home and warm inside activities.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We usually like to plan our fishing trips for Tuesdays and Thursdays...before or after the weekend (and Friday) onslaught. But Mama Nature plays a big part in our planning and sometimes we gotta settle for fishing on days we would rather not be out playing with all the wackos.[/#0000ff]
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[albinotrout]

It was a great day for a perch fest on starvation. I used the drop shot rig again. I am starting to get the hang of it. Only used it three times now. Had a double on it once as well. Mamatrout tried out her new motor. She had fun for a little bit then went in to hang with the minnows who preferred to play on the beach and in the water rather than fish today. Lost count of how many fish caught, but still had fun!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]It was good to see the whole fam dambly together again. Glad everybody had a good time. When we met at Maverik in Heber it looked like somebody (daughter minnow) wasn't happy about having to get up that early.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also glad you guys (evidently) made it up out of that soft sand.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Apologies to Mamatrout. She yelled goodbye to us as we were spinning up the hill...trying to beat that nut job with the huge boat who was parking in front of the access road. Didn't have time to stop and exchange goodbyes.[/#0000ff]
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[albinotrout]

Yeah the nut job tried backing down on us as well on the beach. Didn't take long to convince him there were better places to launch. Told him he really wanted to sink and get stuck in that location. He quickly left to the old highway area. We were able to get out easily. Van is AWD. Glad that I really don't like the weekends. TOO many crazies out there to avoid.[:p]
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[WaveWolf]

[#800000][size 2]Hmm......That first recipe looks good........I'll bet some perch scampi poured over some pan fried raman noodles would be good.........I'll have to give that one a shot next week.[/size][/#800000]
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[waljustia]

Those eyes on those little tubes look really good. Is it just the vinyl paint you use on the jigs? How does it hold up on the plastic?

You just using a small aberdeen hook for those weightless tandem droppers?
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[TubeDude]

[quote waljustia]Those eyes on those little tubes look really good. Is it just the vinyl paint you use on the jigs? How does it hold up on the plastic?

You just using a small aberdeen hook for those weightless tandem droppers?[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]The eyes are permanently painted on with a special plastic paint made by SpikeIt and sold by Barlows [url "http://www.barlowstackle.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&User_ID=6773923&st=4795&st2=64015372&st3=68715471&Product_ID=3236&CATID=54"]LINK[/url] . It is a paint, not just a dye, like I use on my red and chartreuse plastics. It dries within a few minutes and does not peel off easily. I have tried the vinyl jig paints and they do not work.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I just started using the eyes on them. BINGO. They really seem to add attraction. I use the chartreuse with black pupil on the RC plastics and a plain red spot on the whites. I plan to experiment with using larger plastics and doing some multiple red spots on larger white tubes. Should be killer at Da Berry and other trout hangouts.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]I have tried both regular jig hooks and aberdeen hooks for rigging the tubes. Both work but I prefer the aberdeen because they are easier to rig with a true dropshot knot or dropper setup. Pic attached.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Still experimenting with both single and double dropshot rigs. Also using fligs (floating jigs) for some of the dropshot lures. Good results so far.[/#0000ff]
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[FishKillr]

Another great Starvation trip - Pics, n Post,

Shawn M
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[LloydE]

Another great fishing report with very informative pictures. I have said this before, but I really enjoy your reports. I can do some vicarious sharing because they are so detailed! I also enjoy your reports because I know about many of the lures you use, and I also get the opportunity to see some of your new creations.

I guess I just don't know where Indian Bay is. I looked at my Starvation map and still couldn't find where it was. In any event, the fishing and water conditions seemed to be good for you and the group. I have been trying to find a good weather day to go to Starvation, but I obviously missed one good day.

If you go again sometime in the near future, let me know and I will drive up to join your group.

Great report as usual!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Here is a map to help with Indian Bay location.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Basically, you head for the main state park facilities and launch ramp. A few hundred yards before you get there you will see a road cutting off to the left (west) and it is marked Indian Bay. It is the old Hwy 40 which goes into the lake and comes out at Rabbit Gulch, across the lake. The road is suitable for launching and is used a lot by boats of all sizes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is a dirt road that cuts off to the left before you reach the water. It winds out around the bay through some primitive camping spots and some good places to launch tubes and toons. We like to park out at the very end and fish different depths near the shoreline. The river channel cuts in close to that area so you can go from shallow to over 80 feet of water in a short distance. Great highway for the fish to cruise through and come up on the shallows to feed.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No trips to Starvy planned this week. TubeBabe is leaving for a trip to Arizona later int he week and the weather is "iffy". PM me and we might be able to plan something around the weather forecasts for next week.[/#0000ff]
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[TopH2O]

Glad to see your report with good perch results at Starvation. I'm headed over tomorrow morning and little brother from Sportsman's is meeting me. I think we'll try some bottom bouncing for the 'eyes before we do the perch search. Hope to see you again on the water.
Mike
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Good luck and either post a report or send me a PM. Codgertatin' on getting back over there Thursday my own self. Just can't stay away.[/#0000ff]
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