We are in a “transition” time as far as the cats go. The weather has been up and down, with enough cooler air to drop the water temps. Cats are always sensitive to fronts and temperature drops.
They are still around and still feeding, but not around the reeds and close-in shoreline as much as a month ago. The water level has also been dropping and that is an unsettling factor for them. Lots of them are probably looking for deeper water to wait out the changes.
**I hit Lincoln Beach last week and the only hits I could get were out in over 5 feet of water. Before that they were in 2-3 feet of water. **
Another factor that is slowing the fishing down is the abundance of food in the water right now. In addition to all of the baby white bass and carp minnows there has been an explosion of crawdads this year. The mudbugs are high on a channel cat’s list of delectables and they can chow down at night and sleep it off during the day.
Once the water temps drop below 70, on the way to 65, there is usually a big feeding spree among all the predators. They realize that colder water and leaner days are on the way. That is when the walleye get active again and you can often do very well all day on foraging kitties.
**I will be doing a meetup trip with a tuber from New York on Friday or Saturday. We will probably hit Lincoln Beach again. He wants his wife to hook a big kitty. I got a 6 pounder last week and typically catch some of my bigger cats of the year when the water starts cooling in the fall. **
So, it ain’t over 'til it’s over. Just a little more difficult right now. I guarantee there will be a new pattern established very soon. And, inside Lindon can be very productive and so can American Fork. You just gotta keep putting in the time and changing up until you find the hot ticket.
Forget the exotic baits. Use white bass meat or minnows. If you can find a spot to trap some crawdads, use those. That’s why shrimp can be effective on Utah Lake at times. It has the old crustacean odor.
I plan to be hitting Utah Lake A LOT in the next couple of months. I got a hankerin’ to bend my stick and stretch my string on some bigger fish…walleyes and cats. I will be doing a thorough checkout of all the usual spots around the lake and will try to come up with some real info to pass along.
Good luck on your trip and let us know how you do. I’m not sure about American Fork, but I think they close the park at Lindon about 10 PM.