Can you buy those tubes in the red or do you make them yourself.
Those are the Southern Pro Sparkle Lil Hustlers with Scent. LINK TO CABELAS If you buy from Cabelas they are the #205…red sparkle top and hot chartreuse tail. But…they are seldom in stock at the store. The good news is that Sportsmans also carries that brand…but may also be out of that color. They are popular. You can also order them through Barlows.
I don’t take chances on running out. I almost always have several packages. Don’t leave home without them.
I get both the 1 1/2" and the 2". I fish them on 1/16 oz. heads most of the time…size 4 hook for the 1 1/2" and size 2 hook for the 2". If fishing a tandem rig in shallow water I will often rig with two 1/32 oz. heads to keep the sink slower.
"I tried to filet the bass, but by the time you cut the filets and take out the lateral line there is nothing left. I guess maybe you only keep larger ones. The ones that I caught and some of those that were caught around me were all about the same. The old timers told me told me that the bigger ones haven’t started yet. "
What kind of knife do you use for filleting? For a small fish they do have fairly tough bones…more than perch. That’s why I use an electric. Goes a lot faster and the fillets are much better. I filleted over a hundred at one time last week with my electric. Took me just under an hour and the fillets were all decent cookable fillets. Ended up with a couple of good meals fresh and several packages for the freezer.
If you wait for the “bigger ones” to come in you may have a long wait. The current average size of white bass in Utah Lake right now is only about 10" to 11". A 12 incher is rare and it has been a long time since they averaged any larger. Back at the end of the last drought…in 2004…white bass numbers were way down and we were getting some 14 inchers. Since then I have caught a few in that size range and heerd tell of a 16 incher. But you know how white bass lie.
In truth, the males average slightly smaller than the females of the same age class. And the males have been the most abundant so far. But when spring finally gets here (maybe August) you will be able to catch both sexes and if you are selective you can keep only the (slightly) larger ones. Keep all you can because the lake only benefits from heavy harvest.
Pelican Lake? One of my favorite spots in Utah. But not with current gas prices. Too many other good places to fish that don’t require taking out a third mortgage to finance the trip. Starvation is bad enough…but good enough to justify a ride share trip once in a while.
I recently bought some smaller blades for my electric knife and that is what I used … I cut out a decent filet, until I tried to take out the dark red lateral line … I guess I should use a razor knife or invent a razor scoop of some kind, to take out the lateral line. The ones I caught were all about 10 inch males.
Do yourself a favor and save yourself some time…and fish flesh. Forget the dark strip. Not big enough to make a difference on white bass. It can affect the flavor of larger fish, like wipers, but not even noticeable on whities.
I have an American Angler with two sets of blades. I prefer the small blades for perch, white bass, bluegills, etc. Once I get in the rhythm I can do some serious slabbin’…with good results. But if I lose focus and do not concentrate I start “turnin’ big ones into little ones”. Then I take a brief break**, exercise the fingers and go back at it.**
My process is to slab and skin with the electric. Then I lay the skinless fillets rib side up on a board and “batch” the rib removal process For that I use a small sharp drop point knife blade. See the pic.
You can use almost any type of head on them but the real RC Killer fans prefer the red glitter heads with the chartreuse eyes on them…and with the red Matzuo hooks. Super sharp.
**If you can’t find something you like you can visit the TD tackletorium. I sell them 3/$1. **
Another great report with pictures! Congratulations on another successful fishing trip. However, I have never heard of, nor experienced, you ever having an unsuccessful fishing trip. I noticed another walleye. That’s motivation enough for me to get out on the water!
Great post Pat. I hope to be out there on UL asap, but the weather is messing with me a bit. I think tomorrow looks ok, but I don’t expect too much. I am sure we will do a great job of loosing some jigs tho.
Question:
It seems like you are picking up more eyes that usual on the WB tackle on UL this year…any ideas why? Water levels or other? It seems like more are being caught in places like the knolls and areas like that also.
Thanks Lloyd. As they say about the lottery…“You can’t win if you don’t play”. If you don’t go fishing you ain’t gonna ketch much.
You know that I put a lot of past experience and planning into every trip. That definitely helps improve the odds of a successful trip. Anybody who just randomly shows up at a new spot and hopes to be instantly successful is not being realistic. Even when you THINK you know what you are doing it can be tough at times. Whenever you begin to think you got it down “pat” the fish will find a way to humble you.
It seems like you are picking up more eyes that usual on the WB tackle on UL this year…any ideas why? Water levels or other? It seems like more are being caught in places like the knolls and areas like that also."
**Nothing scienterrific but my guess is that there was a very successful walleye spawn in 2008. There seems to be a very large crop of the 21" walleyes this year…roughly 3 year olds. **
All of the walleyes I have caught…or heard about…are very healthy. Lots of white bass to eat and plenty of small ones. Plenty of carp fry of all sizes too, with the stretched out spawning the past couple of years. In short…lots of walleyes and lots of food.
The flip side of that is that the more fish there are of a given species the greater the competition. It is like the white bass. When they school up they hit better because there is the natural reaction to eating something quickly before another fish can get to it. And while individual walleyes may not be prone to bite frequently they will bite more often if there are a lot more of them in the area.
I fish pretty much the same variety of lures in the same areas and the same way year after year. Some years there are definite differences in the numbers of fish and the catch rates. This year started off good for anglers who braved the nasty early weather to fish for walleyes. The large numbers of the “cookie cutter” wallies resulted in some of the best catches we have seen in a few years. Now that the post spawn feed is on there should really be some excellent fishing for the next couple of months…until water temps go over the 70 to 75 degree mark.
OK, Thanks … I am used to Stripers and Wipers and removing all the dark red. Next time I will leave it and try them… Mine looked like yours on the board, until I tried to remove the red, then I turned into all thumbs and ruined the filet.
I got my motor mount fixed, and made a registration holder…I’m ready to float.
** The high water has left only about a foot above water and is eroding what is left.**
Whatever you mean by that statement. It sure was mystical and it got me excited. Your about as prone to “cryptic mystical messaging” as I’am. Relax I’m kidding.[:p]
Yeah I predict a high water year, ya think? Should be a bunch of passionate white bass and unfortunatley carp this year at Utah Lake.
Thanks for the post I want to get to Utah Lake ASAP. I have not had any white bass fry since junior high back in '85.
“Yeah I predict a high water year, ya think? Should be a bunch of passionate white bass and unfortunatley carp this year at Utah Lake.”
I’m thinking that the worst is yet to come…high water wise. I was here during the extreme water year of 1983. The highest level of Utah Lake did not occur until around the first of July…and that was not as high as it is right now.
Actually, the cold high water and on-again-off-again springtime has already impacted the spring spawning fish…like white bass and carp. Some have spawned early but others are still holding onto undeveloped eggs. If they get lucky next week and the water warms up and stays warm then they will all have a blissful “download”. Otherwise it could be iffy…or at least protracted clear into late June. That would bode ill for the late hatchlings. They would still be very small going into the winter and they would be consumed by predators all winter or starve from lack of food under the ice.
I just started buying bare lead heads and painting them with nail polish. You can do those red heads and then a quick coat of red glitter polish and they look great. I’m doing green glitter, silver, and gold like that.
White base coat first.
Is you tackletorium at your place, TD? No online store?
Likely very few if any white bass females have actually already dumped their eggs. Heck even the lmb are STILL on a prespawn mode. No torn fins on females and no ovipositor protrusion. If the lmb haven’t I don’t think the whites have either. I have still seen walleyes with hard egg masses in the last few days. They are not going to spawn those egg sacks for sure. Probably just reabsorb. All kinds of walleyes 21 to 23 inches last year and this year everywhere. Lots of 10 to 12 lb fish showing this year too. Some of the biggest eyes I’ve seen in years now. These spawn whities are puny for some reason. I’ve iced countless hundreds of whites this year that averaged 12 to 13 inches. There was one Dec trip at the pumps where they were all 13 inches and there were likely 3 million beneath the ice! Only lowered the sonar a foot under the ice before it got clobbered. No jigging, just lowered it and bam! It seemed that wiggling an index finger with a hook taped to it in the ice hole woulda worked LOL.
Hey TD, … When you rig your tube jigs with the head upfront rather than inside, do you use any RTV to hold them in place?
When fishing small tube jigs I use heads from the “minnow jig” molds (see pic). I modify most of my jig molds to enlarge the holding barb on the back of the head. These grab and hold the plastic very firmly so that they do not pull off the hook…even after quite a few fish. But if you are concerned about that you can add a drop of plastic super glue when you put the plastics on the hooks. Some guys pre-rig a few like that. But, I sometimes have to replace a chewed up plastic after a prolonged siege with the whities…or perchies.
Through years of experimentation I have come to prefer using the fancy painted and color coordinated heads on the outside of the tubes. It adds to the profile and the appeal. Having eyes on almost any small lure increases the visibility and the attraction to predators. And sometimes being able to use a contrasting color helps too…like in stained water. I especially like using a hot red head on a white or chartreuse plastic in cold or murky water.
TD,
It was wise to go to UL yesterday. Joe and I looked at Willard and it was roll’n pretty good. Wind was up and down, mostly up. We moved on to Mantua. But that is a different post.
Looked like you caught a great mixed bag of dinner and bait. Sure wish this weather would calm down. Hopefully soon.
Great post hope to see ya soon.
I just started buying bare lead heads and painting them with nail polish. You can do those red heads and then a quick coat of red glitter polish and they look great. I’m doing green glitter, silver, and gold like that.
White base coat first.
Is you tackletorium at your place, TD? No online store?
**Bare lead heads often work fine. Other times it is better to have the pretty heads going for you. And you can use any kind of paint and glitter to get the colors you want. **
The big issue…at least to me and some of the other guys who like my jig heads…is that they do not react with the plastics (dissolve) and that they hold up during a lot of dings on rocks and stuff. By the time I get through with mine there are about 4 or 5 coats of vinyl paint and a top coat of epoxy. The finish looks like glass and is super hard. Of course, if you fish in the rocks and lose a lot of jigs that doesn’t mean much. But if you keep and reuse the heads over a period of time it is good to have the colors and the gloss remain in new condition.
**I do not have a big commercial operation. I make and keep a pretty good supply of the things I use most…and sometimes sell a few to fishing buddies who beg and grovel enough. I don’t charge nearly enough to compensate me for the time I put in to making them so I am not anxious to go into large scale production. **
No website. However, if someone develops an addiction to any of my goodies they can call or email me what they want and I can mail it. I take PayPal and I use USPS which is cheaper than the exhorbitant mailing charges tacked on by most online suppliers.
If you are interested, shoot me a PM and I will give you my address and directions. You can see the things I make and judge the quality for yourself. If it makes a difference we can go from there.
Here is a big PDF file of pics and explanations of some of the stuff I make.
I was actually kinda teasing you about the “orium” designation. I’ve been around long enough to know basically how you roll, and you’ve been kind enough to offer a few hours of playing with the molds before. I just haven’t had the chance to take you up on it.
The storebought painted jigs seem to react with the plastics the most. I went with nail polish because I can buy wild colors for a buck and it sticks tight. Seems as durable as the store stuff, and is less likely to go gummy in the same box as plastics.
I make traditional wooden bows, so I know all about not wanting to ruin a perfectly good hobby by trying to make money on it.
[;)]
I’d like to come over for a craft day some time, but for now, I’ll copy what see here from you and others using cheap materials and a lot of lateral thinking. I caught a trout at Deercreek last year on a blingy dollar store barrette, like you use on your daughter’s hair.
I’m the kind that would try to make my own molds…[crazy].
Those are the Southern Pro Sparkle Lil Hustlers with Scent. LINK TO CABELAS If you buy from Cabelas they are the #205…red sparkle top and hot chartreuse tail. But…they are seldom in stock at the store. The good news is that Sportsmans also carries that brand…but may also be out of that color. They are popular. You can also order them through Barlows.