# Utah Lake with a few Cats



## wes242 (Jan 2, 2010)

Yesterday morning my dad and I hit Utah Lake, and started fishing about 8 am. We lauched at Provo Boat Harbor and went south about a half mile along the reeds. I took half a pack of hot dogs along with a few dozen worms. We both were trying to get 2 poles set up, but the fish were hitting right off the bat. The fish 2 hours was very fast action, sometimes you would have hits on each pole at the same time, I missed about as many as I pulled in. I had caught 15 Channel Cats all on the Dogs, and my dad was about 8 on worms. We then took the slow stroll down toward Lincon boat harbor. His boat just had some major work on it so we were out to put some slow hours on his boat to break it back in. We fished down there for a little bit, but with the size of his boat it was harder to get where we wanted. But down there we hooked into some fish other then Channel Cats. I got one White Bass and one Sun Fish(not sure if that is the name) and more Cats. Still on the Hot Dogs! We moved to another spot back by our original spot, and by this time I was out of the dogs and the fishing was slow for me. My dad hooked into a few more before we left at 3pm. It was a great day, with us ending at 38 fish out of the water! I will buy hot dogs more often now for sure....


----------



## jsfano (Jun 23, 2010)

Good lookin cats! Im itchin now to get out there. Thanks for sharing!


----------



## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Ok this makes me think Utah Lake is where I'll go this weekend!! Do you think it would be fooling to take a canoe on the lake, I always stay close to shore in the canoe in case the wind or some maniac swamps me.


----------



## wes242 (Jan 2, 2010)

I was thinking that I wish I did have a canoe and even a Kayak, cause without wind it wouldn't be to bad to get down where we were at. Since I don't have a boat and rely on someone else to have one.


----------



## hockey (Nov 7, 2007)

Take your canoe and put in on the airport dike. There are lots of protected areas along there to fish. Even if you swamp it just stand up, 90% of the area around there is only 3' deep


----------



## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

hockey said:


> Take your canoe and put in on the airport dike. There are lots of protected areas along there to fish. Even if you swamp it just stand up, 90% of the area around there is only 3' deep


This is actually not the case Hockey... at least not anymore. I'm 5 10 and waded out in a couple areas I used to fish along the old road grade out there thinking those protected backwater areas would be easy to access while wading..... water was up to top of my waders only about 30 feet off the shore and I wasn't even out to the weedline at that point. I wish it would drop again... made for great duck hunting access in the fall but is almost impossible without a boat now.  I used to wade along that weedline by the dike for cats as well and do quite well so I miss low water. As far as a canoe goes, you should be good to go with it, but like was also said, be careful with the wind... takes nothing at all for that lake to get all sorts of fired up and then its just flat out dangerous in any small boat.

Nice fish though OP..... that looks like a fantastic day spent with your dad!!


----------



## hockey (Nov 7, 2007)

We must be talking about 2 different areas then. I have anchored in well over 100 different places back in the weeds between the airport and Provo river the last 2 years and it is diffecult to find anywhere >3', except straight out from the dike and right next to the river.


----------



## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Thanks guys!!! I'm going to try it out Sunday for sure!! I love catfish sauteed in mustard and olive oil, I know it sounds sick but if I catch some I'll post the recipe and some pictures!!


----------



## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

hockey said:


> We must be talking about 2 different areas then. I have anchored in well over 100 different places back in the weeds between the airport and Provo river the last 2 years and it is diffecult to find anywhere >3', except straight out from the dike and right next to the river.


If you're talking about the little weedy bay just south of the river where the dike runs parallel... yeah, I could see that. Once the dike makes that turn to head south... it gets deep. Thats where I walked out was straight out from the long stretch of dike headed south. Its also where I used to duck hunt... oh, about every two or three days when I lived in Orem. When the water was down, there used to be a pretty sweet little Mallard hole off the NW corner of the airport property. 8) I've even tubed the west side backwaters this year and checked the depth with my rod.... its certainly not "wader friendly" unless they've dropped the water a lot recently.


----------



## wes242 (Jan 2, 2010)

I went down to Lincoln Beach this afternoon for a couple hours and thought I would try some more Hot Dogs. I drove out to the end of the boat launch area and pulled out 3 more big cats. Had one brake the line when I let my wife try to reel it in, but we at least got her to fight another. Wasn't too back for a HOT afternoon.




























We will be back out on Tuesday in the boat, hope we can still hook into them then.


----------



## luv2fsh&hnt (Sep 22, 2007)

Man that first one looks like a blue cat. If I get my boat motor back up I might have to head down there and give it a try just for poops and giggles.


----------



## wes242 (Jan 2, 2010)

luv2fsh&hnt said:


> Man that first one looks like a blue cat.


I believe it was, I have only ever caught a Blue one once about 6 years ago.


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Good job wes242. It was pretty warm out there today.. We made it out on the tubes at The Knolls and caught a couple 7 pounders. Nightcrawlers worked for us.. My brother ate the hotdogs. :|

Looks like a blue, but I'm pretty sure it's just a male channel. 8)


----------



## wes242 (Jan 2, 2010)

Better to eat the hotdogs then the nightcrawlers!


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

wes242 said:


> Better to eat the hotdogs then the nightcrawlers!


 :lol: True. It seems as though those cats are liking both right now.


----------



## luv2fsh&hnt (Sep 22, 2007)

sawsman said:


> Good job wes242. It was pretty warm out there today.. We made it out on the tubes at The Knolls and caught a couple 7 pounders. Nightcrawlers worked for us.. My brother ate the hotdogs. :|
> 
> *Looks like a blue, but I'm pretty sure it's just a male channel. 8)*




Not trying to argue or anything more just trying to educate myself. Why would you lean toward that fish being a male channel and not a blue? I caught a bunch of blues when I was in NC and I have been fishing for cats since before they caught on here as a sportfish and I have never read anything saying male channels are a different color than the females.


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

luv2fsh&hnt said:


> sawsman said:
> 
> 
> > Good job wes242. It was pretty warm out there today.. We made it out on the tubes at The Knolls and caught a couple 7 pounders. Nightcrawlers worked for us.. My brother ate the hotdogs. :|
> ...


No worry. They can look like a blue. Here is a little info from the master on catfish at UL, TubeDude.

CHANNEL CAT BASICS:
"There are few species of fish more subject to "urban legends", stereotypes and outright
misinformation than catfish. The fact that very few people really get to know and love them
contributes to the wild and crazy notions about them&#8230;and the bad reputation they often have.
IDENTIFICATION:*Channel cats and bullheads are the only two species of kitties in Utah*. Yet there are lots of
discussions and heated arguments about people catching other species from Utah Lake. One
contributing factor is that channel cats can exhibit several different color phases&#8230;including a dark
grey or blue color by males during the spawn. There are lots of "gobs" (good 'ol boys) who will
fight to the death over their claim that there are "blue cats" in Utah Lake. Some give them a
hybrid name&#8230;"blue channels". Doesn't matter. They are still just plain old channel cats with a
dark coat.
Similarly, because big male channel cats usually have bigger heads than females, there are
many of the misinformed who insist there are flatheads in Utah Lake. Large spawning males can
be really ugly compared to the sleeker females which are usually an olive brown color. In addition
to their heads being wider than the rest of their bodies the males also sport big fat lips. It is easy to
see how the uninformed anglers can assume they are another species&#8230;but they ain't.
Adult male and female channel cats look different.
Females typically have an olive colored
skin. Males can be anywhere from light grey to
bluish grey. They can be almost coal black during
spawning season."

luv2fsh&hnt- I have caught some of these blue looking channel cats before. I'll see if I can find some pic's and post them up.


----------



## Bhilly81 (Oct 18, 2009)

wes242 said:


> I was thinking that I wish I did have a canoe and even a Kayak, cause without wind it wouldn't be to bad to get down where we were at. Since I don't have a boat and rely on someone else to have one.


if you ever need a boat let me know i just put it in storage but i dont want to leave it there i would rather it get used


----------



## luv2fsh&hnt (Sep 22, 2007)

sawsman said:


> luv2fsh&hnt said:
> 
> 
> > sawsman said:
> ...


Cool I learned something new today.I appreciate the response.


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Here's a good comparison photo I dug up. Male channel in front, female in back.

I've seen the males have a much more prominent blue phase than in the photo.

[attachment=0:1vqnikst]Cat Comparison.jpg[/attachment:1vqnikst]


----------



## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

sawsman said:


> Here's a good comparison photo I dug up. Male channel in front, female in back.
> 
> I've seen the males have a much more prominent blue phase than in the photo.


For a hot-dog eater, sometimes your pretty smart !! :EAT: :EAT: :O--O:


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

.45 said:


> sawsman said:
> 
> 
> > Here's a good comparison photo I dug up. Male channel in front, female in back.
> ...


I've heard that hot-dogs have ground up cow or pig brains in them. So, I guess sometimes I'm about as smart as a cow or a pig.  They say you are what you eat..


----------



## luv2fsh&hnt (Sep 22, 2007)

sawsman said:


> Here's a good comparison photo I dug up. Male channel in front, female in back.
> 
> I've seen the males have a much more prominent blue phase than in the photo.
> 
> [attachment=0:3dlxtk05]Cat Comparison.jpg[/attachment:3dlxtk05]


I can see that is a channel with a blue phase. One thing is for sure they color phase and I didn't know that. In wes' photo I was more looking at the shape of the head along with the color to lead me to believe it was a blue. Blues have big heads and mouths while channels have the rounded heads are usually olive colored with deeply forked tails and may or may not have spots. Very interesting to say the least. A prime example of why it is important for one to keep an open mind so as to be able to learn new things. Thanks for the education.


----------



## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

That is very cool. I caught my first catfish this summer and now I'm hooked. I had no idea on the color phease thing. I hadn't given it much thought really. But trout color up a bit different as well, depending on spawning season and all that, so I guess it makes sense. Thanks a ton for the info though. As has been said, I learned something new. Thanks.


----------



## luv2fsh&hnt (Sep 22, 2007)

Well I was having trouble going to sleep so I decided to do a little research on the color phase channel catfish that I recently learned about on this thread. According to this article I found it was explained perfectly. It also seems likely that all the "blues" I caught while I lived in NC were most likely channel cats also. It appears the blues range is pretty much confined to the Mississipi River area. Hopefully the link will work so others can read the article as well. Man there are some smart folks on the internet. I wish I was one of them.

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art ... /306209896


----------



## wes242 (Jan 2, 2010)

We went back out this morning and my dad wanted to go to the west side of the lake. All that was there were wind and waves! So we came back to just west of the airport where we hit a ton the other day. It was SLOW going, but the first one caught was on worms by my dad. About 6lb 26 incher. After that he was the only one hitting anything. All on worms about 4 ft under a bubble. I finally caught 3 cats, not any big ones though. My wife caught a few white bass all on worms. I still caught most on hot dogs, but it was a slow day. We end up by Bird Island my my wife and sister went out to the Island while we fished a bit more. My dad must have hooked a carp, cause it took off with his line and about ran out the spool before it snapped! I hit a few more cats on the dogs out there. It was long day out on the lake in the hot sun, so we played in the water too. It was nice!


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Good job wes. You've sure been gettin' after 'em lately. Fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner huh?


----------



## wes242 (Jan 2, 2010)

I don't really eat fish much. Just love to catch them! I would like to cook some up again someday, other then any trout! We did that earlier this year and I am still not a fan of it.


----------



## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Awesome job man... thats very cool.


----------

