Jordanelle (Hailstone) report 2-24-06

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Probably not much need to post this. I guess we were on Candid Camera all day. Hope you got my best side. Actually, I don't think I have one.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I think I was the designated driller this morning. First a couple of young men show up that thought they were going to get to fish off the PWC ramp in open water. They only got to toss a few Ocean's augers (rocks) out there and decided it was not feasible. They meekly asked TubeBabe and I how thick the ice was and if there were any holes from yesterday that were still open. One of them was about to pee down both legs he was so scared being out on the ice for the first time.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeDude to the rescue. Drilled them a couple of holes off the ramp, where the trout action has been good and got them set up to fish for troutskis. Hope they did well. We left them an extra ice scoop to keep the holes cleaned out and they left it on our car when they left before we did.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We started in 50 feet of water and were seeing fish both near the bottom and about 18 feet. TubeBabe scored the first three fish. First a trout, then a perch, then another trout. I figured to give her a head start.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Another gentleman (I think) came over to ask if we had a tool he could use to change the blades on his hand auger. After he got them changed he proceded to make ice shavings a few feet away from us. The auger just wasn't "cutting it". When he asked how much I would charge to drill a couple of holes for him, I invited him over to where we were fishing and drilled a couple in the same zone TubeBabe had been getting her fish. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I had only a couple of bumps, in between drilling duty. When the fish went away on the sonar screen, I packed up and headed across the lake. Pretty stout hike for an old fat guy. I looked at the bank contours and tried to estimate where there might be a hump or breakline. I drilled one hole, dropped down and wham. Nice perch. Same on the next four drops. I yelled at TubeBabe to join me. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I Swiss cheesed the area and we stayed in that spot from about 9:30 AM to almost 4 PM. Almost constant action. Depth was from 25 feet to 38 feet. There was some structure on the bottom but TubeBabe only lost one rig and I got free from the two snags I had.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The past two trips to Rock Cliffs were slow by comparison. We had to fish in over 50 feet of water and the bite was slow and soft, on small stuff. Tough duty. Not today. Those fish were hammering our larger jigging spoons and bait bugs. I started using my 1/4 oz. fire tiger "perch urchin" and a piece of perch meat. Some of the strikes were vicious. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When the bite on heavier stuff slowed down, I brought out my new "tiger jig", a fire tiger pattern bait bug. I caught most of my fish on that, with perch meat. Forget wax worms today. All I caught on waxies were a couple of chubs, a rainbow and some small perch. The bigger perch and trout wanted perch meat, lit up on the fire tiger jig.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fishing in shallower water, the small perch could be released and dive to the bottom okay. No air bladder problems. I only kept about 30 to 35 of the 100 or so perch I caught, and TubeBabe probably kept another 25 or so. She probably caught the largest perch, at a little over 12".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I lost a big rainbow, about 4 pounds, as I tried to slide it up on the ice. I also lost one brown before it got its head in the hole, and another while I was trying to get the lip gripper into its clamped jaws.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I did land three brown...chubs...all about 12". Those uglies ate those tiger jigs just like the trout and perch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ice conditions: 3" of snow over 4" of frozen slush over 8" of solid ice. It is going to be warm the next few days, but that ice ain't goin' south too soon. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The guys fishing nearer the ramps were catching lots of trout by dropping down about 15 to 20 feet, over deeper water. The trout went through constantly on the sonar.[/#0000ff]
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[ironworker]

great report td.
looks like the weather was just as nice on the ice, as it was in the valley
thanks for sharing.
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[Kraizee_Skot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#ff4040]Great report Pat![/#ff4040][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#ff4040]Looks like the making of a good perch chowder dinner![/#ff4040][/font]
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[kastmaster]

Thanks for the report! Good to see the perch are still hanging around at the Nelle and also the makings of a tasty perch chowder.
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[lavaman]

Great report TD! Wow that's a lot of Perchies. And just think, if you weren't the designated driller today, you would've caught lots more!

I checked out that Jordanelle Cam and saw lots of people, didn't know what you or the Mrs. looked like though so who knows.

I'd like to get down that way soon. Tomorrow it's Mantua Time!!

Great pics you posted!

Derek
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[Theekillerbee]

Looks like you guys had quite the pile of fish! Thanks for the report Pat.
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]Holy perchies on the ice, batman!!!!!!!!![shocked] You da man, Pat, and Delores is 'da woman too! Nice report/pics, and way to "get 'er done" as Larry The Cable Guy would say. Man, that's the most successful perch outing I've heard anywhere this whole ice season. You know, you could sell those perch urchins in the firetiger color and baitbugs too for a lot of money! Those things look killer. No wonder the perchies went crazy for them today. Question for you...what leadhead is that that you made the baitbug from? Is that a darthead? I'd love to have a one on one tutoring session on how to make those (and other killer baitbug combos too) sometime when you have a free couple of hours one night.

I bet after this report that the hailstone area is going to be pretty busy for the next couple of days...

Again, nice job and report out there today, Sensai Tubemeister! Instead of chasing the perchies tomorrow I get to help BassAckward clean out his garage (oh goodie...). But, he and I are going to go slay them next Saturday for one last ice outing of the year (if there's ice left up there). AFter that (or if it's nice and warm like this weekend) then we'll be chasing some 'eyes!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]The weather WAS great. That was my kind of ice fishing. %$#& that stuff where you gotta fish in minus degrees and bigtime W.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When we left Salt Lake just before 6AM it was 31. Dropped to 21 at Parley's Summit and down to 5 degrees on the flats below Park City, just before the Heber (Hwy 40) turnoff. Warmed back up to 21 going over the top before the Mayflower turnoff. 14 degrees but no breeze when we hit the ice.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By 10 AM we did not need to keep scooping out the ice holes and no more ice in the guides. By noon we had shed two layers and were still almost too warm. Applied sunscreen before we left and out on the ice too. Still got some color.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Air temp as we drove off about 4:30 was a balmy 44. Yeah. That' what I'm talkin' bout.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, I am glad to see the numbers of perch that I have in the last couple of weeks. I did not even fish Jordy last year until October, but I heard the perch were playing hard to get in the deeper water. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We caught several year classes yesterday. Even on our larger lures we caught some as small as 5 inches. There were grundles of 6-7 inchers. Quite a few 10 inchers and some between 11-12. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Out of all the perch we brought home (about 60), all but 4 were bursting with eggs. The other four were milt-laden males...looking for a date.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]With the high water again this year, there should be another big spawn. There was evidently a good one last year because all the fish being taken since iceup have been full of small perchies, like the one in the attached pic. [/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks KS. Fun to catch and good to eat. Just finished off a big pot of perch chowder. I think these will go into fish tacos, ceviche and maybe some of my "Po Man's Shrimp".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have posted the recipe for PMS (sounds bad, doesn't it) before, but it is simple so I'll do it again.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Into 2 quarts of water, in a soup pan, add 2 cubes of shrimp bouillon, 2 tablespoons onion flakes, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper (cayenne). Boil it for about 5 minutes to dissolve the bouillon, hydrate the dried onions and blend the flavors.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Dump in a pound or so of small fillets and keep them boiling for about two or three minutes...just until they turn white are are ready to start breaking apart. Remove the pan from the heat and QUICKLY scoop out the cooked fillets with a big strainer.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Put a healthy helping in a shallow bowl and pour on some melted butter, with some fresh garlic stirred in. Close your eyes and dig in. Bet you either can't tell or don't care that it ain't shrimp.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, you can find the shrimp bouillon cubes in oriental or Mexican markets. It comes in a little green box, labeled "Caldo de Camaron". Made by Knorr, the same company that makes a lot of the chicken or beef cubes.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Yeah...we bad! One of my favorite lines from an old Richard Pryor movie. That was a great trip yesterday. It was like a lot of my perchin' trips in the "olden days" So far this year, all of my trips have been with other BFTers who were going to show me how it's done "these days". And, so far all I have got is a few dinks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yesterday, I used my basic instincts and my old style (and old lures) to "git 'er done". Man, it really felt good to find out that the perch still remembered how to act.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As you know, I don't sell my stuff, but I am always happy to "show and tell". I posted up a "how to" on the fire tiger stuff a few days ago. [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=244935;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread"]LINK TO POST[/url] My cost of materials is low...less than 10 cents per jig. But, if I were to sell them, and recover the cost of my VALUABLE fishing time, nobody could afford them anyway. Especially the fire tiger stuff. There is about 10 to 12 steps in making each of them...just in the painting. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Those "tiger jigs" are made on dart heads. I have attached a couple of pics, of the heads and the new fire tiger colors. The dart heads are made to zig and zag when you retrieve them, which makes them good for fishing either plastics or marabou. BUT, what makes them great for ice fishing is that they hang perfectly horizontal when you fish them straight down. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish them by jiggling them and then letting them sit absolutely still. They look like a real minnow, trying to remain motionless. Predators sneak up on them and then WHAM. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most of the strikes yesterday were hard, with the fish setting the hook themselves. [/#0000ff][#0000ff]No "namby-pamby" nibbles most of the day. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The fish did quiet down in the early afternoon, like they usually do, but we were still catching them when we left the ice. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Let me know when you have a hole in your busy executive schedule. Have your people call my people and we will negotiate a high level conference. Actually, it will be in my basement playroom and tackletorium.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]BassAckward must really have something on you to con you into cleanup detail. Is he still peeved about the sprite and chicken episode?[/#0000ff]
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[Kent]

Pat, you and Delores did good!
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[Hellsangler69]

There goes the the peace and quite on the ice . J/K Nice report and pics TD . I tracked about 3/4 of a mile north of the marina (out of camera view) with only one big crack to watch out for on the ice . Some of the northwest bays (cheap seats) did not have ice on them 2 weeks ago , so it might be thin for anyone tracking that way too . I been wanting to track all the way across to the east of the marina so it might be time to check it out now if I feel better from this cold I have . I have yet to catch a chub but not complaining either . Good to hear that the snow is not deep . Better for walking .
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Sorry about the cold. I got mine out of the way in January. Give me a shout one of these days and we will hook up. Long overdue.[/#0000ff]
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[Out4Trout]

[cool]I think I know which jigmold I'm ordering next. If memory serves me correctly, you also suspended a darthead jig below a Thill adjust-a-bubble last fall for the tricky finicky kitties at Lincoln Beach too, right? And, you had great success wit 'dat, huh? I'm ordering one of those molds tonight. That is one mold that a jig maker REALLY needs to have in his arsenal it sounds to me like. Now that I finally got some epoxy, I can actually finish up a ton of jigs that I molded and painted up over the last year and get more serious about the whole thing.

As for making the firetiger bait bugs though, I think I'd better just focus on learning to craft the more basic patterns first like the white with red eye and chenille bodies, etc. I'll have my people get ahold of your people for a little tutorial soon...

Again, congrats on a killer day at Jordy, and for sharing so much info on how you did it with "the rest of the class."

And lastly, yes, I think BassAckward is still a little peeved about my chicken and sprite ralphing episode in his car last Spring, because besides making me his slave today he also made me watch him ralph up a bunch of nasty flem...an image I'm still trying to forget at 10:20 at night...
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Too Much Information.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yes, my "bobber heads" made from dart heads work great under floats. Here's a pic again.[/#0000ff]
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