With the ice off nearly all the lakes in the state it is time to start thinking about getting the boat ready to hit the water.  The last two summers have been so bad for my fishing that I did not take the boat out even one time!  My Bad!  That won’t happen this year!  Folks are already hammering the fish at the waters in Northern Utah and taking some nice (and big) trout, walleye and catfish!  I need to stock the freezer up with some catfish fillets!

I can also see a time to take the bow out and do some carp shooting as well!  Now that would be a blast!  Forget the form!  Just shoot!  Pull those carp in and you have enough bait for the next cast!  Oh ya baby!

So, with fishing on my mind I went looking at the new fishing nets that are out there.  Someone is always coming up with something bigger and better and sure enough I found something!  It might not be bigger, but for the size of fish I usually catch it is plenty big enough.  The unique thing about this one is the storage…it is just a long tube until you want it to be a net and then the net comes out of the handle and becomes the landing net you need.  I doubt it would hold a big old tiger musky but it surely would hold my 3 pound catfish (I always catch 3 pound catfish)!

So, take a look at this video and make your own decision.  For sure it would keep the net material out of the sunlight and keep those UV rays from destroying the net!  It would also keep it out of the way while you were carp shooting with your bow or just lazying around on the boat waiting for a bite!

I hope you enjoyed seeing this!

March 25, 2016

Bears Butt

Today is the first day of Spring 2015!  Happy Spring everyone!  When I think of Spring I think of fishing and when I think of fishing I think of catching fish.  Utah enacted a two pole limit to your fishing and you don’t have to have a special license to use two poles.  I wonder if the above picture would be legal and have two of them?  I won’t look up the rules for fishing with two poles as I can’t imagine how you would reel in three fish at one time on a pole like the one in the picture.  We will just let it go at that.

In America there is a craze that is just beginning to sweep the country.  It’s a fishing technique called “Tenkara”.  The fishing method is the favored way to fish in Asian countries.  I suppose because of its simplicity and inexpensive way to catch fish.  In my year in Viet Nam, I watched as all ages caught fish out of a sewage canal using this method of fishing.  A pole, line, hook and some sort of attractant on the hook.  The fish I saw caught were all really tiny, but they caught them by the bucket load and took them home.  Later, as I got to noticing my Mama Sone eating her lunch one day I saw just what those fish were used for….stuffed in a bottle and buried in the ground until they were “just right”.  Oh my heck!  I could not stand to be in the same area with her.  Those fish stunk sooooo bad!

I’m getting off subject.  Tenkara by definition means something like “from the heavens” or “from high above”.  From that you should be able to figure out that the bait is presented to the fish from above them and with a very long pole the fish shouldn’t see you, the fisherman, as you dangle the bait down to them.  I see on the internet there are Tenkara clubs being formed all around and lessons being offered to teach you just how it is done.  I suppose it would be best for the beginner to take lessons and learn just how and what the techniques are.  But as for me, I would just fall back on my younger days of fishing down on the farm in the crick!

Then again, it sure would be a nice upgrade from a stick to hold onto a 12 foot long fiberglas rod that cost $500 or more.  I’ll just bet you could catch a whole lot more fish with one of those than a plain old stick.

Bears Butt

March 20, 2015

As the warm weather continues to plague us ice fishermen here in Northern Utah, the chance of falling through the ice becomes more and more real every day.  I saw this video today and it is one of the most informative I have seen on self rescue after falling through the ice.

I have been to on site places that showed the methods this man uses, but none of them ever said anything about the fact that the person falling in would go through what is called “water shock”.  I can only imagine what the body must go through going from dry and warm, to icy cold and wet in a second or two time period.  I’m also certain that if I ever fall through the ice, my first instinct would be to get my body above the water and run to safety.  That would mean shooting straight up until my feet were out of the water and then running on top of the water and ultimately back to the truck.  At that point any gear that was left on or near the ice would become the property of anyone who found it as it would be my last ice fishing adventure and I would no longer need any of the gear.

So, take a look at this video and I hope no body viewing it will ever need to use this information.

A big day ahead!  The annual fishing contest at Hyrum State Park in Hyrum, Utah.  They call this event “The Best Dam Fishing Contest”!  They have contests for both adults and youth fisherpeople with some great prizes and of course drawings during the day.  I heard that Camp Chef will be there as well, serving hot chocolate and assorted other cooked goodies!  I like cooked goodies!

There is one rule I don’t see how they could possibly enforce….no fishing from an ice tent.  However, you can have an ice tent on the ice to get yourself warmed from the elements, but you are not allowed to fish while in it.  They might as well drop that stupid rule.

But, I will be leaving my tent home.  Mostly because it is heavy and I’ll be by myself.

Weasel is going to join me until about noon and then he has to leave to pick up his family and go with friends to Hardware Ranch to see the elk.  Not me!  I will endure until the contest ends at 3!  Each contestant can register up to 3 fish.  They will measure each fish and total up the lengths.  The one with the longest length wins the big prize.  A tie will be broken by the total weight of the 3 fish.  I’m certain that stuffing the fish with sinkers will be the ultimate tie breaker.  Just saying.

So, I will try and take a few pictures of the event between pulling in giant trout, and will give you an update later on.

Bears Butt

January 24, 2015

Now if you watch the following video and get an inclination to try it yourself……well…..don’t blame me!  In Utah I don’t know of any “Ice Auger Rodeo” that is going on.

However, I could see Shipley doing this.

Saturday, January 17, 2015….A day for fishing!  I have read all week long about the success fishermen are having on Pineview, Mantua, Hyrum and nearly all the other takes in Utah.  Well, Windy, Chase and I are going to go and give it a try.  I think Pineview has our attention and my goal is to have Chase catch a fish…big fish…little fish…it doesn’t matter.  He missed out on the last outing because he was ill and he missed it dearly.  He was not disappointed that we didn’t even have a bite that day.  Today I have a secret bait that just might be the ticket.  We shall see.

More to come later!

Bears Butt

January 17, 2015

Follow Up:

The weather was absolutely beautiful if not hot for January.  We hit Pineview and went just North of Cemetery point.  There were quite a few people already on the ice and we did see a few fish get caught.  Nothing of any size and mostly all Crappie.

We went to our spot and drilled six holes rather quickly.  The power auger is the way to go!  The ice was about 6 inches thick and we found ourselves in about 30 feet of water.

Windy dropped in first with Chase’s pole, but Chase wasn’t as much into fishing as he was eating.  Before I could get my pole baited up, Windy had missed his first fish.  It looked like we were in for a great fish catching trip.  My first drop and 3 cranks up almost immediately produced a bite!  ZINGO!  Fish on!  Out of the hole came a little bitty Crappie.  I kept it just in case we caught a basket load of them.

Time continued to move along and to our surprise, no more bites!  How can that be?!  We stayed a couple of hours longer and then followed the crowds off the ice.  The people we talked to said the bite happens at night.  Well, I like my sleep and so there won’t be many fish for me from Pineview.

We decided to head up to Causey and give the trout a try.  Arriving there about 1 p.m., we found the ice to be very stable and about 5 inches thick.  We moved 3 times while we were there and didn’t have any bites.  Dang!  Well, at least we didn’t have to clean any.

Tomorrow is a holiday and the kids want to go fishing.  We will hit Hyrum and give it a go.  Saturday, Jan. 24, has a contest on there and for a $15 entry fee, you can have your 3 biggest fish measured for prizes.  Maybe we will give that a go next weekend….

Bears Butt

Jan. 18, 2015

The ice fishing season is coming, I think you will like this one:

This little cutie allowed me to take her picture and post it up on here.  Isn’t she a little doll?

Our day on Sulpher Creek was a great one!  Thanks to everyone who pulled this event off and to the many anglers that came to play in the cold wind!

The ice was over 20 inches thick and so if any of you have threatened to come to this event and chickened out because you thought you might fall through the ice…NOT TO WORRY!  20 inches of ice will hold “your truck”  (not mine, but yours) full of gear and beer…trust me…your truck will not fall through.

After a little bit of a rough start to my day, and after running a red light on Riverdale road later on, we made it to the lake at a perfect time!  Our short walk from the sign in trailer out to our spot didn’t take very long and suddenly, our camp was set up for the day.

As is always the case in Wyoming, the wind did not stop blowing all day, but the temperature did rise from near zero to a balmy 20 something before the tourney was over.  I had to place an ice spike into the ice to make sure my tent didn’t go tumbling down wind, but other than that it was a great day on the ice.

Fishing however was very slow for us.  We each did manage to catch a trout but all of them were cookie cutters in the 13 inch range and they had to be at least 16 inches in order to be measured for the contest.  In our group, Weasel had the most bites, but only landed one quarter for his efforts, and ended up giving that up to someone else.  Our quarters ended up as an even steven payout.

Once we were on the ice, we had several other groups come and join around us to share the area.  More is better in my opinion and of course those guys knew what to use and so they caught a whole heck of a lot more fish than we did.  They were not stingy on letting us know the secret, but when you are 15 miles from the nearest place that carries the secret lure, you are pretty much at your own imaginations’ mercy as to how to get the fish to bite.  I even tried my newly thought up, blue fan-dangle….

It didn’t work.

But, there is more to this ice fishing tourney than catching the biggest fish.  We get to meet some great people.

Here a couple of bearded guys from the Duck Dynasty group joined our Sulpher Creek friend and mentor, WyoGoob (middle) and even though they didn’t grow those beards themselves, the beards did save their faces from a good wind burn.  Thanks guys for joining in the fun!  AND for towing our sleds off the ice when the tourney was over!

These events are all about having fun and allowing those that do all the hard work to get to put some money towards a worthwhile cause.  This lady has been “The Boss” of this tourney since its inception and the money raised this year is going to the Primary Children’s Hospital…And extremely good cause!

A hearty THANK YOU Cassidy Tynsky and the rest of your “in the background” team for being so gracious as to sponsor this event and going through all the hard work making it happen.  May there be many more!

The poor fishing aside or should I say, the poor catching aside (the fishing was great, the catching was not) everyone seemed to be in great spirits.  Some in greater “spirits” than others, but everyone having a great time for sure.

Thanks to this guy for allowing me to take his picture.  This should convince you that it was pretty cold up there and should you decide to join us next year, you need to get prepared like him!  It’s easier to take stuff off, than to freeze your butt off and wish you had it.

So, when we were all gathered up around the event hosts trailer, the fishing winners were announced.  They gave out 3 cash awards to the three largest fish and the number one winner, with a fish right at 17 inches, landed a cool cash award of over $1,000!   He was a happy guy!  It was obvious he had been having a good party already, but this announcement really made him grin and dance….But wait…there is more!

Cassidy and her gang of helpers went all out this year with a bunch of great prizes to be raffled off and they also held what is called a 50/50 raffle.  One in which you purchase a ticket and if your ticket is drawn you get half the money collected.  I did not catch the exact amount of the 50/50 prize but it was over $200 and close to $300 if my recollector recollects correctly.

So I’d have to say most every fisherman on the ice bought at least one  ticket for that drawing.

So, the little girl sitting on the snowmobile at the top of this page, pulled out the winning ticket for the 50/50 raffle and guess who won?…..The same guy that caught the biggest fish!  WOW!  How can that be?  What a lucky guy and all the drinks are on him!

A double winner with over $1200 for his “fishing” efforts!  Congratulations!  What a day it was for him!  I’ll bet he doesn’t get up until the big game starts today!  Party on!

Back to the raffle!  As I said they had some wonderful prizes to give out and almost every one of them were either purchased or donated by Sportsmans Wearhouse in Riverdale Utah!  (Thanks you guys!  I’ll be sending you a note today)!  Jaw Jackers!  Snow Shoes! Tackle bags! Buddy Heaters! And a big old ice fishing tent called an Eskimo Quick Fish 3 as the Grand Prize!  There were more prizes I just can’t remember what they were…my bad!

Everyone wishes their ticket would be drawn for any of the prizes being given away, and especially when the Grand Prize comes up.  Well, what would you know!  My ticket was drawn!  What a lucky day for me!

So, in spite of not catching a fish that could be measured for the contest and in spite of getting “chill blanes” on the backs of our hands, this group of contestants really had a great time!

From left to right, me, Shipley, Weasel and Rick Streble!

Thanks once again to Cassidy and gang, Sportsmans Wearhouse and whoever else donated to this great event!  We hope there is one scheduled for next year because if there is, you can expect this small group to grow exponentially!

Bears Butt

February 2, 2014

Headed for Evanston Wyoming in the morning…going with Weasel and Shipley to the Sulpher Creek fishing tourney.   Proceeds this year will go to the Primary Childrens Hospital.  We are looking forward to a great day on the ice!

The weather is expected to be partly cloudy with lows around ZERO!  It should be a great morning and then warming to about 20 during the day!  A great day for sure!

We have the magic fishing bait…gummy worms, orange marshmallows and of course Mac and Cheese!  All suggestions by the Ogden School district kids.

I was going to take the “spitter” and another can to try out the idea of keeping the holes clear of ice and I still might depending on space available.  We are traveling light tomorrow as we just don’t have much room.  When you weigh out whether to take a spitter or a sandwich, it’s pretty easy to figure out which one will win.

We have our visions of “The Big One” in our hog troughs and hope to catch one that can at least be measured for the contest…must be at least 16 inches long and a member of the trout family!

In years past we have not had much success, but who knows and we just might be the lucky ones this year….fishing is all about luck right?

Bears Butt

January 31, 2014…THE END OF JANUARY IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW IT!

If everything goes as planned Weasel, Shipley and I will be on the ice at Sulpher Creek this Saturday.  We always have big plans for big fish and as long as a guy can dream, he will keep trying.

Well, I came across this today and thought you folks just might like to see it.  A word of caution however, since this is a “family show”, there are some swear words being used in this video.  You can turn off the sound if you want, the verbiage in the video really does not add much to it.

Bears Butt

January 29, 2014