The Rest of The Fish Story...

[Big Skyz]

I was on vacation down in Utah all week. While it was a family vacation I did manage to sneak in 1.5 days of fishing. I had a great time time fishing with my oldest son and friends. Plus I was able to catch tiger trout and a wiper, of which, I have never caught before. For only a day and a half on 3 different lakes I really can't complain.

Al Morris (of Foxpro/Hunter's Specialties fame) and my oldest son with his first Kokanee Salmon.


Me with one of several rainbows we caught out of Strawberry Res.


Al and I with another trout.


My son with a pretty cutty.


A few days after Strawberry Res we traveled to southern Utah had continued success. I've never caught a tiger trout before. I caught this little guy and one just a little bigger. Granted it's tiny, but at least I can say I've caught a couple of them now. The fishing conditions on the mountain lake where they live wasn't that great. The lake had weeded up really bad and made fishing really difficult at best. However, my partner and I still managed to land a couple each. I sure think they are cool looking and I'd like to have another run at them when the lake isn't so weedy. Wouldn't mind catching a few bigger one's either.

We also spent the other half of the day fishing for smallmouth bass. My son kicked my butt in this department as did everyone on the boat. I landed only one tiny smallie, but I caught another fish that more than made up for it...more about that later.

Here's my son with one of several smallies he boated. He did real well for having never caught one before.


One of my best fishing buddy's with a nice smallie he was able to bring aboard.


This is the guy that was kind of enough to take us out on his bass boat. He was a super guy and I'm glad he was also able to land a really nice smallmouth.


Like I said earlier I didn't exactly light it up with the smallies. I'm not sure why. I've caught literally hundreds of them in my lifetime. For some reason I just couldn't hit my groove. I did manage to catch a couple 20" rainbows, but I can catch those here and I wasn't all that excited about them. So hence, no photos of the trout. However I did get totally surprised when this dandy wiper nearly ripped the rod right out of my hand. Heck, I was using my ultra-light outfit and it gave me all the battle I could handle. The two local guys were all giddy over it, as I guess it's biggest one they've personally ever seen come out of the lake. I was all giddy because I'd never caught one before and it wasn't a total dink sized minnow. It was a fantastic week with friends and family. I can't wait to do it again some day.

[Thumper]

Wow! Even if you guys all moved out of the way so I could just admire the scenery, these would STILL be a bunch of nice pics! Looks like a great time was had by all. Congrats!

[BarryBobPosthole]

Troy, that sure enough looks like a real life striper to me. It really doesn't matter, but hybrids typically have broken stripes on 'em especially in the stripes that are lower on the belly. Methinks you gots a rockfish as they call 'em down east.

Larke or Egghead or Len who've both caught a ton of 'em could say for sure. I'm just a rider and commentator.

Them is some dandy smallies! I love catching those footballs.

BKB

[LJ3]

Our stripers have a more slender body and they're stripes aren't that well defined. But I've only caught saltwater stripers so they may look different in fresh water.

That's a heck of a 1.5 day fishing experience!

[BarryBobPosthole]

Another way to tell a striper from a hybrid is on a striper, the first line below the lateral line goes all the way back to the tail. They don't on hybrids.

BKB

[Big Skyz]

BBP, it's a wiper they did not plant any stripers or white bass in this particular lake, just wipers.

[Thumper]

Ha ha! I thought the "wiper" was a misprint! I thought it was a striper, but have never seen on that wide ... (or thick?) ... tall? As big from top to bottom, how's that?

To be honest, I'd never heard of a wiper until your post.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Well, he's seriously long-arming that fish unless his hands have grown to be as big as his head.

BKB

[Thumper]

And that from a professional long-armer hisownfineself!

[Thumper]

So ... if you cross a large mouth bass with a wiper ... would you end up with a "Big-Mouthed Ass-Wipe"?

[Big Skyz]

Thumper here's a couple picks for you that should be easier on your eyes.

[BarryBobPosthole]

And that from a professional long-armer hisownfineself!

Well, long-arming is way way down below 'roadhunting' on the sins list. So I think I'm safe.

BKB

[Big Skyz]

As for long arming it, hey, I learn from the best.

In reality though he was a pretty sizey wiper for the area. None of the local guys I was with had ever seen one that big come out of that lake before. When we got back to town they showed it to a bunch of their hard core fishing buddy's and none of them had seen it's equal as well. I have to admit, I enjoyed the temporary celebrity status for a couple hours. However that's about all the longer I can handle that kind of attention.

[Thumper]

I do believe that's a prime example of what some call "God's Country". I remember sometimes when I was feeling "down" ... I'd look at lake pics from some of my Canada trips. They sure can have a calming affect.

[Big Skyz]

Thumper it was beautiful to be sure, but I'm still a little partial to Montana. Just the week before I was fishing up in Montana in country like this.

[Captain]

Now that is some world serious fishing AND catching! Congrats. That "whiper" is something I've never seen. It is taller (fatter) than a Striper. Cool looking fish. Do they fight as hard as a Striper. I'm headed out Friday for another day of Striper fishing. Can't wait...
Congrats, Captain

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[Big Skyz]

Cappy, that fish pert near ripped the rod right out of my hand. I actually got a cramp in my right wrist reeling him in and had to switch hands for a few seconds to shake the cramp out. I was using my ultra-light 6'6" St. Croix rod and did not expect to hook into a wiper. I was actually trying for trout when he surprised me. Seaguar fluro does it again.

[Captain]

That is ironic about the surprise attack from the fish. Not 4 weeks ago we were fishing for Stripers in our secret spot and a friend of mine Tommy was in the back of the boat and had a live Herrin bait out. Literally a BIG Striper hit on the run and took a high dollar rod and reel out if his hands. It did not touch the water for 30 feet. The fish hit that fast. Needless to say we did NOT recover the rod and reel.

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[Big Skyz]

Man, that would suck to be your buddy Tommy right then! Same thing happened to my oldest boy this spring. He'd cast his pole out and put it on the bank. He then helped his girlfriend cast her fishing pole. He handed her back the pole just in time to see his fishing outfit skip into the water and out of his life forever. Trixey little fishes.

[Big Skyz]

Here's one of the trout I caught while I was fishing for smallies and wipers. You know you got a boat full of hard core smallie fishermen when everytime we caught a 20+" rainbow we would cuss our luck. Btw, it's a little tricky to fight a fish and take a photo at the same time as I did with this fish.

[BaseballCoach (Rev A)]

That tiger trout sure is pretty but the head to body ratio is out of wack.

[Niner]

I guess they call them "wipers" out there as they are a hybrid of a white bass and a striped bass?
Down here we just call them Hybrids.

http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishin...h/bassstriped/

[Captain]

Well I'll be,,, we DO have those in NC they are called Bodie Bass here. I had no clue!
http://www.ncwildlife.org/portals/0/...ss_profile.pdf

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[Buckrub]

I never caught one. State website says we have a state record, so I guess we got 'em.......

Bass, Hybrid Striped* 27 lbs., 5 oz. Greers Ferry Lake 4/24/1997

[Captain]

Bucky, looks like the world record is there in your home state!
One thing I noticed was on your state page it said they were fertile and spawned, whereas on the NC page I put the link up too it say they rarely spawn? Wonder why the difference?

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[Buckrub]

Yeah, world records abound here! Ha.

Um.......didn't see, don't see.....where it says they spawn??? My biology class (taken before electricity was invented) says no hybrid can reproduce. But what do I know? See other post......I know nothing.

Here's where I got it..........
http://www.agfc.com/fishing/Pages/Ar...ngRecords.aspx

[BarryBobPosthole]

You know nothing Jon Snow.

I don't know if they reproduce. Can't you guys think of anything but sex? And no Thumper, not butt sex.

A fisheries guy over at Greers Ferry told me once that during the prime times of the year, they eat their weight in threadfin shad every single day. And even with the number of big wipers in that lake you can almost walk across the shad in late summer. Hard to imagine what it'd be like if they weren't there. And its no wonder there's huge walleye in that lake too. I Fished it every year for like five years in a row in the 80's. Purty lake.



BKB

[Buckrub]

I have heard wild rumors, mostly late at night, that there are fish in that lake.

Too clear, too deep, too few stumps, too full of Water Lice.

[Captain]

I have heard wild rumors, mostly late at night, that there are fish in that lake. Too clear, too deep, too few stumps, too full of Water Lice.

I know that's a lie Bucky..... You ain't been up "late at night" in years.

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[Thumper]

I think the "rumors" he's hearing "late at night" are called "dreams".