Quick Trip!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 7:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 100's

It was the day before our big trip to Alaska and I had the day off to prepare so I decided to make a quick trip to none other than the I-80 Pond. I didn't stay long but it was a good trip none the less. I caught a ton of small bass with only this one coming in at around 15 inches.
I have never in my life fished at one location with as much consistency through out one summer than I have at the I-80 ponds, but it has been so much fun with the catch rate and the size of the bass that I have been catching that it has been well worth it. Not to mention the location is much closer than anywhere else!

Back to the Pond!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 6:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, 90's

Another good trip to the I-80 ponds with many more bass caught. I actually caught more nice bass today than any previous trip to the pond, but didn't land any monsters. Bass in the 15-16 inch class seemed to be everywhere! I was using my I-80 pond set up with a drop shot rigged with a power minnow in white and green sparkle. I probably caught anywhere from 15-20 bass with 10 being over 12 inches. I also had another weed diver! I was fighting a bass when it decided to do the dive straight to the pond floor and under about 3 feet of thick weeds. I had been down this road before so I knew exactly what to do. I held tight tension on my pole, waiting and wondering if this one would wiggle out like the last one caught like this. I was lucky enough that I had time to snap this photo of my rod tip and the tension kept on this fish before I landed him. You can see that I have some serious bend in my pole.Then just like my last similar predicament like this, the bass wiggled its way free and I lipped him just in time. Yet another good trip to the I-80 Pond with more to come I'm sure!

Lesson Learned!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 6:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 90's

With most of June being spent at the I-80 Pond I figured it was time to try somewhere new! Although I was tempted to go back for another round! Instead I hit Utah Lake in search of some hungry kitty cats! I thought I better take two poles so I could fish one for kitties and throw something else in case some of the bass were active. The problem is that two poles is kind of a lot to handle on the tube so I had a brilliant idea to take my normal pole along with an ice fishing pole to save room. My thought was that I could cast for bass with my long pole and drag a minnow for cats with my short pole. This ended up being a huge mistake and a good lesson learned! I set them both up and everything looked good. I started dragging a minnow and then casting. Within one minute a had a huge hit on my short pole so I grabbed it and tried to set the hook. Try setting a hook with a 3 foot ice pole! Ha! It doesn't work! I had the fish half way to me and he got off. I thought oh well I will re bait and try again. as soon as the little pole was in the water and I could start casting with my other pole again I got another good hit with the small pole. I grabbed it and yanked! Lost him! This was tough! I re baited and within another couple minutes another good hit only this time the kitty cat took it and hooked it himself so I thought I was good to go. Then I realized the other reason a 3 foot pole doesn't work, you can't play the fish! This was a good fish and it started fighting hard and taking line! I tried my best but after a couple minutes I lost him in the reeds. I finally wised up and rigged my long pole the same way and put the 3 footer on the shelf. Wouldn't you know it I couldn't get a hit after that! After an hour of no more hits I finally got one and pulled in a small Channel Cat! Soon after I pulled in another. Then I got another hit and this one took me for a ride. I thought I had a good Channel Cat on only to find a 4 pound carp! I snapped a photo just as my line broke! A fun day of fishing and a good lesson learned for the future! Leave the ice poles in the closet til there is a hard deck to fish from!

First Largemouth!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 90's

I got a phone call from JJ and he told me he wanted to go fishin. We tried to decide where to go and with many of the lakes fishing well right now it made the decision tough. should we hit Strawberry and go after the big trout, or Jordanelle where they are reporting some monster Smallies. Then you have Pineview where the Muskies are on fire! Not forgetting that with the temperature in the mid 90's that the Catfish at Utah Lake are probably going nuts! Its mid June which is when the fishing peaks for the year and most places are hot spots! With all these in mind we took a different approach and decided to find JJ his first Largemouth Bass! What better place to go with gas prices topping $3.20 a gallon then back to the I-80 ponds. When we got there it was approaching 95 degrees so we ditched the waders and floated our tubes in swimsuits. The fishing started off well with me landing a few small bass, but we were in search of one that would take a liking to what JJ was throwing. I have a small spot on the pond where I have caught at least a couple bass from every time I go to the I-80 ponds. So we headed there and this is where JJ landed his first ever Largemouth Bass. It wasn't a monster but he was on the board! Shortly after he landed another small bass and was now a part of the bass fishing world. I caught quite a few but never landed any big ones. JJ only caught a few but got some good practice on some of the best techniques to land bass. It was a good time on the water and we even got a bonus when on the way home we ran into a den full of baby fox's. What more can you ask for from a day on the water.

I Guess It Can Get Better!

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 6:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 90's

The I-80 Pond was calling my name again with the beauty I pulled out last round so I headed back for some more action! The story was almost the same except a little bit better! I got there early and immediately started catching bass. They were all in the small to medium range but the white fluke minnow was still on fire! Some guys showed up throwing weightless senkos and began to tell me that its the only thing to throw around here to catch bass. I laughed all the way down the shoreline as I was catching 5 to 1 the bass that they were. They noticed but I think their pride got in the way of them switching up! I was catching a bunch of bass in this size range when the unexpected happened! I caught a bass that felt like every other bass I had caught. I got it right up to my float tube and it surfaced! This was no small bass and once he saw me he started acting like the size he was. He took off and started peeling off line. He went left then right and I fought him all the way back to my tube and he took off again, only this time he went straight down beneath me into the thickest weeds you could ever imagine! Once he went under my rod lost all action and I was stuck right to the floor straight beneath me. My pole was doubled over to where it felt like my pole might snap! I have read about big bass diving into the weeds to get away and that they are usually successful. I sat there for what seemed like hours but was probably a couple minutes. The only thing going through my mind was how the story of losing this monster bass was going to go! I kept tight pressure on my pole knowing in my mind that the fish was probably long gone and I was left stuck with a snag that wouldn't come lose when all of the sudden I felt a wiggle! I pulled as hard as I could and Suddenly the bass came lose and I got him to my tube as fast as I could! I was able to lip him and now the story sounds a lot better, with pictures to add to it! He was a monster coming in at 19 inches and 3 pounds! He was a football! I am now completely addicted to the I-80 Pond!

I-80 Pond

Moon Phase:

Fishing Time: 6:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Weather: sunny, clear, 80's

With another Friday off I figured I would make a trip back to the I-80 pond. The fishing started off hot with a bunch of small bass wanting to play! I had a blast with these guys

and must of caught fifteen of them. As much fun as it was I wanted to catch something bigger, and I knew they were in there cause I have seen them swimming around the shoreline and have caught a few of them in the past. I was fishing with a earth worm when catching these dinky bass and the Bluegill were bugging me to death because they wouldn't leave it alone. I decided to go to something different in order to keep the Bluegill away and possibly the smaller bass too. I tried throwing a weightless senko but to no avail, then the magic bait was found! I threw on a fluke minnow and rigged it drop shot and instantly started catching bass again. Then it happened! I landed an 18 inch 2.5 pound largemouth. It was a brute and it is the biggest bass I have ever caught out of the I-80 pond. I left after catching this guy and figured it can't get any better than that! Here is a few pics of the big guy and also a pic of Lone Rock on the Great Salt Lake in which the I-80 Pond sits right next to.