Fishing Forum

My wife was hosting a girls night at our house so I packed up some rods, some chubs, and headed for the Willard channel.

Fishing wasn't fast, but at least I didn't get skunked. 3 cats in a couple of hours. Best part was the 25.5" that came out to play. Best cat I've caught out of there in years.

(04-09-2023, 02:19 AM)Jig-fisher Wrote: [ -> ]My wife was hosting a girls night at our house so I packed up some rods, some chubs, and headed for the Willard channel.

Fishing wasn't fast, but at least I didn't get skunked. 3 cats in a couple of hours. Best part was the 25.5" that came out to play. Best cat I've caught out of there in years.

Sounds like nice way to give the wife some space - Nice job!

Very nice.

Cat-catchin' beats "hen parties" any time.  Glad you got a few.  Were you fishing near the baffles or off the point near the ramps?  I'll probably be launching my tube for the first time some day after this next week.  Looks like some improving weather.

That 25 incher is about the largest that Willard has been putting out the past few years.  Definitely not like the pre-wiper days when there were lots of 30" plus fish.  But I did get a 28 incher a couple of years ago...fishing the Eagle Beach area with white plastics for wipers and walleyes.

I just parked next to the bathrooms at the top of the ramp.  I dropped off the north side of the ramp area about 100 yards east of the buoy in the middle of the channel. Lots of boat traffic in and out. A couple of boats were fishing close to the buoy along with a kayak. I did not see any other fish caught, but that doesn't mean they didn't, just didn't see any.

Plus the baffles area looked like combat fishing at its finest.  Must have been at least 30 vehicles in the parking lot next to entrance road to the marina.

(04-09-2023, 02:42 PM)Jig-fisher Wrote: [ -> ]I just parked next to the bathrooms at the top of the ramp.  I dropped off the north side of the ramp area about 100 yards east of the buoy in the middle of the channel. Lots of boat traffic in and out. A couple of boats were fishing close to the buoy along with a kayak. I did not see any other fish caught, but that doesn't mean they didn't, just didn't see any.

Plus the baffles area looked like combat fishing at its finest.  Must have been at least 30 vehicles in the parking lot next to entrance road to the marina.

In years past I fished the channel quite a bit from about late February to early April.  When the water is coming in at a good clip it really draws in both the walleyes and the cats.  Never could stomach fishing the baffles.  I fish for enjoyment...not endurance.  And the combination of snagging mayhem and "unsophisticated" angler activities was really a downer. 

But I have had some pretty good days fishing up and down the channel when there is abundant water.  The dredged deeper channel only extends up to about the point you said you were fishing.  After that it shallows up until it reaches the "scour hole" below the baffles.  But when the fish are in the channel it can be good almost anywhere you can find a spot to set up...since the fish move up and down the channel.

In my float tube I fish mostly from the buoys out past the channel entrance.  There is an area right around the buoys that almost always holds fish...as evidenced by the boat traffic.  And it is also pretty good for about 25 yards upstream from the buoys...although fishing from the bank can be problematic because of all the shoreline brush and stickups.

That channel has seen me launching my float tube as early as mid February in years with early thaws and water inflow from the baffles.  On one memorable trip...during the years when they locked the gates way out at the front entrance...I had to tow my tube across the snow to the marina area...then go up and over the dike to launch through the snow...since the ramp was still iced.  But the kitties were already there...and hungry.  I caught fish all the way out from the buoy out into the lake.  I went through 2 bags of minnows...probably catching over 30 chilly kitties and keeping a limit of 8 nice eaters.  And I made several more trips there with similar results before the main lake really opened up.

  

 

That's awesome and some hard-core fishing. Sounds like something  I would have done too. I've never been afraid of  a little challenge mixed in with the chance to catch some fish.

Nice haul for early season Willard fishing, glad you did so well, especially with that big one. What kind of lure were you using?



Pat, I remember when you made that post about walking in from the gate, looks like the kitties were smaller then.

(04-09-2023, 04:49 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: [ -> ]Nice haul for early season Willard fishing, glad you did so well, especially with that big one. What kind of lure were you using?



Pat, I remember when you made that post about walking in from the gate, looks like the kitties were smaller then.

When I moved back to Utah from Arizona...in 2004...the cats were even smaller.  Tough to get any much over 14 inches.  But then the water levels (after the drought of the early 2000s) stayed higher, the cats started getting bigger.  For quite a few years, though, the "cookie cutter" size was about 18 inches...as in that picture.  However, as we have observed, with a decline in the number of wipers the cats have been getting bigger.  During the shadless times the wipers eat a lot of the same foods cats rely on...like crawdads.  So, the more hungry wipers there are the less the cats have to eat.  When the water level stays up above the rocks there are more crawdads for all the fish.  Looks like this might be a good year.

(04-09-2023, 04:49 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: [ -> ]Nice haul for early season Willard fishing, glad you did so well, especially with that big one. What kind of lure were you using?



Pat, I remember when you made that post about walking in from the gate, looks like the kitties were smaller then.

I set up one rod with a standard cat rig. Circle hook with a nice chunk of chub just fished on the bottom. For a while I pitched a jig on my other rod, but eventually just switched over to another bait rig on that rod as well. Simple, but basically the same rig I use out on the Bear River to catch cats.

(04-09-2023, 06:20 PM)Jig-fisher Wrote: [ -> ]

(04-09-2023, 04:49 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: [ -> ]Nice haul for early season Willard fishing, glad you did so well, especially with that big one. What kind of lure were you using?



Pat, I remember when you made that post about walking in from the gate, looks like the kitties were smaller then.

I set up one rod with a standard cat rig. Circle hook with a nice chunk of chub just fished on the bottom. For a while I pitched a jig on my other rod, but eventually just switched over to another bait rig on that rod as well. Simple, but basically the same rig I use out on the Bear River to catch cats.

Were you using any weight on your cat rig, if so, how much?

Just a 1/4 oz bell sinker above a swivel that was sbout 24" above the hook. There is current, but not that much. Just needed enough to keep it in place.

(04-09-2023, 07:43 PM)Jig-fisher Wrote: [ -> ]Just a 1/4 oz bell sinker above a swivel that was sbout 24" above the hook. There is current, but not that much.  Just needed enough to keep it in place.

That's about the same setup we were using when we fished near there from shore about a month ago, except we were using fligs.