I am new to this board and want to learn more about Willard. I have fished there three or four times and have caught fish most times. I have caught fish with surface baits and some trolling. I have trolled with wally divers, shad raps, jointed rapalas, etc. My trolling has been done with a lot of line straight behind the boat. I have done ok but wanted to be more consistent. I love to catch wipers and walleye. I have a few questions though if you all don't mind. Do you have to troll with planer boards or can you long line and not spook fish? How fast do you normally troll? (I only have the big motor to troll with, 90 hp johnson.) I saw in the latest willard post that prism shads and white curly tails were used. What is a prism shad? Were you trolling these or casting? Is it better to troll with braided line for feel or does mono work better? Any other tips would be helpful. Is morning, midday or evening better this time of year. Sorry for all the questions and thanks a million!
P.S. I am considering taking the kids to willard bay on monday or pelican lake. Any comments?
[signature]
Planer boards. I have caught just as many fish behind my boat as I have on planers. I only put the planers on if catching is slow behind the boat. I think its more of a personel preference.
Normal trolling speeds for Wipers are about 1.5 thro 4 mph. I have even got a few above 4 mph. If one speed is not catching the fish, bump it up or down.
Prism Shad are what I believe to be the most successful lure in willard. Its a lipless crankbait. Go to Hooked fishing tackle in Kaysville and they will set you up with them. No one else around here sells them. I only cast for small mouth in willard, if I am targeting Wipers I troll, unless I see boils anyway but its too early for those.
I used to use 8lb test mono and I ended up losing a few Wipers cause they would snap it. I know use 14lb Mono and have only had one break off in the last year or so.
Heres a tip. If you have a GPS, mark the spot where you catch a wiper and troll back through the area a few times. You would be suprised how many fish you can catch out of a school.
[signature]
I will tell you a little secret....shh...prizm shad, hooked tackle in kaysville at 525 n main, james can set you up with a "willard special" or two, I hear the fish hit em so hard you wife will get whiplash sitting waiting for you to get home....LOL... really though that is what you need....hooked is an advertizer on here, if you go to the gerneral page in Utah you will see a banner on top says hooked..this is a link to their site you can get full directions and phone number address there, I may be off on the adress, but its in the general area...it may be 725 n main...kaysville....go there get happy.
[signature]
[size 1]Do you have to troll with planer boards or can you long line and not spook fish?[/size]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]I do both. I'll run two line out the back and two side planers, one off each side. I think that the side planers can have some advantages. Like you noted, they are not right behind the boat so they won't spook fish. They allow you to cut a wider swath by spreading things out. They also will give you added action on the lure. Waves will add action, Turns by the boat will increase or decrease the speeds of the lure more darmatically.[/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]You don't need side planers to be successful. Ask Predator. He never uses them and seems to find fish when no one else can. [/size][/font]
[size 1]How fast do you normally troll?[/size]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]2.0 to 4.0 mph by my GPS. Let the fish tell you what they want. If you aren't catch fish, try varying your speeds until you find what works.[/size][/font]
[size 1]What is a prism shad? [/size][size 1]Were you trolling these or casting?[/size]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]They are a lipless crankbait with rattles. These aren't the only lures that will work. Rattle Traps, Shad raps, Rattlin' Raps, rapala minnows, Storm Thundersticks, Smithwick Rattlin rogues. The list can go on and on. Producer prism shads are not the "magic" lure. They work well but so do other things.[/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]You can modify your lures by adding a flashabou skirt to rear hook. This will give the lure a little more action and will help trigger strikes. They are not a requirement to be successful.[/size][/font]
[size 1]Is it better to troll with braided line for feel or does mono work better? [/size]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Depends what you're doing. I use monos for wipers. It works better with sider planer releases and has some stretch which helps to absorb shock. I've used superlines and caught pkenty of fish. Nothing sets the hook better. Your choice.[/size][/font]
[size 1][/size]
[size 1]Is morning, midday or evening better this time of year.[/size]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Seems like later day trips are more successful as a rule but last weekend during the wiper contest, we were boating fish at 9:30am. Wipers can become very aggressive at night so don't think the fishing is over once the sun goes down. In some cases, it's just starting.[/size][/font]
[size 1]Any other tips would be helpful.[/size]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Time on the water. You need to get out there and spend A LOT of time practicing and trying out things so that you can read the conditions and respond appropreiately to it. No one lure or technique is going to put fish on the boat every time. Too many fisherman are always looking for that one thing that ALWAYS work. It doesn't exist.[/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Good luck![/size][/font]
[signature]