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] Question - with the water so low at willard and the Ice starting to form, what effect will this have on the Wyper-Waleye ect? [crazy]Does solid ice kill fish? and were do they go with solid ice conditions, is there deep enough parts to save the fish with out hurting or killing them?[/size][/#500050][/font]
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I wouldn't worry about solid ice in Willard....this year. The low water next summer is going to be the real killer.
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[cool][#0000ff]The water was actually lower during the winter of 2004 - 2005. The fish survived just fine. There are still some 12 - 14 foot deep trenches over on the west side and if you can find them under the ice the fishing can be good.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It is rare for the ice on Willard to get much more than 8 -10 inches thick...or to stay fully capped long enough for an oxygen depletion problem.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As has been suggested, the low water will have a greater affect on overall fish population and health if it remains low through the spring spawning periods. Of course wipers do not spawn, but walleyes and other species need the rocky structure to spawn in the main lake. Some will be able to go up the inlet channel to spawn in running water, but with the mud bottom those are not ideal spawning conditions either.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One of the big issues will be the gizzard shad. They did not seem to have as great of a spawn or abundance of young last year...in the lower and murkier waters. Without a big spawn of shad, there is little for the predators to feed on and the fish will be skinny and weak...until they die out. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It looks like we are getting enough snowpack to provide runoff and nutrients for the lake, but if it all runs out the outlet, that will be no good for the summer. And, one of the big problems when they are letting water out is that the walleye especially gravitate toward the current and get sucked out into the channel that runs into Salt Lake. We lost a lot of walleye and wipers last year when the lake was drawn down. Guys were snagging the heck out of them down in the channel. Lots of cats and crappies went out of the lake too. There is no protective screen or barrier to keep the fish in the lake and they just go down the chute.[/#0000ff]
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[cool]Thanks Tube Dude It was a lotof info and I learned from it,THANKS[sly]
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Just so know one panics about the water at Willard and it freezing too much, it seems that Weber Basin is letting water into the reservoir. Not real sure where it is coming from but the reservoir is rising a little. If you don't believe me just drive down by the south marina and look at all the water they are letting in. On Tuesday, it looked like a spring runoff with what they were letting in.
Well just to let you all know. Lets just hope it keeps snowing.
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When are they expected to be finished working on the Dike?
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[font "High Tower Text"][#500050][size 4][cool]My understanding is I thought there finished working on the dike, I may be wrong, someone else might know, [shocked]And has any one Ice fished willard yet?[angelic][/size][/#500050][/font]
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[cool][#0000ff]They DID finish patching the first leak they discovered...several months and many dollars later than they anticipated.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The BAD news is that in doing some testing along other parts of the dike they discovered several hundred yards of dike that had been built on top of boggy unstable soil...the cause of the first leak. Now they have to completely replace a long stretch of the dike, after re-engineering the subsoil. At least that is the explanation I got.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Can you say "Long time, lotsa bucks, whacked out fishing"? The water levels will remain low during the complete time they are working on the dike repairs...which could take two to three years.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Haven't heard of anyone fishing Willard yet this year, but I am sure someone has tried it. I will definitely be checking out some spots I located while tubing this past year...some fairly deep holes within easy reach of the north marina. Could be some fish in the channel too. It will be over six feet deep in spots.[/#0000ff]
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