I am going to willard on Saturday morning. I am going to be fishing from my inflatable boat. What is the absolute best way to get the cats out there. I am taking my friend and want him to have a good experience.
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Where you fishing at?
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800080][size 4]Out by the SW IsLand area, stop and jig using worms and tude jigs, slow down-quick up's, (get'n there attention) the water is muddy, Like Cocoa milk, so anything that would attract attention, I am not much of a cat keeper, however good luck>[fishin][/size][/#800080][/font]
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Take an arsenal of bait and anchor on various points of the island. The cats are there, just mess around with bait and presentation. Should have no problem limiting out there.[
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[cool][#0000ff]There are catfish all over the lake, at all depths. And, they will bite just about anything you offer them. People catch them on everything from expensive fresh shrimp to plain old pieces of hot dogs. Probably more caught on crawlers than anything because that is what most folks use to fish with...for everything.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish Willard a lot from the float tube, and routinely catch at least 15 to 20 cats on every trip...mostly by accident while fishing for wipers. I catch most of them on minnows...either dragged on the bottom or suspended under a bobber. But, I catch a bunch on small jigs tipped with crawler...or even just plain tube jigs and crank baits.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Even though catfish can be found all over the lake, they do tend to gather in defined areas. Some of those spots are almost always productive. Others are only one-day-wonders and they are not there on your next trip. But, once you catch one or two in a spot, chances are that there are lots of others around too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I move around a lot in my tube. I can go for a long time without getting any bites and then suddenly have both rods get active at once...with every new cast resulting in a hookup as soon as the bait reaches bottom. If I were in a boat, that is where I would drop anchor. In a tube, I can maintain position with my fins, even in a modest breeze. The key is to stay mobile and searching until you find the zone.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You can't make any real generality statements about where to find them or how. It can be different from one day to the next. Depth is a biggie. On some days the fish will be active in 6 to 8 feet of water and on other days they will be in the deepest spots they can find.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I keep detailed logs of all my trips and part of those include the depths at which I found the fish. Earlier in the summer, 7-8 feet was the best depth to find cats. On my last couple of trips...in the current murky water conditions...most of my fish came from deeper water...10 feet being about the median.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]So, even though you won't see the catfish much on sonar, you should have and use sonar to help you mark the depths that are producing bites...and then to keep yourself in the right "zone". [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One of the most productive areas for TubeBabe and myself has consistently been the NE corner of the lake. There is a very uneven bottom there, with humps and channels of varying depths. I suspect that uneven bottom terrain attracts various bait items and/or provides ideal temperature or water chemistry conditions. At any rate, there are lots of fish there...both wipers and cats...and walleyes when they are on the prowl. Again, use your sonar to figure out the bottom contours and try different spots until you find the fish. Once you do, you shouldn't have to move much.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]For a specific location, I might suggest fishing straight west of the long exposed gravel bar out from the campgrounds. Find some ten foot water and soak minnows and crawlers. If the fish aren't there, try moving a bit north to the shallow shelf that comes way out off the bank. Fish it where it is only 7 or 8 feet deep. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If there is no breeze...or only a light breeze...let your boat drift to find the fish. Take along a rope with a length of chain on it to use as a drag anchor to slow your drift. A small bag of rocks works good too...or a small mushroom anchor. If the wind comes up too strong to stay put, move in to shore where there is some deeper water close in and cast out into the deeper water. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Always know what the weather is SUPPOSED to do, and don't take your small craft too far in the wrong direction. If there are supposed to be strong SW winds by late morning, do not go clear over to the NE corner and stay there until you have to fight 3 foot waves coming back to the marina. Stay close if there are supposed to be winds. Heck, some of the best cat action is just to the right and left of the main channel coming out of the north marina. It is always a good spot to top off our limit if we want to.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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[quote TubeDude][#0000ff] People catch them on everything from expensive fresh shrimp to plain old pieces of hot dogs. [/#0000ff][/quote]
Several years ago, I cut up some hot dogs and put them in baby-food jars. In one jar I added vinegar. In the other jar I added vanilla. Both caught one channel catfish after another at Willard Bay. I did find that I had to be careful when I made my casts or the hot dogs would come off.
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Thanks for every ones help. I will report when I get back.
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Other than the expert advice that has been already given I would suggest either a 5000 watt Generator and a couple electrodes gently hanging in the water (just to stabilize your boat of course), or, two sticks of TNT!
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when you have launched on the north end, did you do it from the beach or out of marina by the boat ramp?
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[cool][#0000ff]Definitely use the ramp. You can drive up to the water, unload your gear and launch...parking up in the parking area while you are out. If you are launching an inflatable, stay to the far west of the launch area, on the exposed mud and gravel (in front of the out-of-water docks). That will leave the concrete ramp open for boats. They get impatient when tubes or non power craft take up their precious ramps.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]With the current low water conditions it is a long ways to the water from any other parking place.[/#0000ff]
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