[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][#002850]My boss (Gary Liptrot) and I decided to take advantage of the one good weather day this week and sneak in a day of fishing at Willard. We launched at about 7:30 and had doubles right out the start gate.
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We caught wipers in several places on the lake ... just out the South channel, along the east side by the pig farm, out in the middle, and down about a mile north of the light pole.
Then, at about 11:30, the bite shut down tight and didn't get another fish.
The water was only 66 degrees at launch time and went up to 72 by 1:00.
Gary caught his first Wiper ever.
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His first walleye ever.
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and his first mackinaw ever (you can convince these newbees just about anything)[laugh]
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That stringer of 11 fish weighed about 45 lbs and took me a good long time filleting them. Gary and I both smoke meats in our smokers and are looking forward to smoking up a batch of wipers. We have never smoked wiper and look forward to seeing how they taste. Have any of you guys smoked wiper? How are they compared to trout?
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Caught most fish on a Rapala Tail Dancer and some on a Producer Prism shad both trolled at about 2.8-3.0 mph GPS.
We both really enjoyed the day fishing. Sure would be nice to have repeat days like this often.
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[frown] Your the man Old Coot, I spent the PM up there and worked hard to boat one 20" walleye on a bottom bouncer at the island. Tried everything I could think of from bottom bouncers to cranks down deep and shallow - nothing. That's fishing, time and place is everything with a little skill thrown in of course.
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[cool][#0000ff]Nice report and pics. Looks like a good day all around.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have smoked wipers and they are great. But, they are great almost any way you fix them. Almost a waste of fine white meat to smoke it when there are so many other ways to do it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Very little comparison to trout. Flaky white flesh as opposed to mushy (trout). Wipers are better flavor too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You may wish to leave the skin on the fillets and smoke them skin side down on the rack. They cook and smoke clear through, and then you can peel the meat easily off the skin when you eat them. If you smoke skinless fillets they can break apart when you remove them from the rack. No need to scale them since you will not be eating the skin. But, if you have already skinned them, just be sure to oil the rack a bit before putting the fillets in the smoker. Reduces the sticking.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Let me know when the first batch will be done.[/#0000ff]
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Very nice catch. I seen you as you were leaving and came and talked to you. We ended up with nothing all day, stayed till 9:00. Well I lied, my brother caught a gizzard shad [sly]. First time in three weeks we've been skunked. Such a bummer. Nice going!!
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Great work Ralph! I'll bet your boss had a great time on the pond.
Like TD said, smoked Wiper is tasty...er wait, it really isn't! After you ruin it in your smoker, send it to me and I'll make sure it gets disposed of properly[
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Sweet catch O.C.
I need to get out there !!
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My suggestion is to skip the smoker on the wipers. They are exceptionally good battered and fried. I really like a product called shore lunch which is sold at cabela's. I'm going to fry up the ones we caught yesterday for lunch. Everyone has their own tastes and I love smoked salmon but I'd be very surprised if you tried this that you'd ever smoke wiper or most white meat fish again. I'm getting hungry just typing this.
Enjoy
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I don't have anywhere near the experience that TD does at smoking fish but my first and only try at smoking wiper did not produce good results. If may be that I did not use the right brim but I was not happy with smoked wiper and I won't try that again. I hope you have better luck than I did. Way to go on the great catching, looks like a fun morning on the lake.
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So I went back through the willard archives and it looked like the boils started at the end of june/beginnig of july, anybody have a guess on what's going to happen this year? And is it pretty close to fishing the striper boils?
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Looks like you hit a great day at the Bay. I have been waiting for good weather. thats alot of wipers, any left for me?
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Hey Ralph, after talking with you we were all jazzed up and ready to catch some fish, but we either missed the bite, used the wrong stuff or fished in the wrong place. We got skunked! We launched at 5:30, didn't start fishing till 6:00 (Cousin had to Wakeboard), then started trolling in and around Freeway Bay, which has been good to me this year in the evenings. After 45 minutes and not even a hit, I told my cousin that I had a bad feeling how the night was going to end...and I was right. We trolled till 8:30 and called it quits. Others had fish at the marina, so I suspect we just trolled in the wrong place that day! He was bummed, but other times we've been the ones holding the stringer of fish while others goose egged, and after that he didn't feel too bad. We tried EVERYTHING we had, and as far as I know we had one fish on for a minute (confirmed), but never got it to the boat, and maybe 2 or 3 other bumps. Just when I think I have that lake figured out...it humbles me.
I don't think the weather shut it down this time, I think the fish were just not in the area I fished. Only saw a few on the finder and who knows what they were!
Randy
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Sounds like the bite was earlier in the day. I fished from 4:00 till dark, and caught three wipers. They were higher in the water column, as the water was quite murky. The Thin Fins 50' off the boards did best, so the top 5' or so. I'll be going back on Monday, with a couple more rods rigged up.
As far as eating them goes, my wife didn't care for the wipers till a week ago. I trimmed off all the red flesh, then we baked them according to a recipe called Olympic Halibut: It was outstanding. I won't be releasing them in the future.
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I'd give anything to learn WB. So far lots of effort and no catch
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For the wipers, troll shallow-running crank baits off planer boards. Looks like bottom bouncers are best for the walleye.
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Paddler
We had bought 2 planers that we hadn't used yet and talked to an older gentleman at Smith and Edwards who claimed they were more of a pain than what they were worth. We have bottom bounced with a worm harness just fast enough to turn the blade, around .5 mph.
We have long lined rapalas and also have cast and retrieved them. That is how I have caught my only fish there. In the rapalas we have used a shad with a dark black, and some silver, silver blue shad raps.
Are the planers really worth learning?
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First of all, I disagree with going so slow while bottom bouncing. I generally like about 1MPH or more, and so long as you can maintain bottom contact, you're not going too fast. If you cannot feel bottom with a 2.5 oz bouncer, slow down a bit.
The planer boards are definitely worth it, IMO. It's about the only way you can run cranks shallow without spooking fish. I can put a Thin Fin or SR5 10' off the board, then let the board out 80'. You simply cannot run a bait shallow without having it in your prop wash without boards. I caught wipers on Friday on Thin Fins 40' off the boards, so maybe 5' down.
I don't have a trolling electric now, so can't BB. I can fish jigs and Lindy rig, however, and will tomorrow if I see sonar fish.
Bottom line, go faster while BB, you'll cover twice the water and catch twice as many fish, and use your boards. Also, if you don't have it already, buy the book, "Precision Trolling".
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[#008000]Nice Mac - LOL ! And, nice haul for the table. Good work guys.[/#008000]
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[#008000]Won't be too long now before things shape up a bit (I've been saying that for a month now).[/#008000]
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[#0000ff]Are the planers really worth learning?[/#0000ff]
NO ... I absolutely HATE planers. They are a royal pain in the but. The only upside to them is that they catch double the fish. I almost ALWAYS run planers when trolling for wipers because I consistantly catch twice as many fish on a planer than I do straight back. But they are still a pain. So, if you are just out to enjoy the day on the lake, forget the planers. If, however, you are serious about boating fish, rig-um-up.
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The planers are not for bottom bouncing, correct? I seen a thread on planers and someone said you could get a package of 4 of the churches for $20. Cabella's only has the churches, a big one for $30 and a mini one for $15. Originally we were going to get both to see which one worked the best. Wouldnt that mini one just be a pain and flip around in the water while trolling? So on the planners you need to stick with lighter stuff like the crank baits?
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[#008000]Actually, you can use bottom bouncers with planer boards just like you can use lead core line with them. [/#008000]
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[#008000]However, I'm with Old_Coot on that - I don't like inline planer boards. I don't like the hassle of dealing with them while a fish in on my line. I prefer the planer boards strung off a separate mast with releases on my line - so I only fight the fish.[/#008000]
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[#008000]They can increase you catch rate when the fish are spooky or shallow. But, I can still catch my share if I place the lures far enough back that the fish are not too frightened off by my boat. It's one of those things that you will have to check out for yourself and decide which approach you like best.[/#008000]
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