05-06-2010, 06:17 AM
Hey I went to Willard three times over the past month in search of crappie in the north marina.
The first time I went I got skunked but noticed two guys on the bank catching multiple crappies, one after the other. I tried to see what they were using and it looked like small green or white jigs. I noticed one guy putting what looked like bait on his hook. I asked him about it and he said he was just using jigs and nothing else. I counted 23 people lining the north marina and only two guys were catching them, and they were catching them frequently. Some of you may have been there and seen this.
The second time I went I bought some berkely crappie nibbles, 1" gulp jigs (the ones in the powerbait sized bottles soaking in the juices), and some anchovy and baitfish scened smelly jellly. I knew the guy was using a scent but wasn't telling me. We ended up catching seven between the two of us. It was alot better than the previous trip but not as good as I hoped. It seemed that small one inch marabou jigs dipped in either smelly jelly scent, or the gulp grubs worked best I believe there was a few dozen people fishing there again although I didn't count. The fish were biting very light sometimes only pulling my tiny bobber only half way down.
The third time was one of the best trips I have ever made to Willard Bay ever! I couldn't get the thought of the guy catching fish after fish out of my head so I had to go back! I ended up buying smaller and lighter bobbers so the fish couldn't detect them as well because the previous trip We again went to the north marina and there were tons of fisherman. I used the same technique as before and caught a couple crappie with my partner within an hour or so. I then thought that maybe the 6# test line was a little thick. I fly fish half the time so I know sometimes the trout are finicky and sensitive with high fishing pressure. I tied on about three feet of 2# test with a blood knot and casted out. Almost immediately I caught a crappie. About three fish later my partner asked me to attach some thinner leader to hers as well. We both averaged probably about one fish every 5-10 minutes. We ended up catching over 20 combined and after about 10 fish started releasing them. I also landed two Wipers that were alot smaller than my crappie. Released them too. It was fun to watch the crowds of asians try to cast out and over us to get to the fish but to no avail. I am asian as well so I find this especially funny. We were out on our float tubes and pontoon but were easily within casting distance. When we got to shore I gave a dollop of the smelly jelly to a lady because she was curious about our technique. I saw her catch a crappie as I was deflating our tubes to put them back into my small civic so it put a
on my face. I need to mention I only saw two other fish caught that day. One by a guy and one by the lady i gave smelly jelly to.
When fishing pressure is high you need to adapt and offer a more finesse approach I guess? Well that's what I learned at least. But our trip did not stop there. We were pretty excited to have caught so many fish and with us both being off the next day we were up to fishing longer. We headed to the north dikes and saw a few guys with one of them having one walleye and one wiper. I tried to find out what he was using but really couldn't speak english so I just carried on. It was about a half an hour into sunset and my awesome fishing partner saw tons of fish jumping (carp) in the flooded grass. She casted out a worm under bobber and caught a carp pretty quick. It really made her excited. I decided to use it as bait because I only had a few worms that seemed mushy and dead. We both have a second pole permit so as soon as it was too dark to use bobbers, jigs and lures we casted out and bait fished for catfish. It was phenomenal! I never caught a cat over eight pounds out of the lake. They generally average a pound or two for me at the most. We caught multiple cats over ten pounds along the north dike. I even caught one that I believe to be the state record catch and release fish. We fished along the bottom and used lighted bobbers to suspend baits near submerged brush and weeds. We caught six or seven big cats and like ten small ones. We released all cats.
I now love Willard and think I will go there more often. I just bought a state parks pass so I don't have to pay ten bucks every time. If you see an asian guy and white girl in university of utah sweaters please say hi That is our fishing attire when chilly out. Any BfTers that want more info or have questions, please feel free to PM me. I posted some pics but not all. The pic of my record cat is not posted yet. Waiting to hear back from the UDWR. Thanks k2muskie for the info on the catch and release form. We are headed back up to the north marina this sunday. Look for a green or red dave scadden pontoon, or a browning float tube with fish finder and accessories attached. i will be willing to share fishing techniques as long as you reciprocate.
The first time I went I got skunked but noticed two guys on the bank catching multiple crappies, one after the other. I tried to see what they were using and it looked like small green or white jigs. I noticed one guy putting what looked like bait on his hook. I asked him about it and he said he was just using jigs and nothing else. I counted 23 people lining the north marina and only two guys were catching them, and they were catching them frequently. Some of you may have been there and seen this.
The second time I went I bought some berkely crappie nibbles, 1" gulp jigs (the ones in the powerbait sized bottles soaking in the juices), and some anchovy and baitfish scened smelly jellly. I knew the guy was using a scent but wasn't telling me. We ended up catching seven between the two of us. It was alot better than the previous trip but not as good as I hoped. It seemed that small one inch marabou jigs dipped in either smelly jelly scent, or the gulp grubs worked best I believe there was a few dozen people fishing there again although I didn't count. The fish were biting very light sometimes only pulling my tiny bobber only half way down.
The third time was one of the best trips I have ever made to Willard Bay ever! I couldn't get the thought of the guy catching fish after fish out of my head so I had to go back! I ended up buying smaller and lighter bobbers so the fish couldn't detect them as well because the previous trip We again went to the north marina and there were tons of fisherman. I used the same technique as before and caught a couple crappie with my partner within an hour or so. I then thought that maybe the 6# test line was a little thick. I fly fish half the time so I know sometimes the trout are finicky and sensitive with high fishing pressure. I tied on about three feet of 2# test with a blood knot and casted out. Almost immediately I caught a crappie. About three fish later my partner asked me to attach some thinner leader to hers as well. We both averaged probably about one fish every 5-10 minutes. We ended up catching over 20 combined and after about 10 fish started releasing them. I also landed two Wipers that were alot smaller than my crappie. Released them too. It was fun to watch the crowds of asians try to cast out and over us to get to the fish but to no avail. I am asian as well so I find this especially funny. We were out on our float tubes and pontoon but were easily within casting distance. When we got to shore I gave a dollop of the smelly jelly to a lady because she was curious about our technique. I saw her catch a crappie as I was deflating our tubes to put them back into my small civic so it put a
on my face. I need to mention I only saw two other fish caught that day. One by a guy and one by the lady i gave smelly jelly to.When fishing pressure is high you need to adapt and offer a more finesse approach I guess? Well that's what I learned at least. But our trip did not stop there. We were pretty excited to have caught so many fish and with us both being off the next day we were up to fishing longer. We headed to the north dikes and saw a few guys with one of them having one walleye and one wiper. I tried to find out what he was using but really couldn't speak english so I just carried on. It was about a half an hour into sunset and my awesome fishing partner saw tons of fish jumping (carp) in the flooded grass. She casted out a worm under bobber and caught a carp pretty quick. It really made her excited. I decided to use it as bait because I only had a few worms that seemed mushy and dead. We both have a second pole permit so as soon as it was too dark to use bobbers, jigs and lures we casted out and bait fished for catfish. It was phenomenal! I never caught a cat over eight pounds out of the lake. They generally average a pound or two for me at the most. We caught multiple cats over ten pounds along the north dike. I even caught one that I believe to be the state record catch and release fish. We fished along the bottom and used lighted bobbers to suspend baits near submerged brush and weeds. We caught six or seven big cats and like ten small ones. We released all cats.
I now love Willard and think I will go there more often. I just bought a state parks pass so I don't have to pay ten bucks every time. If you see an asian guy and white girl in university of utah sweaters please say hi
That is our fishing attire when chilly out. Any BfTers that want more info or have questions, please feel free to PM me. I posted some pics but not all. The pic of my record cat is not posted yet. Waiting to hear back from the UDWR. Thanks k2muskie for the info on the catch and release form. We are headed back up to the north marina this sunday. Look for a green or red dave scadden pontoon, or a browning float tube with fish finder and accessories attached. i will be willing to share fishing techniques as long as you reciprocate.