Fishing Forum

The Fish and Game fishing report said" walleye are starting to move up into the Willow Creek arm to spawn"

I have never fished for them so what types of lures or bait do you use? How far by boat to willow creek by boat from Blacktail?

I was kind of suprized to see the report even though they seem to have been in there for a while.
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What I want to understand is why, if the F&G report is true, aren't the F&G up there with about 50 gill nets cleaning them out. Isn't invasive species their job?????????
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Where is the willow creek arm? I was trying to find it on a map but it shows the Willow creek below the dam...is that right? Or am I just a rookie and don't know the area?
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What I want to know is how come the F&G can plant walleye by the millions in Salmon dam and Goose cr and they don't spawn. A bucket biologist does it and the plant is successful and reproducing? I have seen this happen in other places with other species. I don't understand why this happens. Ron
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[quote FishingRookie]Where is the willow creek arm? I was trying to find it on a map but it shows the Willow creek below the dam...is that right? Or am I just a rookie and don't know the area?[/quote]

It's the main feeder at the other end of the Res.
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Thanks for the info! I am in a small competition with friends to see who can get the most species this year so I would really like to get into some of those walleye. If not it might be a little drive to find another body of water with walleyes
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I want to see if I can remove some from the water and in to a pan. They may cause a big change of they get a population that is very large. Is there ice from Blacktail to the mouth of Willow creek? or is there a way to walk in to the mouth of Willow creek that is not to far?
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According to the fish and game report the ice is gone . So you should be able to take a boat up Willow Creek . I thought the resivior was closed untill May first , but that must be one of the new changes for this year . It looks like it is opened year round now . Curt G.
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It's been open year around for a couple of years now. I bet there is still ice in the canyon. It shouldn't be gone this early.
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I fished it today and didnt catch anything. Thats not saying much though because I have never fished for walleye before. Just tried what I.have seen on tv. On a side note be.careful if you go alone. There was a lot of cougar signs. Dead eaten deer and tracks everywhere. I left because I was nervous being up there alone.
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If they are spawning I would say it will be a little while before you see a walleye bite. They go off the feed for a little while at the spawn time. I have always played it safe and fished for them starting in June. I know they bite earlier but I haven't had luck with them until it gets a little warmer. When it does I troll a crank CLOSE to the bank in about 7 foot of water or less. I add a split shot to make sure it bounces on the bottom once and a while. I also like a worm harness too. Ron
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Very cool report Shane. I may have to run up there and take a look!
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idahoron wrote:[/quote]
If they are spawning I would say it will be a little while before you see a walleye bite. They go off the feed for a little while at the spawn time. I have always played it safe and fished for them starting in June. I know they bite earlier but I haven't had luck with them until it gets a little warmer. When it does I troll a crank CLOSE to the bank in about 7 foot of water or less. I add a split shot to make sure it bounces on the bottom once and a while. I also like a worm harness too. Ron[/quote]
I was thinking of going up around Tues or Wed and try and get some but if I read this right it would be a waste of time.
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I have never fished Ririe but if I did I would fish it like I do SFCR. I would wait until it warms up a little. I would fish the backwaters area of the lake. I would look for boulders and rocky banks. I would troll in shallow water on the side of the lake where the wind is blowing waves to the beach.
I know that right after the spawn or attempted spawn the fish will go back to the deeper water to rest. For how long I don't know but the mood of the fish is not positive toward feeding but some will bite. When the water is in the 60's they will start to move to the shorelines and ambush feed in the large boulders and weed cover if there is any. At SFCR they use boulders to ambush prey. I would use two cranks. I would have one pole with a Jointed Rapala about 2.5" to 3" long. The other would have a small Crawdad crank like the rebal weeny crawdad. I have several different colors to cover all the bases. After I catch one I mark it with the GPS and go back. Then I hit it with jigs and throw cranks. After I work the area a bit I might troll through it a couple more times and move on trolling. I troll close to the bank. I have one rod in a holder off to the side in deeper water. The other one I keep in my hand and try to run it on the shallow side of the boat. I keep the lures about 75 to 100 feet back. I want my lures to bounce the bottom once and a while. Same goes for worm rigs. I only troll at .9 to 1.1 MPH. I am not saying that faster won't catch fish. I am saying that is what I use on SFCR. If I don't get hit using my trusty Rapala and Crawdad I might change speed or depth. I have never had any luck trolling a jig. If there are SMB's there you will probably catch them fishing this same way. Ron



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Shane, it sounds like you walked in. If that is so, could you tell me where the access point is and how far it is from where you parked? Were you on the creek itself?

From the radio tagging F&G were doing a couple of years ago, the walleye were mainly staying in the Willow Cr arm and were spawning up the creek about a mile or so. This time of year they were hanging pretty shallow. I would assume that they are still following the same pattern.
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i have been reading this posts and i remember at one time f&g said they didnt know how thhese walleyes got there to begin with. what i dont see; with as shotty as fish and game are at times why lie bout it? am i , mistaken? how the heck did those fish get there then? and anybody been catching any of any size? walleye fishing is a blast time will tell what happens in our backyard lake.
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I'm trying to figure out where the fish and game are "shoddy" or how them telling a lie came into this??? Attacking and defaming an organization that supports us is beneath where most sportsman are. You want more from them as an organization, vote for a larger budget or send them a check or maybe get out there and volunteer for some of the many programs that require sportsmen's assistance and input!

I have heard of two possibilities for how the eye's entered the biomass. One possibility has to do with bucket planters illegally transplanting them and the other has to do with a utah hatchery that raises both cutthroats and walleye having eyes accidentally transferred into nearby holding pens for trout. Neither would be the "fault" of the IDFG. It's a bit late to close the door now that the horse is out of the proverbial barn.
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I think MMDon covered the most likely explanation as to how. As for the size of them being caught, last year the kid at the booth said a guy had caught and brought in a 27" eye. I've heard numerous claims of eyes around 20" in there, many of those claims from F&G. The one thing that I have issue with is absolutely no one from this forum (or any other I've seen) has produced a picture of an eye with the background that leads me to think "hey! that's Ririe!" I will always be a little skeptical until a picture is produced with an eye and something in the picture suggests that was where it was caught.
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Flyfishingfool. I'm definitely interested in trying that area for some eyes and am curious as to where you walked in from. A PM would be great if you don't want to publicly post it on an open forum. Also if you want to head back in there sometime with some company I'd be more than willing to go!
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I know that there are lots of fish in many places that I haven't caught, but I know they are there. I don't think the walleye are real numerous yet and they are mostly in the upper area of the reservoir.

Here is an excerpt on the 2009 efforts of F&G to track their movements. They continued to track them in to 2010. The average size at that time was about 18".

400mm ~16" , 500mm ~ 20"
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