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Can anyone tell me when the crappie usually turn on at Willard. Never fished for them there, but as I no longer have a boat I thought I would give it a shot with the masses from shore. Thanks in advance for any info.
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Any time now.
A few are being caught now. It will only get better when water temps get up to 60*.
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[cool][#0000ff]May is the magic month...with Mothers' Day being an absolute.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Last year we were catching good numbers in the deeper waters of the north marina and off Eagle Beach clear into mid June...and the females still had eggs.[/#0000ff]
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CV - things are starting to get better at willard, crappie are starting to move in like stated above, but like td said may is the $$$ month, I have slayed em from shore but be prepared for some good ole fashioned combat fishing, i mean like 20-40 grown men shoulder to shoulder. Good times for sure!
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Thanks guys, maybe I will slip over there tomorrow and give it a shot. I am guessing very small plastics on a jig under a bobber?
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orange and red and white weighted boober with a 1/32 or 1/16 oz white maribous from walmart scented with glow shrimp
CV last year it looked like the hot spot was in the SE corner of the north marina and the guys with the fly rods were nailing them 5 to 1 over the rest of us the day I was there. Looked like waders or tubes or toons might help too. Hey I told you I'd get back with you when I could go fish. Im going to try Saturday after soccer so around noon. If Hyrum is still clear I may try there or Benson after the cat eyes. Let me know if your interested. Later J
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I have fly rods, any idea what kind of pattern?
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Crystal White Woolly Bugger and a Midnight Fire Bugger in about #8 On a Type II or an intermediate and maybe count down.
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I couldnt tell but it was on a sinking line and they were stripping it in. I'm sure the goddess recommendation is probably right on the money. Wish I was a little better on that fly fish'en stuff I'm just a hacker that likes to try it whenever I can. Later J
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[cool][#0000ff]Listen to the goddess lady. She put a whuppin' on some magnum crappies last year...with her long wand and pocket lint.[/#0000ff]

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Oh I listened TubeDude. I will be picking up the mentioned "pocket lint" at the local fly shop in the morning. I am not rigged up with sinking line but will resort to a little weight. I have caught a lot of bruiser bows on weighted floating line and buggers.
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Tom - if you wanna go float the harbor (plus) I'd be glad to hookup. Like worked up north - I still think those "smaller is better" options can work. But it seems they're pretty attune to white/chartreuse fluffy stuff. Scent being key. Maybe a tippin of mini-minnow....

I've got pretty well set plans to hit CJ Sat morn for some floating and kitty chasing. With the warm spell - if you'd wanna try Willard for Crappie/Walleye/Kitties - I've got Sunday open.
Or maybe it'd be worth waiting till May, and hit something local, case some early bass? Bet the Gills are on beds nearby.
John - I will run over to the bay tomorrow for a bit. If there seems to be some action, I would be more than willing to head back over on sunday with you. If I get no action, I have plenty of "across the border" ideas, seems like the walleyes and small mouths have been going good in one nearby spot[Wink]
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Hey Yote as soon as I made plans for Saturday things changed so I may not make it out again this weekend. I might try tomorrow after work from your pink gill spot down to dads pump house. Short float but a couple holes to try in between. Let me know if you want to try I'll be home about 5 ish till dark. Later J
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[cool][#0000ff]Not many folks use sink tip lines these days but when I fished flyrods a lot more that was my preferred line for fishing deeper...in shallow water. The crappie are generally suspended only a few feet deep so you don't usually need to dredge for them. But if you have only a floating line then a small split shot at the top of your leader will help get your flies down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And, as far as patterns, they will hit almost anything presented at the right depth. They really ain't all that picky. But best colors are white, chartreuse, black, purple and some of the hot colors like pink and orange. Hint...smaller is usually better this time of year. The fish are mostly feeding on midge larvae...before the next shad spawn. But they will smack some larger buggers and clousers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One of my best jig colors is a blue and clear sparkle 1 1/2" tube jig. Next is a white with a red eye.[/#0000ff]
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I have tried to duplicate your lures with fly features and just not quite the same result.

A sink tip line would be great for shallow waters. Most sink tips have at least 15' sink tip (some shorter) and you are fishing shallow, would be perfect. All the weight is in the sink tip end, not like full sinks. Making it a little harder to cast, but actually perfect for shallow waters.
One could end up with way too many specialty lines however, so, majority do go with full sink for stillwater. More versatile.

I tried several flies, but again, they are going to only pick what they want. Next is getting in the right spot, but if the fly is attractive they may move out of that zone.

Here is the White Crystal:
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Here is the Midnight Fire:
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I fish two flies, but on a V set up so each has it's own personality. One weighted fly, one not weighted. Here is one on both:
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I have my go tos and most times I need not look any further. I am sure after several visits to Willard, these are my go tos, but I will shake it up for the Wiper.


If floating is all you have, try to use a very long leader (9 footer at least) and as TD recommended, split shot at the line end about a foot into the leader. By using really heavy flies, you are going to change the effect. Your flies will be dragging the bottom like a clouser. Might not be a bad thing though.
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