I am a new poster on this site, but had to post after our last few trips to Willard. I know there aren't two Willards, but it sure seems that way! After reading the posts of the great fishing we decided on Willard and were on the water a little after 6. Fished the island, freeway bay and the feedlot. Trolled bottom bouncers and cranks. Caught one small walleye and had one wiper on. Saw a few fish caught on the island, but everyone we talked to said it was slow. I looked on here this morning and saw posts about Willard. Expected to read the same story, but one post was about catching 18 walleye and another about catching 30 wipers!
We can fish Mantua, Pineview, Strawberry and many other lakes and usually do well, but Willard is a mystery. Like everyone else we caught a ton of Walleye on the island last year and had a couple good trips over the years, but for the most part we leave Willard feeling like a bride on the honeymoon, disappointed!
So my question for those of you that consistently catch fish on Willard is if it comes down to location, experience, presentation or luck? It seemed that it was slow for everybody except for a select few, so what gives?
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Well honestly it sounds like fishing to me. Especially Willard Bay. Great one day and dead the next. I think you just have to fish it more if you want to get into the fish.
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Hello BrettFrance, welcome to the board. The answer to your question's is Yes, Yes,Yes and Yes. Would have to elude to the man [
]who posted about catching the 18 Walleye, do not feel dis-heartened, he has fished Walleye for many years, if anyone can catch them on a slow day, he can. He could probably pull a trophy Walleye out of a toilet bowl [
]. Willard is more times than not, a challenge. If your marking fish and not getting bites, change it up, different lures, depths , colors, planner boards, speed etc..
I know my tactics had to be tweaked a little bit this year to be successful, but than again that might not work the next time out.
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A big welcome to BFT. Now that you have launched your boat into this pond called BFT, you're going to have to be sure and share a few fishing reports from time-to-time.
[quote BrettFranc]I know there aren't two Willards, but it sure seems that way! [/quote]
LOL!! So well said. But understand that the guys that boast big catches one day, often get the shaft other days when someone else is getting the mother load. Hense "Two Willare Bays". So don't give up or assume you are doing something wrong.
Also, after fishing that pond for 15 years now, I have found that most every year, the lure of choice changes. I remember when I had extreemly good luck with trout lures like Crocodiles in orange/yellow dots. Then Rapala Tail Dancers, then Little Jakes in white w/red dots, then Rattle Traps, then Lucky Craft, then Producers, then ..., then ..., etc. Ya kinda have to keep your ear to the track to know what the lure-of-choice is each year.
[quote BrettFranc]So my question for those of you that consistently catch fish on Willard is if it comes down to location, experience, presentation or luck?[/quote]
For trolling cranks, as a rule I'd go under 3.0 MPH GPS when the water temp is under 70 degrees. Over 70, go 3.0 - 3.5. And for me, it sure helps to know good locations that I have found over the years that consistantly hold willing fish. But then again, I am one of those guys that only caught 10 fish the same morning that the 18 and 30 were caught. I blame that day on the fact that I had one guy with me that zero experience fishing and his two little kids with us. Man, talk about a Chinese fire drill when doubles are on!
Watch your Personal Messages Brett. I'm sending you something.
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Thanks for the tips and suggestions everyone! Thanks for the PM Old Coot. I sent you one back.
I am glad to hear that I haven't been fishing the wrong Willard! It sounds like there are just some very experienced Willard fisherman who have paid their dues to learn how to fish it. For those that use bottom bouncers, how long of a leader do you typically use from the weight to the blade? Does it make a big difference?
I think my biggest challenge with Willard is trying to read the water. On a normal lake or river I can look at the structure and determine where the fish are going to be. On Willard I have no clue! It is such a huge place and most of it looks the same to me. Does anyone have any indicators such as water temp, clarity, time of day, time of year, wind direction, etc they use for determining where the fish will be? I realize they follow the shad, but I didn't know if there were any indicators to use or if you just drive around and watch the graph.
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Your post actually talked me into going fishing yesterday. I only caught two wipers, but they were pretty decent. I did catch a few walleye as well. I put all the fish back I caught. I was just pulling crank baits color didn't seem to matter.
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addThanks for the kind words Tim but I have had my butt kicked more than a few times thru the years on that pond. I attribute my success the last few years to the over abundant walleye population.[:p]
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Fished Willard this morning from 8 to12, I did my share to combat the over abundant Walleye Population today, pickup a couple of nice Wipers as well. Walleyes are looking very healthy this year.
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