I bailed from work early today thinking the break in weather and sun might really get things going at Willard. Plus, reading all your posts made me super excited to give it a go!
I got flat out skunkedZ. Zip, zilch, nada! No one appeared to be having any luck. Could this be a moon phase or do I just totally suck at catching fish???!!!
[signature]
It's just Willard...Sometimes conditions can be absolutely perfect and you will come home with a skunk, and sometimes you'll go not expecting a bite and come home with limits in under an hour. She only gives up fish when she feels like it!
I'm planning on heading up around noon today if the wind stays calm enough to launch...
[signature]
Thanks HD, good luck today, I hope the wind plays fair for you.
[signature]
I'm glad I'm not the only one! I've been there four times so far this year and have caught one small largemouth bass, and snagged one carp on a crank bait. I've tried everything I've heard about on here, and nothing! I'm starting to take it personal. I've been through a bag and a half of mussels and had one bite. I think I'll try again tonight and see if I can catch another skunk!
[signature]
You know how familiar that sounds to many of us? I've fished WB from 2 different boats since 2004, I've read about, and heard about almost every tactic tried on that pond. I've had years like last year, fish WB 93 times, and skunked 50 of them, and then so far this year I've been on the water 7 times, and skunked twice. I've sat anchored less than 10 feet away from another boat, using the exact same lures / bait / technique, and fishing so close to same hole I was afraid the other guy was gonna get mad at me, and he pulls out a bucket load of slab sided Crappie, and I get NADA. Then I've cruised a slow circle around a big, late season boil and put 2 limits of Wiper in the boat in 20 min. So, we have all been there my friend. Welcome to Willard Bay, and welcome to BFT.
[signature]
I have had pretty good luck/timing this year at Willard, our only skunk being launching right before a torrential downpour. However, did get the stinkiest skunk of the season so far up at Blackfoot reservoir last Saturday. Beautiful place, perfect weather...not a bite.[:/]
Happens to the best of us.
[signature]
Fellas, you are making me feel so much better! I was so
, because I fished the same area the same way and 4 days ago picked up some nice females, who had eggs, but those eggs were not mature yet, so I couldn't figure out why in the world things had changed seemingly overnight!
[signature]
I didn't know there are largemouth bass in Willard. I've heard of smallmouths but not large. Can anyone confirm?
[signature]
Here is a picture of the Largemouth. It took a Crappie jig.
[signature]
[#0000FF]They used to be a lot more common...until smallies, shad and wipers joined the party. A few of them wash down from Pineview...along with the other species.
They still show up, but rarely. I have caught them inside the north marina and up along the channel to the inlet.
There was one trip back in the early 80s when I found a whole school of footlong largemouths right where the cottonwoods meet the dike at the beginning of Freeway Bay. It was as if they had all just been planted.
Biggest largemouth I have seen was caught by a smallie regular while working the dikes about 5 years ago...during high water. It was probably close to 4 pounds...and was kissed and released.
I never fish specifically for either largemouths or smallmouths...but catch both on the same jigs I use for crappies, walleyes and wipers. Here are a couple of pics of largies I have caught in the past few years. One just outside the south marina and one inside the north marina.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Suckerbait, I don't know if you are into cats or not, but they have repelled the skunk lately. There are lots of 20" in cats stacked along the west shore and feedlot. I have caught quite a few within ten feet of the rocks slowly dragging anchovie chunks or Gulp Minnows. Sorry no pics, there are not on the Ipad yet.
[signature]