Willow beach 12/30

[BigE]

[cool]Decided to try and close out the year. The wife and I launched at gray light and started to troll from the kayaks. A lot of grass attacking the lures. Finally got the only hit at 8:30am. Struck her hard and got a fat 8lb 15oz striper. Trolled til noon for nada so decided to leave. Hope that we can continue the trend in the new year. Will post pics later.
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[wiperhunter2]

Well that's a nice sized striper but it's too bad you only got the one. What do you mean by, "Hope that we can continue the trend in the new year.", is only one striper good? Or are you saying just getting out and fishing in your kayak?
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[BigE]

[cool]Last year we were able to catch at least one good striper each time we hit willow. Only a couple times did we get two or three. It can be tough at times to get a bite. There are guys out there that can catch more than that on each outing. As far as getting out in the kayak, I am out once a week. In fact my wife and I were back at Willow Beach this morning and I was able to get a plump 4lbs7oz striper. Like I had posted, I hope this trend continues. I kinda like it.
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[wiperhunter2]

If you catch fish like that on most trips out, it sounds like you are doing something right.
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[Greg84]

I've only been to Willow once around 5 yrs ago and got jack, but that was back when I only knew how to catch stripers on topwater or bait.

I'd like to try again sometime. What are you guys trolling? Trout swimbaits? Do you just troll those at however deep they normally run, or do you guys rig them to run deeper? I've got a sweet giant gizzard shad swimbait i'd like to try down, if there are gizzards south of mead... Anyone seen an uptick in the bite since they started stocking trout again last year?

Also, are there LMB near Willow or just further down toward cottonwood?
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[BigE]

[cool]We are trolling AC plugs most of the time. We have doing good on them. I also use Spro BBZ and a Sebile clone. These plugs run on the surface or 2 to 3 feet down. Soft plastic swimbaits also work, but they have to be at least 7in long. We also don’t troll too fast in the kayaks. Your gizzard bait may work done there but I haven’t seen any gizzards there. I haven’t seen any lmb around willow but there are a lot around cottonwood. As far as the bite improving I would say that it has.
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[Greg84]

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to check that place out again one of these days. Is the fee station still in operation at this point? I heard they started manning it some time recently

How heavy is an AC plug? It doesn't say on his website. Like what is a 7 or 9 in? I'm sure anything bigger than that will be too much for my current rod. No specialized trolling stuff atm...
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[BigE]

[cool]The station is manned. When we arrive(early am) there is no one there. I guess they show up around six. I haven’t weighed mine but I would think the 10 or 11 inchers are about 2 to 3 oz. I got one that is fat and about 14 inches that is 4 to 5 oz. Most my gear is a little light for these guys but since we troll them I they seem to be working.
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