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Joe & I got a late start - 10:30. Fished the openness until 2:00. Joe got a cat & an eye. I got nadda. And yes, the wake borders are growing exponentially each day. I think next week I need to give Jordy a shot for some kokes.
Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 82 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
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06-07-2024, 05:08 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-07-2024, 05:09 PM by Paddler.)
I fished 9.5 hours yesterday for one 18" walleye. Just pulling cranks behind boards. Talked to a guy at the ramp who pulled worm harnesses 80' back off downriggers who did better. Unfortunately (or not) I left my downriggers and worm harnesses at home, and don't have any worms.
Here's my trail:
I still have a bunch of harnesses I tied up 20+ years ago, maybe I'll break them out.
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(06-07-2024, 05:08 PM)Paddler Wrote: I fished 9.5 hours yesterday for one 18" walleye. Just pulling cranks behind boards. Talked to a guy at the ramp who pulled worm harnesses 80' back off downriggers who did better. Unfortunately (or not) I left my downriggers and worm harnesses at home, and don't have any worms.
Here's my trail:
I still have a bunch of harnesses I tied up 20+ years ago, maybe I'll break them out. I have fished Willard Bay since the late 1970s...and have seen it go through a lot of evolution of fish species, best techniques, best lures, etc. Seems like every year is different. That's why I always take out several possible rig setups and different baits...to try to figure out the pattern du jour. Sometimes I get it right. Just as often I get handed my anglers' humility badge...like most Willardites. But it sure is a challenge and fun to play the game.
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(06-07-2024, 05:30 PM)TubeDude Wrote: (06-07-2024, 05:08 PM)Paddler Wrote: I fished 9.5 hours yesterday for one 18" walleye. Just pulling cranks behind boards. Talked to a guy at the ramp who pulled worm harnesses 80' back off downriggers who did better. Unfortunately (or not) I left my downriggers and worm harnesses at home, and don't have any worms.
Here's my trail:
I still have a bunch of harnesses I tied up 20+ years ago, maybe I'll break them out. I have fished Willard Bay since the late 1970s...and have seen it go through a lot of evolution of fish species, best techniques, best lures, etc. Seems like every year is different. That's why I always take out several possible rig setups and different baits...to try to figure out the pattern du jour. Sometimes I get it right. Just as often I get handed my anglers' humility badge...like most Willardites. But it sure is a challenge and fun to play the game.
This year seems a bit tougher than usual. I dislike the option of worms but may have to resort to them if the trend continues.
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(06-07-2024, 06:15 PM)Paddler Wrote: This year seems a bit tougher than usual. I dislike the option of worms but may have to resort to them if the trend continues.
You are right. Referring to years of fishing logs on Willard I am seeing that although the fishing actually started to pick up earlier, it declined and changed up and down with the repeated fronts moving through...keeping the water colder longer. Worms? Always been a bait of choice for at least the walleyes this time of year...before the newly hatched shad get big enough to munch. And all the other species seem to like them too. Messy but sometimes the best way to put some fish in the cooler.
We all have our own preferred styles of fishing...as witnessed by the dry fly purist. In the final analysis, that is what fishing is really about...fishing the way you want...especially if it works. But what if it doesn't? That's where many of us fit in. We actually enjoy the challenge of figuring out exactly what it's going to take to fool/tempt the fish...and then to be able to catch something...even when nobody else is scoring. Kinda like a big video game on the water. You don't always win but it's always fun to play.
Focusing exclusively on only only water, one species or one style of fishing is okay...for some. But to me it is kinda like the guy looking for a lost contact lens. A friend stops to help him, and after a long time of not finding it he asked "Are you sure this is where you lost it?" To which the first guy replies "No. I lost it over there, but the light is better here."
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(06-07-2024, 06:49 PM)TubeDude Wrote: (06-07-2024, 06:15 PM)Paddler Wrote: This year seems a bit tougher than usual. I dislike the option of worms but may have to resort to them if the trend continues.
You are right. Referring to years of fishing logs on Willard I am seeing that although the fishing actually started to pick up earlier, it declined and changed up and down with the repeated fronts moving through...keeping the water colder longer. Worms? Always been a bait of choice for at least the walleyes this time of year...before the newly hatched shad get big enough to munch. And all the other species seem to like them too. Messy but sometimes the best way to put some fish in the cooler.
We all have our own preferred styles of fishing...as witnessed by the dry fly purist. In the final analysis, that is what fishing is really about...fishing the way you want...especially if it works. But what if it doesn't? That's where many of us fit in. We actually enjoy the challenge of figuring out exactly what it's going to take to fool/tempt the fish...and then to be able to catch something...even when nobody else is scoring. Kinda like a big video game on the water. You don't always win but it's always fun to play.
Focusing exclusively on only only water, one species or one style of fishing is okay...for some. But to me it is kinda like the guy looking for a lost contact lens. A friend stops to help him, and after a long time of not finding it he asked "Are you sure this is where you lost it?" To which the first guy replies "No. I lost it over there, but the light is better here."
I admit it, I'm a confirmed no-bait troller at heart. Except for kokanee, for which I use grocery store peg corn or Berkely maggots. Although they're at opposite ends of the fight per pound scale, I fish for walleye the same way I fish for albacore. Artificial lures only. And I fish for kokanee the same as I do for ocean salmon, downriggers pulling flashers/dodgers ahead of squids or spoons.
As I get older, and I'm getting up there, how I hunt or fish is more important than how much I kill or catch. I'm happy just being out on the water or in the marsh.
The water temp went from 66.5F to over 72F yesterday, warm enough to troll 2.5+ MPH. It's just a matter of locating fish and putting the right lure, (action, size and color) at the right depth at the right time of day in front of their noses. Simple, right?
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(06-07-2024, 09:17 PM)Paddler Wrote: I admit it, I'm a confirmed no-bait troller at heart. Except for kokanee, for which I use grocery store peg corn or Berkely maggots. Although they're at opposite ends of the fight per pound scale, I fish for walleye the same way I fish for albacore. Artificial lures only. And I fish for kokanee the same as I do for ocean salmon, downriggers pulling flashers/dodgers ahead of squids or spoons.
As I get older, and I'm getting up there, how I hunt or fish is more important than how much I kill or catch. I'm happy just being out on the water or in the marsh.
The water temp went from 66.5F to over 72F yesterday, warm enough to troll 2.5+ MPH. It's just a matter of locating fish and putting the right lure, (action, size and color) at the right depth at the right time of day in front of their noses. Simple, right?
Yep. Simple. But not always easy. Kinda like trying to figure out what your wife REALLY means when she asks for something or tells you to do something.
Getting up there in years? I turn 81 in July. And I am with you on the purpose of the trip not just being to bring home the fish. As they say about other things in life..."The journey is its own reward."...or something like that. At least that's one excuse us old-timers have that doesn't work as well with the younger set when they have a poor catching trip.
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(06-07-2024, 09:17 PM)Paddler Wrote: (06-07-2024, 06:49 PM)TubeDude Wrote: (06-07-2024, 06:15 PM)Paddler Wrote: This year seems a bit tougher than usual. I dislike the option of worms but may have to resort to them if the trend continues.
You are right. Referring to years of fishing logs on Willard I am seeing that although the fishing actually started to pick up earlier, it declined and changed up and down with the repeated fronts moving through...keeping the water colder longer. Worms? Always been a bait of choice for at least the walleyes this time of year...before the newly hatched shad get big enough to munch. And all the other species seem to like them too. Messy but sometimes the best way to put some fish in the cooler.
We all have our own preferred styles of fishing...as witnessed by the dry fly purist. In the final analysis, that is what fishing is really about...fishing the way you want...especially if it works. But what if it doesn't? That's where many of us fit in. We actually enjoy the challenge of figuring out exactly what it's going to take to fool/tempt the fish...and then to be able to catch something...even when nobody else is scoring. Kinda like a big video game on the water. You don't always win but it's always fun to play.
Focusing exclusively on only only water, one species or one style of fishing is okay...for some. But to me it is kinda like the guy looking for a lost contact lens. A friend stops to help him, and after a long time of not finding it he asked "Are you sure this is where you lost it?" To which the first guy replies "No. I lost it over there, but the light is better here."
I admit it, I'm a confirmed no-bait troller at heart. Except for kokanee, for which I use grocery store peg corn or Berkely maggots. Although they're at opposite ends of the fight per pound scale, I fish for walleye the same way I fish for albacore. Artificial lures only. And I fish for kokanee the same as I do for ocean salmon, downriggers pulling flashers/dodgers ahead of squids or spoons.
As I get older, and I'm getting up there, how I hunt or fish is more important than how much I kill or catch. I'm happy just being out on the water or in the marsh.
The water temp went from 66.5F to over 72F yesterday, warm enough to troll 2.5+ MPH. It's just a matter of locating fish and putting the right lure, (action, size and color) at the right depth at the right time of day in front of their noses. Simple, right? What scratches my itch these days is putting people on fish, so I chase the “easy” ones. I don’t need to reel in any fish. I have a seasonal log in my brain that moves me from one bite to the next, I live in northern Utah now and it’s Willard Walleye time I’m about to transition into Strawberry Kokanee then I’ll come back to catfish air fall trout fishing. When I lived in North Idaho I chased Salmon and steelhead then in between runs caught bass or even carp. I love catching fish and putting other people on them.
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