Willard Bay trip #4

[Tin-Can]

Well after just reading jig_fishers post from trip last nite to Willard, I almost didn't bother putting this one up.  But here goes. Got on the water about 7:30.  Weather looked to be nice, warm, very light chop, about a dozen other fishing rigs and maybe 2 or 3 ski boat types but all spread out so far that they were not a problem.  



Last trip I was interrupted by wind and LOTS of pleasure boats, but I had boated one walleye before I had to retreat back to the marina.  So I figured I would try to kinda start out where I left off. Turned on my GPS track and got out in the general area. Course I know fish move, but had to start somewhere. So I throttled up past the buoy line and ran at max speed to general area.  It wasn't till I slowed down to start setting my lines that I realized I was in the middle of a BUGNADO.    Good thing I keep head nets on the boat, geeeeezzzzzeee what a mess. 

  

The little pointer is me in my boat..........yea I know you all know how to read a GPS / Sonar     but thats where I turned it on this morning, just about at the top of loop I was making last trip. From there I started with the same perch colored rat-l-trap on one line and a fire-tiger crank on the other. Deployed my trolling plate to the half mark, adjusted the throttle, and started a random willy-nilly up around the west side of the island, then directly over the center (wanted to see how much water was covering it) 

  

 I wandered all around the southern 1/3rd of Willard from feed lot to light pole to south west pocket, along the south wall back towards the marina channel. I varied my speed, changed out my lures, anchored in a couple spots to drown some worms while I had some coffee (tricky to drink coffee from  under a bug net) even shut down and just drifted.  Working my way back toward the south channel intending to call it a day when I got there. Go home and mark up another skunkin. 

Well, I ALMOST accomplished that. But at the last spot I stopped to wash the last of my crawlers, I actually caught something. And similar to the last trip, about the time I got it boated, photoed an released, the wind was coming up, and the pleasure boat crowd was hitting the water.  NO, I didn't take any more photos of my GPS screen.  I figured 2 was more than enough, don't you guys? 

The one fish...............?  a skinny male Cat that was at least a 4 or 5 inch bump for my contest standings.  Not great but I'll take it.

[Jig-fisher]

Forest that is fishing.  You never know if the fish are going to cooperate.  You are good about posting your trips, even when you don't catch much. 

A couple of weeks ago I had a skunk at Willard with my family.  Granted it was right after a cold front had moved through and I knew I had a slim chance of catching anything. I didn't even post that trip. The only saving grace from that trip was the trip to Maddox afterwards for chicken at the outside drive up. Yum!

I enjoy your posts. Keep them coming.

[FatBiker]

Hi Forest. 1 kitty beats a skunk any day. I took my toon out to the south marina and was fishing by 8 this mornling. A couple kitties just off the boat ramp as I turned north toward the channel. Found some more after I came out of the marina and headed north. Looks like they're moving onto the rocks to spawn. A couple were almost black and had lots of fresh wounds. After a ways, I turned around and started back towards the marina. Found a couple more dumb ones along with a grundle of SMBs. Once in the channel I caught a final kitty almost next to the single bouy that claims boats aren't allowed. The first two came on cut bait. The rest sucked up a purple Chrystal bugger. Don't tell the governor how much fun catfish are on a flyrod. If he figured that one out he'd slap a sin tax on it.

[Cowboypirate]

Hi Forest. 1 kitty beats a skunk any day. I took my toon out to the south marina and was fishing by 8 this mornling. A couple kitties just off the boat ramp as I turned north toward the channel. Found some more after I came out of the marina and headed north. Looks like they're moving onto the rocks to spawn. A couple were almost black and had lots of fresh wounds. After a ways, I turned around and started back towards the marina. Found a couple more dumb ones along with a grundle of SMBs. Once in the channel I caught a final kitty almost next to the single bouy that claims boats aren't allowed. The first two came on cut bait. The rest sucked up a purple Chrystal bugger. Don't tell the governor how much fun catfish are on a flyrod. If he figured that one out he'd slap a sin tax on it.

Man I am glad to hear they are starting to push to the rocks. Sure can be fun for us bank tanglers when they join us on our chairs

[icejunkie]

I meet you at the ramp this morning, was a nice morning to be out until we motored over to Freeway Bay and got into the jungle of BUGS. We caught 1 wally on the south wall keeping the ole smell out of the boat this morning.

[Tin-Can]

I meet you at the ramp this morning, was a nice morning to be out until we motored over to Freeway Bay and got into the jungle of BUGS. We caught 1 wally on the south wall keeping the ole smell out of the boat this morning.

   Yes we did.  Didn't talk long and you either didn't toss me your BFT name or I missed catching it, kind of like missing catching more fish.      Glad you booted your skunk. 

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Hi Forest. 1 kitty beats a skunk any day. I took my toon out to the south marina and was fishing by 8 this mornling. A couple kitties just off the boat ramp as I turned north toward the channel. Found some more after I came out of the marina and headed north. Looks like they're moving onto the rocks to spawn. A couple were almost black and had lots of fresh wounds. After a ways, I turned around and started back towards the marina. Found a couple more dumb ones along with a grundle of SMBs. Once in the channel I caught a final kitty almost next to the single bouy that claims boats aren't allowed. The first two came on cut bait. The rest sucked up a purple Chrystal bugger. Don't tell the governor how much fun catfish are on a flyrod. If he figured that one out he'd slap a sin tax on it.

Man I am glad to hear they are starting to push to the rocks. Sure can be fun for us bank tanglers when they join us on our chairs

  FB
   I thought I saw a toon off in the distance from me at one point,  but unless it's bright red and covered with PVC like TD's tube,  I would not have recognized it.  Glad you did well  with the Cats and Smallies. 

  CBP 
   There were a few rock hoppers on the south wall - west of the marina channel and I think I spotted one or two way out on the west wall near the light pole.  That one Cat I caught was about 30 yards off the south wall, about 200 yards west of the marina channel.  Kinda wish I had gotten in closer to the wall sooner in the day, but the bugs were pretty intense. Not quite so bad while I was out in the open and at least moving.  

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Forest that is fishing.  You never know if the fish are going to cooperate.  You are good about posting your trips, even when you don't catch much. 

A couple of weeks ago I had a skunk at Willard with my family.  Granted it was right after a cold front had moved through and I knew I had a slim chance of catching anything. I didn't even post that trip. The only saving grace from that trip was the trip to Maddox afterwards for chicken at the outside drive up. Yum!

I enjoy your posts. Keep them coming.

   Well, I usually post the bad days as well as the good. Even the bad fishing days can be either learned from, or provide some comic relief.  Especially at Willard when the power squadron is putting on the water.      Plus it adds to my BFT message post total...........      

Yesterday's comic relief:  Coming into the south marina, there was a wake board boat, maybe 3 guys on it, stern way back up against the north bank area in the submerged brush, there was an electric bow mount on the front, and a danforth type anchor hanging just of the bow, but out of the water. Anchor had lots of brush and twigs still stuck in it.  It looked to me like they had maybe gotten their stern drive in too shallow of water and couldn't risk running it, so had maybe been trying to pull out of the shallows with the bow mount, and that had not worked so they may have been throwing their anchor out of the bow and attempting to pull themselves out of the shallows on a hooked anchor.  
As I went by them, I asked if they were "stuck". Would have towed them out, but they all said "no, we're ok" so I went on about my business of getting out and heading home.