Willard

[piter0312]

Is there enough open water to get a small boat out and fish?
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[fishfinder462]

Not yet, I drove out there yesterday and the north marina is open water and the main lake has about 10ft around the edges open, should only be a week of so with a little wind and open for buisness.[cool]

FF462
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[lunkerhunter2]

I put my 12'er on it today but there is barely enough room to get to full throttle before you have to shut it back down.[cool]
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[piter0312]

Thanks for the responses. My boat is a 14 foot aluminium V so I don't need much depth. I am getting the itch to put it in the water somewhere.
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[BEARCLAW]

Too bad the Willard lakeview cam is down, we could click a button and check it out.
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[wiperhunter2]

I sent them an Email the other day but their E mail account was closed, so it did not go through. There are some phone numbers on the site but I haven't tried to call them yet, I usually get home too late. Their new web site says they are working on it, hopefully they will have it fixed soon.
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[ONEMORE]

I've tried willard a couple of times for wiper's in the summer with no luck is this a good time of year for them?
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[wiperhunter2]

Were you fishing from a boat, from shore or float tube? The way I usually fish for them is trolling. WH2
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Anytime of year is a good time to FISH for them. But, they are more active in warmer water. You can catch wipers under the ice, just like catfish. However they feed more actively and aggressively once the water gets past about 60 degrees.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Early in the season, you will often do better slow trolling or casting plastics...near the bottom. As the waters warm and shad move up in the water column, wipers can be caught best by trolling lures that resemble shad. There are a lot of crankbaits and lipless crankbaits (RatLTraps) that are effective in various colors. Everybody seems to have their favorites.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The shad spawn in June and after that the wipers can often be seen "boiling" at different places around the lake, as they corner large schools of baby shad near the surface and slurp them up. Watch for the birds. At that time almost anything that resembles a small baitfish can produce action right on top. Fly flingers have a ball with the "boils".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The big change last year was in the low water level maintained during the dike repairs. Besided reducing the depth of the water and changing the lifestyles of the fish...it left miles of muddy shorline exposed to wave action every time the wind blows. That kept the lake muddy and murky, reducing visibility and making it more difficult for the wipers to find food by sight. Trollers found it tougher fishing when the water was murky after a wind.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish the wipers a lot from my float tube. I drag a dead chub minnow on one rod and throw rattling crank baits on the other. Sometimes I throw plastics, when they are not moving fast enough for cranks. I usually manage a few wipers. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finding them is the hard part. That is a big shallow bowl, with no structure to hold bait or predators. You usually have to move around a bit to find the fish. Good sonar is a must. And, you can cover a lot more water with a boat. But, some of the better catches last year came from folks chucking lures or bait from shore, wherever they could find water deep enough to hold fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I will probably have my tube on the water outside the north marina by next week...and will be hitting the South marina as soon as it opens. That is usually after April 1. I expect there will be more than a few boaters checking things out as soon as possible as well. [/#0000ff]
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[FireMountain]

If you are fishing from shore is the a part of the bay that is better that any other.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]A lot of shorebound anglers like the SW corner of the lake. There is a gated path that goes up over the dike, with easy access to the water. And, for some reason...prevailing winds or whatever...fish seem to congregate in that corner. The water is still shallow though, under current conditions, so you have to time it right. Otherwise, the fish will be out deeper.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are other areas along the far western shoreline where deeper channels swing close enough to shore to be reached with a long cast. But, unless you know them or can spend the time checking them out, you will just chuck and chance it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The boat channels of both the north and south marinas have been dredged to provide safe passage for boats. This deeper water usually holds some fish. You may have to fish early and late, to avoid boat traffic, but it can pay off. The inlet channel at the south marina is closed to fishing until May 1 (I think), but only from the buoy line to the inlet. You can cast out into the channel below the buoy line with crawlers or minnows and catch catfish and occasionally walleyes or wipers. Easy access and plenty of space to set up chairs and rod holders.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The channel at the north marina can be good at times too. Right now about 7 feet of water, before it shallows up over the bar at the mouth of the channel. Just about time for some crappies to show up in there. Almost always a few small cats and once in awhile a wiper or walleye. Last year a guy caught a 27" walleye off the point across from the launch ramp about this time of year.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you don't mind a little hike, you can park up on the dike, near the outlet, north of the north marina, and walk out a ways on the gated road before working your way down the rocks and casting. There are some deep holes fairly close to shore starting a couple of hundred yards beyond the outlet and the metal gate across the road. Got some wipers in there early last year on minnows on the bottom. Almost always plenty of "cookie cutter" kitties...14" - 17".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Any help?[/#0000ff]
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[FireMountain]

Thanks Dude just what I was looking for
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[ONEMORE]

Thanks for all the info. I,m going to start fishing that lake alot this year and need all the help I can get.
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[ONEMORE]

Last summer we tried trolling from our boat.
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[wiperhunter2]

It might help for you to read some of the past reports in the [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?forum=86;"]Willard Archives.[/url] Just to give you a quick idea how I troll Willard, a lot has to do with knowing the lake and where the fish hang out during certain times of the year. I usually troll between 2 and 3 mph depending on the season and water clarity. I use lures like shad raps and producer type lures. I also use 12 lb test line on my reel and always use a rod holders while trolling, those wipers can tear a pole right out of your hands if your not paying attention[unsure]. WH2
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[ONEMORE]

I,ll do that and thanks for the reply.
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[BEARCLAW]

Sure looks like it's open from here but it's hard to tell. Anyone drive by it lately?
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[FISHAMANIAC801]

My son an i hit the bay yesterday from 11 to 330.. there is open water but not a whole lot.. as lunkerhunter2 mentioned theres open water in the north marina and approx 500 yds out from the marina as well. We fished the north east corner .. ice was bout 75 yds off the shore all the way round the corner .. we caught 6 kittys an 1 smally... cut suckers an carpskis worked well 4 us.. my son caught the 1st , biggest 3lbs 5oz, and the most .. the rest of the pond is covered in rotten ice that was shifting on the hour.. wont be long and the ice will be gone.. fish on.. FISHAMANIAC
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[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the update, did you take any pictures?
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[FISHAMANIAC801]

[] yes "WH2" i did manage to snap a couple of pics before my batts died in my digital cam as usual.. forgot to mention that i did a lot of castin while i was there with my 2nd pole too.. i fished an assortment of grubs, swimbaits, an crankbaits all with a slow retrieve.. I got several hits on a single tail black an chart grub and at 1 point i had something on for bouta minute.. i think it was an eye.. an the hits were eyes as well short bitin.. hopefully it will pick up here shortly.. now is not too early to be pursin eyes or kittys at the bay.. i have caught both eyes an kittys the last 3yrs from march into early summer..sorry the pics are so big still cant figure it out.. fish on .. FISHAMANIAC
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