Willard...Weather or not

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Not a great weather report for today at Willard but better than any of the next few days. Made a desperation decision...goin' for it. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Weather called for light breezes from the SE. Yeah, right. I figured it would be strong winds out of the north. I was right...dang it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Calm but overcast when I launched about 6:30. Water and air temps were about the same...just under 65...inside the harbor. Dropped a degree in the main lake and dropped another degree later after the wind and rain started.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I was surprised that I did not get a poke on either bait or lures on the way out the channel. Usually get at least a kitty or two...often a wiper. Not this morning. Almost an hour before I brung in the first cookie cutter kitty.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I worked in and out, from 8' to 20' deep. Saw a lot more than I caught. A few suspenders but nothing seemed to be active. I know I was not as active fishing without waders for the first time this year. Cool but doable.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The wind had stayed away and the lake was still pretty flat about the time I reached the "kitty zone". I brought in several and lost a few "pop and drops". I had kept 5 and released a few by 9 AM. That's when Mama Nature began to whisper to me. Actually, she took a deep breath and tried to blow me out like birthday candles. Wham. Sudden wind and it had some water in it. Rained pretty good...good enough to soak the thin SPF shirt I had worn hoping for warm weather. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I could not fish effectively in the "Perfect Storm" so I decided to boogie for the channel. At least the wind was blowing me back the right way. I took advantage of that and I also cranked up my new electric motor for extra speed. Just about threw up a rooster tail on the way in. Not quite.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Figured I might find a few fishies up inside the inlet channel since it was mostly protected from the breezes. Dragged a minnow on one rod and threw a tandem rig with "bou jigs" on another rod. Just about the time I was thinking I should make an early day of it I felt some "rubber band" on my jigs and brung in a nice 13 inch crappie. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Now I had to stick around to see if there were more. There were. I did not get any more action on the feathers but when I switched to my tandem plastics...blue/clear sparkle and white glitter with a red eye...I started to get some doinks. Missed a few because they were hitting so lightly. Finally got the timing down and brought in a few more. And, I actually lost two wipers. That would have completed a "Willard Slam"...4 species. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It got dead just before noon and I figured I might just head on in about then. Glad I made that "last cast". Right at noon o'clock the rubber band had a lot more snap to it when I set the hook. Actually took a bit of line off the drag. Lovely 21" walleye. Dinner.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Of course that resulted in another hour's worth of last casts...with nothing to show for it than a lost hour. By then the breeze had laid down somewhat and there were more boats (and a couple of jet skis) hitting the water. But, I had had plenty thank you. A wallie for me, a few crappies for my sis in law and some kitties for the family fish fry next week. Water temp inside the marina was edging toward 66 when I got out around 1.[/#0000ff]
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[trapperdon]

I was out there also dude. Trolled cranks till 2:00. Six wallies and one wiper, all out west except the wiper just west of the feed lot. You pretty well described conditions. Strong winds and a couple rain showers. That's my story.
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[albinotrout]

Wow nasty weather and a few fish to boot.[cool] Glad you could get out. With this crazy weather this year it has been hard to get out here in UT. Seems like most of my fishin has been done in CO this year.[crazy] Hey when you headin to starvation?
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[Kent]

Pat, did you change your motor design? As I recall, on your first Utah Lake outing that your motor was attached to a separate tube.
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[mactuna]

Great dinner selection
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[Itcntogofishin]

Nice catch but cannot pass up the opportunity for a correction. You missed one on your slam; it should be the Willard 5 (forgot the smallies).[]

Hank Parker says; "eating a bass is like eating your dog; but I'm not sure if he included the smallie in that classification".

Your posts are awesome
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[high_n_dry]

I've been curious how big a battery your using with your motor. If that's a 27 series, and you spring a leak or worse yet have a blowout, you best put that motor in high gear towards the closest beach or you the fish may get their sweet revenge.

I get nervous putting 100 lbs of battery and my 25 lbs worth of trolling motor on my toon let along a single bladder float tube rated at 350lbs.

It's a nice idea, but be safe out there. We need you and your fine writing on this forum.

Thanks for the post![]
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[trophyboat]

nice haul in !!!!!
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[TubeDude]

"Hey when you headin to starvation?"

[cool][#0000ff]I'm ready...and the fish are ready. We just gotta sneak in a quick unplanned trip. If we plan more than one day ahead Mama Nature has too much time to arrange a funky welcome. Been nasty over there and the water temps are just starting to climb a bit.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]I am hoping about mid week next week. (Maybe...if Mama Nature is reading the board)[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[quote kentofnsl]Pat, did you change your motor design? As I recall, on your first Utah Lake outing that your motor was attached to a separate tube.[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Right ye be, laddie. My first experiment was the "Tube Taxi"...an older Fat Cat rigged up as a tugboat to pull me around. Worked great but was a bit more bulk and equipment than I really wanted. Still got it. Will probably use it for special applications in the future.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have now made frames and motor mounts for individual tubes for several BFTers...with the new self-contained design. I predict you will soon see a few more "Fat Cat Ferraris" on the water. Not ideal for trolling all day but great for auxilliary power when you need it. Saves a lot of time to get out to the honey hole faster and to make short moves easier. Also helps when you gotta fight your way back to the vehicle after a long day and the stupid wind is blowing in the wrong direction...as usual.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[quote Itcntogofishin]Nice catch but cannot pass up the opportunity for a correction. You missed one on your slam; it should be the Willard 5 (forgot the smallies).[]

Hank Parker says; "eating a bass is like eating your dog; but I'm not sure if he included the smallie in that classification".

Your posts are awesome[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the compliments. But you are the one who needs a correction. 4 species is a slam. 5 species is a SLIME.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Love the smallies and have taken some nice ones at Willard. I guess we could also toss in the bluegills and perch. Lots of them in there too and they get some size on them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Arbitrarily disqualify carp and shad. Nasty.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[quote high_n_dry]I've been curious how big a battery your using with your motor. If that's a 27 series, and you spring a leak or worse yet have a blowout, you best put that motor in high gear towards the closest beach or you the fish may get their sweet revenge.

I get nervous putting 100 lbs of battery and my 25 lbs worth of trolling motor on my toon let along a single bladder float tube rated at 350lbs.

It's a nice idea, but be safe out there. We need you and your fine writing on this forum.

Thanks for the post![][/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Now don't you worry your purty little head about me. I am all about safety. I take good care of my mother's son.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]First of all, I have been tubing for over plenty nine years and have never seen ANYBODY lose air enough to lose their rig or their lives. Could happen. More likely to get creamed on the road.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Second, while I have only one air chamber I have a lot of floatation in the foam seats. I cannot sink them in a swimming pool. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Third, I have added two parallel boat bumpers under the battery compartment to create extra floatation for the tube and to stabilize the ride when I add the motor and battery. As you can see in the attached pics...it works.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lastly, I have the battery set up on a breakaway connection. IF I did find myself in trouble, with a suddenly collapsed air chamber, I could do a kayak roll and the battery and motor would sink...without me. Might lose some tackle, but that can be replaced. I gots more.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I started out with a 33 AH battery. Weighs only 24 pounds. Works great for an average day of tubing and you don't even know it's there. Today I tried my 75 AH battery...weighs about 50 pounds. Again, with the boat bumper floatation in the front I did not even notice the extra weight while kicking around. And after a bit of use the battery was still over 90 % capacity when I got home...even after a long run on the high setting of the motor.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Seriously, I do appreciate your concern and I want to agree that nobody should use something like this without a lot of experience, a lot of extra floatation and exercising all possible good sense and caution. And, if you don't actually wear your PFD the law says it has to be readily available on your tube.[/#0000ff]
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[LloydE]

You can imagine what I did when I saw that walleye!!!!

The weather didn't prove to be as good as you hoped, but in my opinion you had one great fishing day. I have been trying to catch some crappie this year, but have not yet been successful. I understand that their bite is very soft. I guess I just need to put in the required time to learn how to catch them.

Great report and pictures! I spent all afternoon yesterday buying an old utility trailer to haul tubes, toons, etc., and trying to make some repairs on it. I spent most of yesterday and all of today trying to get it shape for service. Too bad I missed a good fishing day at Willard. Just my luck!
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[FishKillr]

[fishin]Good lookin fishies Pat!! Thanks for postin!!
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[WyomingMoose]

[#500000]Thanks for the report TD - sounds like a good time. Any trip where you catch some crappie is a good trip to me. They are the most prized fish I can think of - love the way a grundle of them look in a basket. Lovely.

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In some regards I think the trolling motor actually aides in safety. If a huge storm came up and TD or other tubers are really far away from shore sometimes it can take hours and hours to get back to shore. If you get a charlie horse or start cramping up it can be even harder. If you have never gone too far away from shore and then had the wind whip up in the other direction (in a tube) you just don't understand. It can be quite the workout.[/#500000]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, I did end up with a few fish on a "crappie" day. But it was a lot of work in the wind and rain and without a whole lot of past experience on that lake I probably would not have caught much. All of my fish came from past proven spots and on specialized techniques that I have learned over many years of fishing Willard. And everytime I fish it I learn something new and realize how much there is still left to be learned. That's a big part of the fun of fishing...to me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We have a long fishing year ahead of us. I have no doubt we will be able to get in a few trips on untroubled waters...hopefully where the fish are as anxious as we are.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[quote WyomingMoose][#500000]Thanks for the report TD - sounds like a good time. Any trip where you catch some crappie is a good trip to me. They are the most prized fish I can think of - love the way a grundle of them look in a basket. Lovely.

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In some regards I think the trolling motor actually aides in safety. If a huge storm came up and TD or other tubers are really far away from shore sometimes it can take hours and hours to get back to shore. If you get a charlie horse or start cramping up it can be even harder. If you have never gone too far away from shore and then had the wind whip up in the other direction (in a tube) you just don't understand. It can be quite the workout.[/#500000][/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Crappies are not MY personal favorite but I DO enjoy catching them. They look pretty good on a plate too...and they go down easy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You touched on one of the key reasons I added a motor to my ride. Actually two reasons...comfort and safety. I try to plan my trips carefully but this is still Utah and Murphy was a fisherman. Wind, rain and lightning sometimes happen even when not forecast. Sorry, but the weather guys are not always right...and there is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny neither. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have lost count of the times I launched in calm weather, kicked a long ways from my launch spot and then had to power my way back through wind that was not supposed to happen. And it is almost always blowing directly against you...from the direction you need to go to get back to your vehicle. How many times I have lusted for some auxiliary power.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have been tubing for a lot of years and I am a big guy with pretty strong legs. I can handle some nasty conditions...but I would rather not. In case nobody but me has noticed, I ain't gettin' any younger. Every marathon tubing session takes more and more out of me. The past few trips with the motorized tube have definitely left me in better shape at the end of the day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yesterday really helped seal the deal. When the weather kicked up I was clear down by the "hog farm". On a clear calm day it still takes me about an hour to kick my way straight back in to the ramp. I have had some "wrong-way-wind" trips that took over twice as long...and left me trashed. Yesterday the wind was blowing the right way but the waves made it tough to kick with any power. But I cranked my 30# thrust motor up to 5 and watched the rocks on the dike fly by as I boogied for the channel. Only took me about 20 minutes and I still had plenty of energy left for fishing inside for a few hours.[/#0000ff]
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[trfishin]

Hey thanks for the report and pictures tubedude glad to see you had a great day out on the water.

I had a Leigh 8' kickboat for 16yrs and after only a few trips out and kicking and oaring like crazy I bought me a 36lb thrust Minn Kota electric motor and 27 series battery and built my own custom mount to hold my battery and motor and loved ever trip out fishing with that set up and I even had my Eagle Ultra Plus II fish finder mounted up on it the whole time I had it.

Thanks again for the report and pictures Hope to see you on the water sometime this summer.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks. You definitely know the reasons behind my "power move".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hope you don't mind that I passed some of your great plastics off to "the boys". They fish Utah Lake almost daily and get a lot more use from your stuff than I will or would. So far they love it. You do fine work.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have noticed that you are spending more on gas money to Utah Lake these days. Too bad we can't get a Utah Lake branch office in your part of the country...minus the carp.[/#0000ff]
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[FishKillr]

[#0000ff]Murphy was a fisherman......."IS" a fisherman.[/#0000ff]
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