Another NBC day at Willard 9-3-20

[TubeDude]

thanks fer the wb reports and sharing decades of knowledge
while i dont have those years of experience
i feel the carp there (wb) are similiar to the cats
i just dont see or catch many of the +30''ers
plenty of cookie carpers 2'ers a few approaching 30
but it doesnt seem to grow as big of carp as other waters

You're right.  I have fished Willard since the 1970s and although I have seen a lot of bigguns...and also caught one on flies that weighed 25#...very few in there get that big.  I have played with those poopfish all over Utah.  And I doubt there are many waters that consistently produce the beasts you are finding on the Bear...at least within a reasonable drive distance.  However, if you wanna rassle some real tanks, hit Starvation or the Gorge.  The pucker-faces in those clearer waters are also real "suckers" for the feathers.

You might be interested in some other info on the carp in Willard.  Just recently had an exchange with Chris Penne of DWR on the subject.  I had heard that there were lots of large carp suddenly floating on Willard...without arrow holes or any other visible means of their demise.  His first guess was that there was an age-group dieoff.  When I reminded him that carp can live over 50 years we both agreed that it could well be some kind of carp-specific virus or similar...like the "carp herpes" thing being used in some states.  But without a qualified CSI evaluation...for which there is no budget...the true cause shall not be known.  I took a picture of one poor expired carpie on my last trip.  It was covered with flies.  Not sure whether to call it a carp on flies...or flies on a carp.

By the way, I do enjoy your pictorial posts.  Great fish and great photography.  I also love how those pictures probably make hardcore troutophiles cringe.  Keep up the good work.