05-02-2023, 12:44 PM
(05-01-2023, 11:45 PM)oldguy Wrote: Well it was a long day today. I was lucky enough to get 2 small walleye on # 5 flicker shad north of the Island but really struggling to find active fish. Seems like the fish are really spread out. Not really finding them bunched up any where. Seen a few boats. But they seemed to be doing the same just trying to find fish. Thanks pat for the info it helped today. BiilGlad you at least got a couple. With the combination of cold rising water and a lack of food to concentrate the fish, it is common for them to be spread out. They are all searching for food and warmer water zones...independently. Once there are schools of shad to keep fish in any given area you can usually catch multiple fish in the same area by continuing to work it after you catch the first one. Right now it is the "biblical system"...Seek and ye shall find (maybe).
There are good numbers of walleye in Willard these days. The DWR program for spawning them and planting the hatchlings has resulted in a lot more walleye for anglers. But the total biomass of fish is spread out over an increasing large area of the lake as it rises much higher this year. And the fish are just getting accustomed to having some deeper water in more areas. Once water temps and water levels stabilize...and some newly spawned shad reach edible size...it should be gangbusters for the walleye warriors. As I have said before, anybody who can't catch a walleye by late May or June probably couldn't catch a cold.