07-01-2011, 03:23 PM
"Seemed like a good # of Wipers hit the shoreline looking for something to snack on... have you seen that before?"
[cool][#0000ff]Pretty common among many species on many waters. It's a combination of the food chain thing and light intensity...and water commotion during the summer. Bugs and crawdads get more active in lower light and cooler temps. That brings in the predators. They always follow the groceries.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And Willard Bay is a good example of a "summer pattern" for several species. The kitties actually seem to be more active in the morning hours but can often bite better at night...especially the larger fish. Walleyes get progressively less active in the daytime when water temps climb over 75...but move shallower at night to feed. The wipers feed all day and all night but are more out in open water until water traffic subsides and their food supply is easier to find along rocky shoreline. Once the baby shad of this year's spawn get more than an inch long, and school up around the edges, it will become even more pronounced. Boil time.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]You commented in one of your other reports about finding crawdads in your wipers. I suspect that is why the fish come in closer to the rocks in low light conditions. That is when nocturnal crawdads come out to play and are easier to find. I have caught quite a few wipers with crustaceans in their innards...as in the pic below.[/#0000ff]
[inline "DAD IN WIPER.jpg"]
[#0000ff]I have a copy of a report from Craig Schaugaard, a fisheries biologist for Willard. In their net samplings they find that until the shad become a part of the diet each year the Wipers rely heavily on crawdads and other invertebrates. That should clue in more anglers about where to fish and what to use.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]Pretty common among many species on many waters. It's a combination of the food chain thing and light intensity...and water commotion during the summer. Bugs and crawdads get more active in lower light and cooler temps. That brings in the predators. They always follow the groceries.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And Willard Bay is a good example of a "summer pattern" for several species. The kitties actually seem to be more active in the morning hours but can often bite better at night...especially the larger fish. Walleyes get progressively less active in the daytime when water temps climb over 75...but move shallower at night to feed. The wipers feed all day and all night but are more out in open water until water traffic subsides and their food supply is easier to find along rocky shoreline. Once the baby shad of this year's spawn get more than an inch long, and school up around the edges, it will become even more pronounced. Boil time.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]You commented in one of your other reports about finding crawdads in your wipers. I suspect that is why the fish come in closer to the rocks in low light conditions. That is when nocturnal crawdads come out to play and are easier to find. I have caught quite a few wipers with crustaceans in their innards...as in the pic below.[/#0000ff]
[inline "DAD IN WIPER.jpg"]
[#0000ff]I have a copy of a report from Craig Schaugaard, a fisheries biologist for Willard. In their net samplings they find that until the shad become a part of the diet each year the Wipers rely heavily on crawdads and other invertebrates. That should clue in more anglers about where to fish and what to use.[/#0000ff]
[signature]