Willard Bay Trip #17 & 18

[wiperhunter2]

Trip # 18, 14 Jun 2021.  Wind forecast was for light winds Monday morning, so hoped to get out on Willard earlier and get a few hours on the water.
Got launched at 0818 a.m. on lite breeze and alot fewer boats than yesterday. 
Set up my lines and started my drift from 13 fow to 9 fow out from the feed lot.
Lines in the water less than 1 minute, hard drag stripping hit. Took my bait but not the hook. Had several more like that. I had only taken 8 shrimp today, which usually I would end up dumping 2 or 3 . 
But today the Cats were hungry and aggressive, but have learned how to hit and rip the bait without getting hooked. Even had a couple that stripped drag, felt like they were hooked, and could feel the fight, run, and head shake on tight line. Got them almost to the boat just enough to see them, and they would let go of the mangled shrimp.   .

At 0845, got one to not only take the hook, but swallow it. Got that one boated, cut the line. Turns out only one I caught was a bumper for  the contest. So did the CPR thing and let her go. 

By 0930 I was out of bait, decided to try some trolling out toward the west wall. Got just north west of the island, started seeing quite a few fishy looking things on the sonar, barely got a good speed and heading with 2 long lines out and wind swung around to come out of the south-west and started to work into white caps.  Pulled my lines and headed in at about 1045. 
That turned out to be good timing, just got the boat road ready, and the wind calmed again, but in the 10 or 15 minutes I was on  the dock and pulling boat out, there must have been 6 or 8 power squadron boats launch, with what looked like about 10 more out at the entrance gate. 

So I called it a good time to go home    . 

Thanks for the reports Forest, glad no skunks were involved. Good to hear you tried some trolling, too bad that wind came up like it did.