Slow day at Willard today

[wiperhunter2]

Ira and I got out to Willard today for my first boat trip of the year. We launched from the South marina, as the North is still locked in the ice. We started off looking for the perch and not finding any big groups, we decided to try jigging on some singles we saw on the side scan but all we caught was one cat after moving close to a dozen times. We finally started fligging and picked up one more cat and a couple of pop and drops. Water temp was between 37 and 39 degrees. We could see ice to the East, North and West but it did not look like it would last too much longer.
Hopefully better days are ahead.

[doitall5000]

Ira and I got out to Willard today for my first boat trip of the year. We launched from the South marina, as the North is still locked in the ice. We started off looking for the perch and not finding any big groups, we decided to try jigging on some singles we saw on the side scan but all we caught was one cat after moving close to a dozen times. We finally started fligging and picked up one more cat and a couple of pop and drops. Water temp was between 37 and 39 degrees. We could see ice to the East, North and West but it did not look like it would last too much longer.
Hopefully better days are ahead.

Good report on the south marina.  Happy to see open water access. I would think the temperatures are 33/38 degrees.  We boated on jordanelle today all I can say is it was a beautiful day. Caught 5 kept 3 kokanees.  Don't know where they were hiding, saw very few on tv. Still lots of ice. 

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks for the report Curt, I seen Pat's post yesterday and wondered if you were the source of the Willard info... I was going to check the north marina on the way home, but got out of work a little late and don't have time to go this weekend anyway, so just kept on driving... Glad you got out and broke the ice so to speak... Better results next trip although two cats isn't bad, but know you were probably preferring the stripey ones... Later Jeff

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the report Curt, I seen Pat's post yesterday and wondered if you were the source of the Willard info... I was going to check the north marina on the way home, but got out of work a little late and don't have time to go this weekend anyway, so just kept on driving... Glad you got out and broke the ice so to speak... Better results next trip although two cats isn't bad, but know you were probably preferring the stripey ones... Later Jeff

I have a feeling, from what I saw yesterday, that the North East end of the lake will be open by next week. Hopefully there are some perch in that area.

[doitall5000]

Thanks for the report Curt, I seen Pat's post yesterday and wondered if you were the source of the Willard info... I was going to check the north marina on the way home, but got out of work a little late and don't have time to go this weekend anyway, so just kept on driving... Glad you got out and broke the ice so to speak... Better results next trip although two cats isn't bad, but know you were probably preferring the stripey ones... Later Jeff

I have a feeling, from what I saw yesterday, that the North East end of the lake will be open by next week. Hopefully there are some perch in that area.

This wind and up coming storm will be helping us out . Your drive bys are very much appreciated .

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks for the report Curt, I seen Pat's post yesterday and wondered if you were the source of the Willard info... I was going to check the north marina on the way home, but got out of work a little late and don't have time to go this weekend anyway, so just kept on driving... Glad you got out and broke the ice so to speak... Better results next trip although two cats isn't bad, but know you were probably preferring the stripey ones... Later Jeff

I have a feeling, from what I saw yesterday, that the North East end of the lake will be open by next week. Hopefully there are some perch in that area.

This wind and up coming storm will be helping us out . Your drive bys are very much appreciated .

With the condition of the ice last week, I'm not sure it will take till next week to all open, it was pretty rotten... Given some wind with this storm this weekend it will likely clear the ice... I'd like to know if those perch are there, I may have to burn a day of vacation since my weekends are tied up for a little while... Ya know next Friday may be a possible day on the pond if the weather cooperates... Something to hope for anyway.... Cisco will probably  be over by then, so maybe Willard will be the trip... Thanks all for the info... Later Jeff

[TubeDude]

When the ice comes off, you will be able to catch perch if you can find them.  The big shadlet dieoff is over, even though some continue to die during the winter.  But there will be no big concentrations of perch.  They kinda scatter and hunt individually or in doubles or triples now.  And they are getting closer to spawning time so their bellies (big females) are filling up with eggs...and they don't eat as much or as often.

Still, if you look hard enough and serve them something they want you can catch a few.  But it is not likely to be as productive as before the iceup.

My focus is going to be on prespawn walleyes.  At 40 degrees the toothy critters go on a feedup in preparation for the spawn...which begins when the water reaches about 45 degrees.  During the prespawn you can even catch the bigger females on baits and lures.  But during the spawn most of what you catch will be smaller males.

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Pat, that's interesting for sure, sounds like a good time to be after them. Thanks J

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the info Pat. We did not notice any baby shad, that were dead, like before ice up and from what we observed they are not traveling in any sort of groups either, so you thoughts line up with what we observed. Hopefully when we can cover more of the lake, after the ice is gone, we will be able to find some biters, when we get out there next. I like your idea about chasing the eyes, might just give that a try, on our next trip there.

[TubeDude]

Thanks for the info Pat. We did not notice any baby shad, that were dead, like before ice up and from what we observed they are not traveling in any sort of groups either, so you thoughts line up with what we observed. Hopefully when we can cover more of the lake, after the ice is gone, we will be able to find some biters, when we get out there next. I like your idea about chasing the eyes, might just give that a try, on our next trip there.

By the way, even though numbers are way down, there are usually some crappies that show up early too.  Some inside the marinas...either out in the open or under the docks.  I have also done well early fishing for crappies fairly close to shore in Eagle Beach.  But the fish are slow and suspended.  Helps to use small jigs sweetened with wax worms or....?  Also helps to be able to rig and fish a slip bobber rig.

Also, the early season walleyes are opportunistic feeders.  Most of the shad that have survived are too large for most predators to eat.  But they will still chomp lures that look like shad.  Plastics in white or blue/white usually work well.  But cast and retrieved...fished slow...not trolled at mach 3.  Used to start fishing them by the end of February from the rocks and continued catching until post spawn when they moved out into the main lake.  That was back in the day when my hair was still brown and my body still cashed the checks my fisherman's mind wrote.  Spent a lot of hours...day and night...rock hopping and casting for the toothy critters.

[wiperhunter2]

No doubt better days are ahead, fishing wise, hopefully sooner than later. With the high water we got last year and it appears it will happen again this year, my hope is that those high crappie numbers we have seen in the past will return and we will be seeing larger numbers of decent crappie before too long. Until then, it's a matter of doing a lot of searching for the few crappie you can catch, hoping we will hit that one spot where we can put a limit in the livewell or fish basket in a single outing.

[TubeDude]

No doubt better days are ahead, fishing wise, hopefully sooner than later. With the high water we got last year and it appears it will happen again this year, my hope is that those high crappie numbers we have seen in the past will return and we will be seeing larger numbers of decent crappie before too long. Until then, it's a matter of doing a lot of searching for the few crappie you can catch, hoping we will hit that one spot where we can put a limit in the livewell or fish basket in a single outing.

The problem is that it is not an automatic good year whenever there is high water.  Good years are about 3-5 years from the years with high water...when the crappies can get off a good spawn.  Haven't had any good years for several years now and the crappie numbers stay low.  And it doesn't help that the happy harvesters rape the few crappies that come inside the marinas each year.  Some of them return several times a day to fill buckets and then take them home...to return again and again.   Gets to be full contact combat fishing when the crappies are in.  A lot of potential spawners are bucketed before ever having a chance to help build the numbers.  

In the olden days...BS (before shad)...Willard was full of crappies year round.  And you could catch them year round...all around the lake...right off the rocks.  Water levels seldom got too far below the full mark and there were no wipers to feed on baby crappies...or shad to eat all the zooplankton that baby crappies need to survive and grow.  A double whammy...made worse when the crappies have no place to spawn and carp eat all the eggs that are just dumped anywhere in the lake.

[SkunkedAgain]

Drove past Willard Saturday and it looked like all the ice in the lake was gone as the white caps were really pounding it at the time. However, it looked like the north marina was still ice bound... Just a drive by so I didn't get to check actual conditions, but looks like open water isn't far away from the north end... Later J

[wiperhunter2]

Drove past Willard Saturday and it looked like all the ice in the lake was gone as the white caps were really pounding it at the time.  However, it looked like the north marina was still ice bound... Just a drive by so I didn't get to check actual conditions, but looks like open water isn't far away from the north end... Later J

The north marina was launchable yesterday, there is still ice in the back of the n marina but there is open water out into the bay. The bigger problem is the wind and forecast of rainy weather for the rest of the week

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Curt, and that weather forecast does look a little rough for boating... But got to work anyway, so it will help keep me in my seat doing my job.... Wondering about Friday though... Later Jeff