Moonday at the south marina 8-11-14

[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I was informed over the weekend that I have (again) been elected to provide the fish and the cooking for our annual extended family fish fry. Lucky me. In anticipation I had been accumulating a few packages of different fish species. Needed some more Willard Bay cookie cutter kitty flesh.

Monday looked like a good possible weatherwise for hitting Willard. But with the super moon, slow fishing reports and a dozen other excuses I was prepared to be treated badly by Willard...again. Didn't need no stinking excuses. Did jes fine, thank y'all.

Air temp 63 and water temp 76 at 6:30 launch. Had a big old light in the southern sky to light my way out of the harbor. Dragged bait and threw plastics all the way out of the channel and out past the two sets of buoys. Yes, two sets. The water is so shallow on either side of the channel you need to avoid turning right or left until you get way out there.

Actually, not much boat traffic. The "Ramp Closed" sign (see pic) probably has something to do with that. Still, a couple of boats launched...one small tin boat and then a big ski boat. Otherwise the lake was power squadron free today.

Oh yeah, if you get a wild urge to run the dike north of the channel you might wanna watch out for all the new rocks sticking up out of the bottom about a hundred yards from the mouth of the channel. Bottom is very shallow there too. Would love to be there when some doofus took it on.

Nary a nibble today until after 8 am...and after I reached over 9 feet of water and the sun came over the top of the mountain. Then I got nibbles. Lots of nibbles from itty bitty kitties. They drove me bonkers. Bang and boogie. Once in a while something more substantial would come to play and I would add a nice Willard cookie cutter to my basket.

I covered a LOT of water today...dragging bait, bouncing jigs, pitching cranks. Never did find any concentration of fish. Worked and watched sonar from about 5' out to some 11 foot water off the feed lot. Most bites and all keeper kitties came from either side of 9 feet of water.

Kept 7 cookies for the fish fry and probably tossed back a dozen dinks. Good to see them in there for future reference but someone should tell them they ain't supposed to interfere with serious catters.

Stayed pretty calm all day. Water temp rose to 80 about noon. Figured I'd get out of the heat, fillet my fish at the cleaning station and be home in time for an afternoon geezer nap. Figured wrong.

Pulled my tube up on the ramp and walked up to get my Blazer. Hmmm. That left rear tire was looking "tired"...kinda flat. Man. Haven't had a flat in 10 years and now I have two within a month. I'm getting too old for that stuff. It ain't true that you are twice as good at 70 as you were at 35. By the time I got the spare on and the gear loaded I was done. Took the fish home to fillet. Probably would have passed out if I had stayed in the heat much longer. 93. Eeeeenuf.
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[fish_fear_me2]

Glad you found some fish to play with. The flat tire sucks. I am getting to the point where I cant even lift my spare for the truck. Looks like not much water around the south marina. We need a good snow year!!
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Yeah, the docks are clear out of the water. But the small boat that launched this morning while I was there was able to use a paddle to push the bow up to the dock close enough for the second guy to jump in. Add a few feet to the lateral jump and we have a new Olympic event.

We definitely need more water...everywhere.

It's tough growing old, but considering the alternative...I guess I'll keep fixing tires as long as I can. Not liable to be much longer. That one today just about put an end to all my fun.
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[wiperhunter2]

Sorry to hear about the flat tire but good to hear the cats wanted to play. Gene and I were out there last night and didn't even bother with the docks, just nosed the boat up to the ramp and Gene walked a few few into the water to get into the boat, easy peasy(sp?)[]
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[CoyoteSpinner]

[quote wiperhunter2]Sorry to hear about the flat tire but good to hear the cats wanted to play. Gene and I were out there last night and didn't even bother with the docks, just nosed the boat up to the ramp and Gene walked a few few into the water to get into the boat, easy peasy(sp?)[][/quote]


But Gene wasn't wearing flippers!

If it ain't one thing it's another. At least the wind and powersquad left you alone, while the fish didn't. Pretty focused on the kitties sounds like?
I've ran into a number of pods of pups. I'd love to fling a camera down and see what's really going down there. I imagine (by the number of prompt yet timid "nips) that there's hoardes of them in some of those spots. Youngins with school in session.

Have a good fry. Sure you'll be the toast of the treat for all the eats.

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[RockyRaab]

The only good thing about the low water is that it allows us to rememborize some good bottom structure, for better days to come.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I'm also looking forward to some cooler water temps, along with the low water. That really thins the herd on the pests...skeeters and skiers. Also makes the fish more frisky.

Hope the big perch put in their usual fall appearance again this year. Should be good for crappies too, based upon spring showings...and all the well-fed crappie blips on sonar these days.

Lemme know when you wanna gang up on them again.
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[toadly]

I thought that was you! I was at the feed lot fishing off the bank. Tried to say hello but you were a good 200 yard from me.
I to found fish but in only a couple feet of water. When they felt the hook the cats came out of the water!!! Holy leaping Catfish!! Made it very interesting.[]
There sure is alot of new beach front property at Willard now. Still at a loss where all the water is going??
Glad to hear you found them.
Didn't see any shad or Wiper that day, how about you??
Guessing the "boils" will be out of my reach. Has anyone seen shad schools yet?? Strange year for certain.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I saw somebody riding a bike on the dike. Wondered if it might be you.

Glad you found a few. I couldn't get a bite in shallower water but I didn't go in closer than about 5 feet deep.

There were a few individual small shadlets on top and the terns made a few dives. No real wiper popping but I did see two surface takes. One was a small one close by. The other was a big boy that followed a zig zagging shad almost into my tube with me. It blew up on the little guy just a few feet from me and I actually got a few water drops on me. Cool. But nothing would hit either cranks or plastics.

I have been seeing schools of shad on sonar, both at the north marina and yesterday out of the south marina. But, there is a combination of murky water and predator prey population factors at work. The low water allows the wind to muddy up the water and reduce visibility for sight feeding predators. That slows down their ability to find schools of shad and to herd them into a "meat ball". But it also makes it easier to feed on them subsurface when they find them...and keeps them so well fed they don't need to go topside.

Once the turbulence of the monsoon season settles down and the water clears and cools there is likely to be more surface action. And it sometimes comes right onto shore in shallow water. I have fished boils from my tube where the water was shallow enough to stand up. And along Eagle Beach at the north marina I have seen wipers chase shad right up onto the shore. Your style of fishing...bike and cast...is a good way to cruise the dikes and watch for slaughter city.

Where is all the water going? Drive around the area and look at all the corn fields and pastures. This is the time of year for heaviest water suck. Gonna get much worse before it gets better. Wanna schedule a walk across the dry lake bottom to map out the structure...for some year in the future when there is water again? We can carry slingshots for the fish. Won't need fishing rods.
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[albinotrout]

Hot water, hot temps, low water. All good reasons to stay home for me. [:/].
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Hey, if you are just looking for excuses to NOT go fishing simply ask your wife. I know she is good at finding reasons for you to stay home.

I try to look on the positive side..."I'm positive the fishing will be bad."
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[albinotrout]

Oh believe me there are lots of excuses I got to keep from fishing however it's not trying to not go bit trying to get going.[]
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[WaveWolf]

[#484848]I'm still perplexed, or . I drive by the Weber all the time and it is full, It is much higher than it normally is for this time of year, yet Willard is down. I think we have another leak that has not been discovered yet.[/#484848]
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[cutter4]

Get TripleAAA,Joined 2 years ago,and they have saved my back half a dozen times.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]There is a small amount of water coming over the baffles from the canal at the inlet...but just a trickle. The rest is being siphoned off at several locations for the ag water needs. That was the original intent for the dams and canals...not fishing. We are at the bottom of the food (water) chain.

Kinda like the marriage 50/50 arrangement. The wife gets $50 and the husband gets 50 cents...on a good day.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I have an auto club road service through AARP. And I have used them satisfactorily a few times. But it always takes a lot of phone hassle and waiting to get someone to where I am.

Plus, there is the male ego thing. Heck, I can do that. But my old brain keeps writing checks my old body would rather not cash any more.
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[brookieguy1]

Was your tire flat on all sides or just the bottom portion?[]
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Only one side at a time...but it would change as it rolled. That's the way flat tires roll, ya know?

Sheesh! Some people's kids!
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[r2u2]

Don't be seeing water coming over the baffles. Last year I watched as the water current was flowing to the east but water was still spilling through the baffles to the west. OK! I thought. The water I am seeing coming over the baffles has to be over flow. A short time later when I was out fishing I met a fellow from Weber Basin. I asked him about my theory and he confirmed that I was correct. So when we see the water levels continue to fall when it appears we should be gaining that's the reason.

RJ
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