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[font "Arial"][#000000][size 4]Last night on KSL Outdoors, FishTech started their little info-clip with "Now that the wipers are starting to boil at Willard ….."[/size][/#000000][/font]
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[#000000][size 4]Have any of you guys seen any serious wiper boils out at Willard this year? Are the wipers really boiling now?[/size][/#000000]
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[#000000][size 4]I'm not talking about the kind of boil that makes you say, "There's some birds diving over there. I wonder if that's a wiper boil?".[/size][/#000000]
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[#000000][size 4]The kind of boil I'm referring to are the ones that make you say, "Holy carp! Check out that awesome boil over there. Let's go!"[/size][/#000000]
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[size 4][#000000] [font "Arial"]I haven't had much time to get out fishing this year. I really have to get the best bang for my buck/time. But I would definitely squeeze in some time for a boil run if I knew those wipers were in fact boiling.[/font][/#000000][/size]
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Probably going from past years experiences.
No boils this year for me.
Not enough Wiper in Willard these days.
The DWR is far more interested in Walleye these days.
Sad.
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[#0000FF]Water temps are over 80 degrees...and wiper numbers are way down. I haven't heard any RELIABLE reports of wipers boiling. Last Tuesday was a beautiful day and I could see a large area of the lake. No birds working and no boils.
You don't think a fishing tackle outlet would spread false rumors just to sell some tackle do you?
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I heard of a few earlier this year but nothing lately.
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In the last month, I've seen what we use to call, "Surface Activity", but no true boils. Here and there you can find a little surface activity around the lake but I'm guessing it won't amount to much, unless the water starts to cool. I too saw that Ad by that Fish Tech guy last night but I did not believe it.
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Cant believe everything you see on TV ya know
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Was out there Friday. No boils, only birds were Gulls sitting in the water near feed lot. Have not seen a really honest - to - goodness BOIL at Willard in at least 3 years. Small ones, that always seemed to be a mile away and only lasted 10 seconds...........[:/]
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"OCD = Obsessive Catfish Disorder "
Or so it says on my license plate holder
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I have not seen a real "Boil" like you described in 5 years..
and man I've really looked.. Kind of  really. At first... 4 years ago the going theory was there were to many shad in the lake.. wipers didn't need to corral bait.. it was there in front of them to eat. Then it was the water levels were to low , to hot, to cold, ect..
Nobody noticed all the coolers leaving the lake full with way more than any limits set.
Fish and game did little if anything about the illegal fishing at the inlet and spill ways. the fish caught are smaller and fewer..
But the Catfish and Walleye fishing is great...
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I am not a Willard guy, wish I was, buy I am not. But......
[#000080]Did the Shad spawn this year[/#000080]? I have heard that it has been a while since they had a good spawn. Too few shad, no shad to boil on.
I know that they have been holding off on Wipers and the numbers are down. If the shad population goes up, I suspect the Wipers will be added again. ?????
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Im not a biologist, , . the shore line at Willard is teaming with 1 inch long shad.. some bigger.. In short.. there is no shortage of shad on Willard. The Catfish i catch have plenty in there guy as well. Ha ha..
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Excellent, then that means they did well with the higher water this year.
Considering the Shad are the "Gizzard" variety, not the faster growing but smaller "thread fin", and are only ~1" right now, they should be about 2" by the end of the month, and at that size the Wipers should start to boil.
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Actually there are several sizes out there right now, could be as many as three, I have seen 1", 2" and I think there are some but not as many, that are approaching 3". It seems the first ones I started seeing, almost 2 months ago, were fewer in number but when the second hatch shad started showing up, there were massive numbers of them, then about 3 to 4 weeks ago, I started seeing another group those are the ones that are around 1". I haven't see any of the first group recently, not sure if they all got eaten but I'm definitely seeing 1 and 2" shad. When the boat goes through them or a side planner, they will jump out of the water.
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I hope the small ones get big enough to survive the winter. Sounds promising.
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+1 on the coolers of fish leaving the lake. This has been the main contributor to the lack of wiper boils. When they weren't so popular say ten years ago they weren't being taken out in such great numbers. the last five years the shoreline is covered in bank tanglers taking limit after limit ever day.
There are plenty of shad for wiper boils, there just aren't the wiper numbers to control the shad like they use to. the wipers that are in there are full and there is no need to ball up shad they just need to swim with there mouth open and have all the food they need.
One thing this should do though is produce some giant wipers if they survive the gauntlet of fisherman taking everything they can every day.
I think they should close the lake to keeping wipers for about three years. there are plenty of other species in there for food. This won't keep the already illegal over limit catches from leaving the lake but if anyone is caught with a wiper in there cooler they won't be able to get away with it any longer.
off the soap box.
fnf[cool]
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I'd be willing to bet that the "bank tanglers" don't keep a significantly larger percentage of fish than the "boat tanglers"... I'd have to see the data. Furthermore, folks should never get upset at shore anglers keeping fish within legal limits, as they paid the same for their license as a boater does. I fish from boat and shore at Willard quite often, and I've never experienced someone hauling off coolers of fish.
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[#0000FF]I don't think the reference is to family folks spending an occasional day soaking bait from shore. They often catch little of consequence...and seldom large numbers of wipers. The problem is with the hard core group of happy harvesters that treat Willard as their own private fish market. And they do exist...in numbers.
If you do not fish all the "spots" on a regular basis you may never see them. But when the fish are "in" there will be several vehicles and two or three times that many "anglers". They know what they are doing and they DO catch fish...a lot of fish. And none of those fish goes back in the lake. It is not uncommon for a savvy wiper whacker to score several limits in one day...sometimes making the run home or to a "stash house" between limits.
The big difference is that boating sports anglers may catch a good number of wipers (or walleyes) on any given trip (maybe a half dozen times a year). But it is more likely that they will only keep a couple to take home and release the rest. That puts them at removing only as many in one year as a "mussleteer" harvests on a good day...many days in a row.
DWR is very aware that the increase in shorebound bait harvesters has skewed the numbers. But they do not have a good way to guage it. And with the variables in weather, water levels and other factors it becomes difficult to manage.
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Does Utah have a problem with an "underground" fish market?
In Washington State it had become a problem, but because it was ran by those groups that were politically untouchable it was largely ignored by officials.
I have seen more then one violation ignored because the offender pretended to not speak English. But, that was in Washington.
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[#0000FF]There are multiple reasons for "happy harvesters" to ply their trade. One of those reasons is the ready outlet for freshly caught good-eating fish. Among some cultures they will not buy dead fish from a market...especially if they do not know how long it has been dead or how it has been treated. But when someone shows up on their doorstep with 3 flopping wipers in a plastic bucket the cash comes out.
This has been a problem far longer in Utah County. With no limits on white bass the rolling fish markets can load up several buckets and head for town. They not only sell to individuals but also unload a fair amount through the back doors of some restaurants. Very tough for DWR to witness or track...even though they get reliable reports.
Even worse are the walleye rapers. Again, it has been going on for years in Utah County...in spite of tributary closures during the walleye spawning runs. The perpetrators keep lookouts with cell phones along the access roads to warn the snaggers who hang from the trees with lights and snag the vulnerable fish...including many big females. There has also been a fair amount of market harvest on walleyes at the Willard inlet since it was reopened to fishing during the spawn.
I have a tough time with punishing someone who is verifiably in dire economic straits and needs fish as a food resource...and who keeps a couple over the limit. But the guy who doesn't buy a license and uses deliberate snagging gear to remove several limits of big walleyes on a nighttime slaughter needs to get some attention.
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In your post you say "catfish and walleye fishing is great..."
I see great cat, but not so great walleye. Are you getting walleye? That would be nice. Walleye and crappie are my quest.
Any report would be help.
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Plenty of shad all over the lake.
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