Willard, no skunk

[Tin-Can]

I always seem to head toward the sunrise at Willard. No real plan or tactic in mind this morning. Got 2 rat-l-traps out and moseyed basically east in 16-17 fow at 1.3 to 1.8 mph (GPS) 15 minutes on the water, starboard side rod with a "shad" imitating lure bent so hard I was afraid it would break. Line stripped off the reel and I could see the mono moving north while my direction of troll was east. Ohhhhh Boy! That ain't no snag [shocked]. Got the rod out of the holder, pulled back and felt a violent shake and even harder pull to the north. Line had peeled off so fast, the reel was quite warm. Kept rod up, reel a couple cranks, fish said "oh heck no" and stripped out another 20 feet of line. Went back and forth reeling line, fish strippin line maybe 2 minutes. Thought it was getting tired, gave me a chance to grab my net. Oh boy this is gonna be a big.......something.
Rod still up and back, reel drag just right to allow some pull, a head shake every few seconds, then..................
NOTHING, NADA, JIP, ZILCH !!! Line went slack so suddenly I almost fell backwards. Line just laid there on the water limp. No weight or resistance at all. Reeled in and there it is AGAIN.......no swivel clip, no lure, NO FISH ! That happened last week. I re-tied the knots on that rod. No little curly twist to indicate the knot had come undone. A clean knife like cut.[:/] Oh oh that was one of my wife's lures................[frown].
OK, tied on a new swivel, put a Fire Tiger rat-l-trap on, line back out, boat back on course, speed at 1.4 - 1.8. Line out less than 5 minutes, HIT ! Steady pull. Grab rod, yep a fish. Not so big, but well hooked and no line break. Cat # 1 safely in the boat. And with disrespectful barks, accepted invitation for dinner.

Less than 40 minutes later trolling in a large odd shaped oval, Cat # 2 with more attitude and bigger shoulders hit that fire tiger. In the net, and in the boat, 2 of the 3 hooks on rear treble embedded in corner of his mouth, broke off one hook getting it out.

10 a.m. approx. power squadron starts showing up early. Tried to anchor up in a couple spots and soak some worms........no joy.
11 a.m. headed on in to the south marina, anchor up near the channel no boat buoy (keeps me out of the traffic while I put the boat back in road ready condition)
Was almost ready to head for the dock, when one rod rattled in the holder and the line started going up the channel toward the inlet. Cat # 3 made it into the live well, and I decided to stick around awhile longer.

Watched the big boats coming and going. threading his way thru the traffic was ZukiBlue (Gene)

Got some small nibbles on one worm, then a sharp tug. Came up with a young Wiper, released. Then noticed I was sitting in the middle of a school of Wiper. They must have been getting lessons on how to "boil" they weren't driving and shad, and no birds were diving, but the young Wiper were spittin and splashin all around me. Tied a small brass hook to the end of one line, clipped on a bobber, and cast out into the mess of "bulls eyes" created by all the youngsters spittin. Hooked up a Wiper almost every other cast. Stopped counting at 10, didn't want to take my shoes and socks off [laugh]

Called it a day about 1:50 P.M. and waited my turn to get some dock space.
Cleaned the 3 Cats and headed home. Not a bad day.[fishon]
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[wiperhunter2]

You know Forest, I've been fishing Willard for a long time and I swear several tiger muskies, maybe more have made there way into Willard this year. It is very rare that I have line break when fishing there because I always check for abrasions on my line before putting a lure out but this year I have had 3 lines cut, just as you described, you start reeling in a big fish and all of a sudden the line gets cut. The first time I just thought my line broke but after having it happen, so many times, to me and the people I fish with, I'm pretty sure there is something out of the ordinary causing this to happen. I've been thinking about make a post about this, because it is not normal for Willard, IMO. I know walleye have teeth but I've never had one fight like that and feel so heavy before the line breaks. Do you or anyone else have any thoughts about this?
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[Tin-Can]

I know there was a Tiger Muskie caught in the south marina a couple years ago. Now they are sterile, just like Wiper. So at least they aren't reproducing in there. But there isn't any other fish in WB that can compete with a large Muskie. So IMO, there must be at least one, maybe more. I have had that happen to me more in the last 2 years at WB that ever, anywhere else.
I mean last week, and today were like instant replays. Same result in the same general area out off the feed lot. The rods I use for trolling have 12 lb. mono. I replace that line at the beginning of each season, and many times during the season if it get abraded. I'm not a perfect angler, but I know how to tie a knot. I've had BIG Carp break swivel clips and the knot and line are still perfectly sound.
I think maybe I will start adding one of my short steel leaders between the mono and the lure and see what happens. Maybe try that tomorrow when the wife and I are there.
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[wiperhunter2]

Good idea, I've been thinking about doing the same thing, it's just crazy to have this happen so many times.
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[UThunting]

funny 3 weeks ago I was in my boat coming back to load the boat and figured I should try something in the south marina. first cast I got a massive hit and off it went my buddy thought I was joking around until my real was losing line at a quick rate. he thought I snaggeda do at it was that violent. I keeper it hooked for about 30 sec and pop gone. my body said wow that had to be a monster wiper I said it was more violent then any wiper I ever caught and felt really heavy no way a snagged carp as I was dealing in really slow and it took it hard I never set my hook he just took it!!!!

Now you got me thinking it was a tiger as I have caught quite a few at pureview...
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[Old_Coot]

Great post … great story … great report Tin.

Because you have found success in fishing Willard the way you do, you probably won't change (and I don't blame you), but if I may, here are a few suggestions for you:

1) Use a Fluorocarbon leader (100% fluorocarbon). Fluorocarbon is a whole lot more abrasion resistance than mono. I use fluoro leader connected to my braided line when fishing for tiger musky at Pineview and have never had a cut off.

2) Now I know you are more of a catfish man than a wiper man, but for those of us who prefer catching wiper over catfish, because we frequently troll fast, those wiper don't have much time to analyze (or even see) the line. As such, might as well increase the pound test of your leader to leader to 14 lb. At 2-4 mph, they'll never see that invisible fluorocarbon line.

3) You mentioned using a swivel in your rig. I'm not sure why you would use a swivel unless your terminal lure is a design that turns over and over in the water (like a spinner). Consider using a duo-lock snap in place of a swivel. A snap doesn't detract from the realism of the lure as much as a swivel does. Those rattle-trap type lures don't rotate in the water … no need for a swivel.

4) Take me with you some evening. I'd love to watch and learn from you. I remember a few years back when you just first showed up on this board and were looking for help and suggestions for fishing Willard. Now you are obviously "seasoned" at it and might have lots to share with those of us who are always ready to learn more.

Anyway, thanks for sharing that great fishing report!

--- Coot ---
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[Elkslayer1]

Congrats and great post!
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[Tin-Can]

Curt, we put steel leaders on our trolling lines today.

[inline "(0114) steel leader.JPG"]

I caught 4 Cats on that Fire Tiger. Wife was using a kind of crawdad color. She caught 3 Cats on that, and 4th Cat on a Black and Silver.

[inline "(069a) crawdad.jpg"]

We trolled thru the same area that I have had two break offs.
I got a hit first thing out of the marina, just like yesterday. Hard hit, line striping, got rod out of holder, set drag, took about a dozen cranks on the reel, felt violent head shake, and hard pull, then ZIP...nothing........but got my lure back [laugh]. So don't know what it was. Couldn't see or feel any cuts or abrasions on the leader. It's a brand new leader, first time in the water. About 12" long and plastic coated.

Think I will leave those leaders on my trolling poles from now on. Who knows, I just might bad that Muskie, or whatever.
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[Tin-Can]

Hey Ralph, thanks for the reply. I guess I will have to give Fluorocarbon a try. I've continued to use Stren Clear Blue Florescent for many years mainly because I can see it. I use braided line on my heavy poles that I use on the river or at UL when hunting Cats specifically. I use a 12 lb. Stren leader off of the braid mainly to be able to break it off when it's snagged. Rather loose a couple feet of line and a hook, than have to cut off several yards possibly of braid. I don't troll with braided line simply because I can't see it.

When I fish Willard, and someone asks what I'm fishing for, my standard answer is " Anything that bites" I never target one specific species at WB. When I have tried that in the past, I come up with an empty live well.
Willard is the first place I have ever fished in my life that the Cats would hit a lure. Surprised the stuff out of me.

I tried 14 lb. line several years ago. Never noticed much difference between it and the 10 lb. I used for awhile, except that I couldn't get as much on my reel. So I compromised several years ago. The 2 poles I keep on my boat that are dedicated trolling poles get new 12 lb. Clear Blue Florescent every year. I've lost fish at Willard before, but this year is the first time I've experienced a clean break off in the same place twice.

Your point about swivels and duo-lock snaps is well taken. And I believe you gave me that advice before.
And I did start using them. Can't really give you a good reason I stopped. Slipped back into old life long habits when I'm at the tackle area of the store I guess. (I used to do lots of Bass fishing in Georgia and Florida) Started using swivels back then cuz I didn't like tying my lures direct to my line like most other Bassers were doing. Just a weird personal preference I guess.

Ralph, I don't fish in the evening. Usually too late by the time I get off work, get home, take care of 2 dogs, then go to storage unit to get boat. Maybe when I retire in a couple years.............[]
When I first showed up on this site, I was new to fishing from my own boat. Had never had one before 2004. Never used the trolling tactic in the south unless it was offshore. But I have fished in some way or another since I was 7 or 8 years old. That's well over 50 years ago.
I never mind helping or answering others questions. But I just don't think that you fall in the category of someone I could tell something new.

I'm not trying to be the greatest fisherman in Utah, or the one that catches the biggest or most fish of any species. I fish because I enjoy being near or on the water, like to eat fish I have caught and cooked myself, and it helps me keep my sanity when so many I am around are loosing theirs.

[] [fishin]
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[RockyRaab]

Must be working. You're one of the sanest guys I know.
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