Willard BFT 4-tilla 10-12-18

[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]Rode to the north marina with Pa. Met up there with FatBiker and fly fishing nut. Chilly mid 30s air temp but no pesky breezes. Water temp 53 in the harbor early and 55 outside...warming to 57 by noon departure.
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[#0000ff]Water was slightly murky...no doubt as a result of the wind and rain this past week. But the water level is still dropping. Both sides of the ramp are taped off to prevent trailers dropping off the end of the shorter ramps on either side. When we came back in some doofus had left his trailer in the water...truck still attached...and had simply gone off out into the lake. Really a cool thing with an already narrowed ramp. Might really torque off the hordes of water skiers who might have showed up later.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We were all on the water by 8...FatBiker, Pa and myself in tubes. FFN brought his bass boat. Silly him. But he is new to our crowd and didn't know we have the fish trained not to respond to foo foo craft. When he left early he had not caught anything. We of the tubing persuasion all caught fish. Neener neener.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Pa and I did not catch our first fish for almost an hour. We both dragged fligs and flung plastic. No love on either for a long time. Then we started getting some love and life was better. FB had moved right in close to the shore at Eagle Beach and was finding a few willing kitties there. I moved in from out in the deeper water I originally figured would be holding the fish in cooler water. I figured wrong. Got several more fish in water around 7' deep.
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[#0000ff]We were all flinging fligs...tipped with perch meat and/or crawler...sweetened with crawdad elixir. I got my first two on a fire tiger flig and my last two on a purple. In between I caught a couple on chub minnows fished with bling beads. We all had some tentative pop and drops. Pa donated a couple of my purple fligs to aggressive catfish by using light line...one time because of knot failure and the other with a nick or something. Remember, fish don't break lines...fishermen do.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Larry (FB) had to depart early for a medical appt. I think he said he had caught a half dozen or so. Lance (FFN) also had a prior commitment that shortened his day. But neither missed much after 10:30. Someone flipped the off switch and neither Pa or I could buy a bite. That's the way it is sometimes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Heard a few gunshots from the marshes, but it was a bluebird day and I did not see any waterfowl in our area. Did see some flights of pelicans though. The are the Willard air force when flying...and the navy when rafting up and chasing fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Only a couple of other boats went out of the north marina this morning. The cooler weather made for a 3-S day...no skiers, no skeeters and no skunk. Well, maybe for FFN. But we will get him in his pontoon next time and he will rock it.
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[wiperhunter2]

Sounds like things have slowed down since my trip out there last week but the same colored fligs we used were still producing it appears. On our last two trip we have also caught mud cats, they appear to be making a comeback. On our last three trips the water has been slightly murky as you indicated. Now that they have shut off the secondary water hopefully the water level will start to raise again. Seems like that same doofus did the same thing last year, we came back in to find him partially blocking the ramp, as we readied our boat for departure he came back in and said something about putting his boat away for the Winter and needing to run some Stabie through it. I told him he could have at least pulled his trailer off the ramp, he said no one was using it anyway and he was only there for a short time. I told him I'm not sure the Park folks would see it his way, if one of them came by. To that he waved and we left.
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[pa]

Thanks for a fun trip Pat. The fligs did their awesome job as usual. Really happy with them . Caught fish using all colors this year.
I missed at least 5 today . Dont know why. When I got home I gave that line that broke a close look. It had at least 4 more knicks in it going back bout 7 feet. Glad I put it away and didnt loose anymore gear. Im gonna upgrade to a 12 lb. line on all my cat rods. Will keep the 6lb on my crappie/perch/trout sticks. Tried to post my pictures of today but couldnt get them to transfer from the camera to the computer. But I will figure it out. It was nice to meet Larry and Lance both. Good people.
thanks again
lee
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[FatBiker]

Pat, it's always good to see you. As you stated, the weather was fantastic, but the company was better. White fligs worked for me until the sun hit the water then everything happened on a blue one. Thanks again for the jungle juice and the samples. Really liked the looks of the black back perch. Should be a winner. Keep me in mind when you're ready to hit pineview.
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[fly_fishing_nut]

It was great meeting you all today. Sorry I had to have the skunk smell today but I’m getting used to it! I appreciate you showing me that fish can be caught still in Willard. I was starting to wonder. Next time I’ll have to bring my pontoon boat to try and change my luck. Thanks again for the showing me how its done (obviously I still have more to learn).
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Always good to share the water with you (and a ride).
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[#0000FF]I think you will be glad after you upgrade to a bit heavier line. Those cats are not huge but they do put a big strain on weak line or poor knots. Now if you will also upgrade to a "big boy" fish basket you will be ready for more and bigger fish.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Good you could join us...even if you did have to leave early. Surprising that you found those cats in so close to shore. I think I know why they were there...groceries. Yes, there were a lot of shad hanging out in the shallower water. But a couple of the ones I filleted also had some log perch in their tummies. Like the spot-tailed shiners the log perch have established a population in a couple of areas of the lake...and Eagle Beach is one of them.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Glad to provide a sample of my "Jungle Juice". I had the best luck yesterday on the crawdad. But I have had good times with the shad too. If nothing else you can just snort a couple of lines in the morning and it will set you free.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Yeah, I think a visit to Pineview is next on my hit list. Will keep you in the loop when the stars align and Mama Nature mellows out. [/#0000FF]
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[TubeDude]

[quote fly_fishing_nut]It was great meeting you all today. Sorry I had to have the skunk smell today but I’m getting used to it! I appreciate you showing me that fish can be caught still in Willard. I was starting to wonder. Next time I’ll have to bring my pontoon boat to try and change my luck. Thanks again for the showing me how its done (obviously I still have more to learn).[/quote]

[#0000FF]Glad you could join us Lance. Sorry the Willard fishies didn't treat you nice. As I reflect on potential reasons for your smelly kitty results, I think maybe a big part of it was that the fish are slowing down in the cooler water and were not active enough to want to chase fligs moving a bit too fast. There are some other guys who have done well during warmer times by using their electric motors to drag the flig rigs at speed. But a lot of my hits yesterday came during momentary stops when I quick kicking my fins. In that chillier water sometimes the fish need a moment to catch up and respond to your offerings.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]You need to get tight with FatBiker. He lives close to Willard and fishes it a lot...both from his boat and from his inflated craft. Also, he is a fellow fly flinger. I'm sure he could help you fine tune your approach.[/#0000FF]
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