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Gave Willard a break for several weeks but decide to give it another go today. Wiperslayer and I got out there today about 8:30 am. Air temps in the mid 30's, water temps in the low 50's. A little breezy early but not bad, then it calmed down for a few hours and was really nice, until 1 pm or so. We checked out a few places hoping to find some willing perch but it was not to be, so we started fliging it for the cats. It wasn't as fast as a few weeks ago but it wasn't bad, firetiger was the best flig, followed by purple. We tried perch meat but got little love, chub meat was the big producer for us, including a nice 28.5" fatty. The catching wasn't fast but it was steady, until the switch turned off, still a great day for the end of Oct. Tried the inside the North marina for the last hour but got no love, we were the only boat out on the lake today.
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[#0000FF]Yeah, that's a porky kitty for Willard...these days. I can remember when almost every trip produced at least one or two that size...or bigger.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Man, if it wasn't for willing cats this year would have been a bust on Willard.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]My records show that I have always caught most of my perchzillas in November. Gonna be trying to make it happen again...soon.
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Agreed, this was one of my worst years at Willard that I can remember, for everything but cats, they saved my season at The Bay. I'm thinking a lot of these cats will be a few inches larger next year, so that's plus, I just hope it isn't a repeat of this year, for other species. Thanks for the intel on the perchzillas.
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Thanks for the report! I kept watching the reports this fall for some good wiper reports, but they never came meaning I never went chasing. Lol [fishon]
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That’s a nice one Curt, like TD said, haven’t seen that big from Willard in a while.
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[#0000FF]Hey Chuck, life has been good for Willard's kitties the past couple of years. Water levels have been up in the rocks to provide more crawdads...and better spawning and recruitment. And both wiper and walleye numbers have been down...to reduce food competition. So there have been more and bigger kitties. Okay by me.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]There have been quite a few cats over 25 inches this year...and one that went just over 30. Not likely we will ever see populations of big ones as in the past but we can enjoy it while it lasts.
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That's a good looking cat! It's almost enough to make me want to make the drive up there. Almost[  ]
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Willard was really bad for walleyes this year. Only had one good day this year. Wiper situation also seemed down to me. As has been indicated the Cat situation was the saving thing for Willard. Really wish it could be developed into a blue ribbon walleye fishery like Lake Erie. I have no idea how that would happen not even sure if possible but I would be all for it.
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Now thats a beast for Willard . Nice job
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There's Always Time For One More Cast
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[quote Piscophilic]That's a god looking cat! It's almost enough to make me want to make the drive up there. Almost[ ][/quote]
[#0000FF] You may not have a good reason to fish Willard, if you are strictly looking for large cats. More of the bigger ones in your back yard. But if you want some prime kitty fillets...none better on the table...then Willard is worth the trip.[/#0000FF]
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You are right about that! This fall I have wanted to put some fillets in the freezer for winter. I have a self imposed length limit of under 2 feet for eaters from UL and I have had a hard time getting any to eat.
P.S. I gotta start using the spell checker[  ]
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[#0000FF]I'm sure God will forgive you.
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We had one decent day for wipers back in Sept but that was it for the Fall bite. We did see a little surface activity yearterday, just off Pelican beach but it only lasted a few minutes and it was just few splashes here and there. The birds were there but it was so short, they did not hang around.
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Thanks Chuck, it made several strong runs before I got it to the net and at first I thought I had a wiper on, I knew it was a bigger fish, just wasn't sure how big until I got it on the bump board. I never got to experience those big cats of years gone past, this is my largest to date.
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Thanks, the catching has slowed down now, so I don't blame you for not making the drive up but they are here if you change your mind and hopefully in the weeks to come the big perch come out to play too[  ].
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I agree on the Eyes this year, there I only had one decent week, I hope things turn around next year. The DWR claim they are stocking more eyes than ever before and stocking less wipers but for most of us, we are not seeing the results yet. I doubt Willard will ever be a blue ribbon walleye fishery like Lake Erie but we can hope I guess.
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Thanks John, after all those big ones you caught this year from the Bear river, I was thinking this was a taste of what you must have experienced.
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I did really good for wipers and walleye in April and early May, but haven't tried since. [fishon]
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Spring and early Summer are always the best time of the year but in some years we get a good Fall bite too, it just has not happened for a number of years.
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