Willard Map Update

[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Recently had a request to make an updated map of Willard bay...showing GPS numbers for the island and for the rock piles.
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[#0000FF]Here 'tis.
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[TheFishSlayer]

Can you update this telling us where all the fish are?

Thank you
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[TubeDude]

[quote TheFishSlayer]Can you update this telling us where all the fish are?

Thank you[/quote]
[#0000FF]Of course I could...but I won't. Why would I want to deprive you of all the joy of the hunt?[/#0000FF]
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[doitall5000]

He just did! Gave us the location of walleye condos. But you will have to bait your own hook.
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[RavenBlackbird]

I would love to hear from Willardites if these condos actually hold fish? I have a small 14" MirroCraft with a 2 HP motor which means that it is a trek out there in open water. Small boats like that on windy Willard with the power squadron present make going out there a real test of my courage. [bobhappy][]
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[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Pat,
This will be really nice info to have... I had saved the rock pile spots at one time, but forgot what I did with them... Thanks Jeff
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[Crimson]

Thanks for the map and all the good information. Printed it out right away and will use it.

Have some questions on the rock piles that I have always wondered about when I hear about them.

Since the reservoir is pretty shallow, how close to the surface is the highest point of the piles. I'm sure they didn't want to create a hazard. Just trying to picture if they used some big boulders or what? Is there more than a few piles? Always concerned about running onto shallow objects with the boat drive.

I think many years ago they tried to create fish habitat in that fairly plain bottom water with sunken Christmas trees, and possibly other objects. Never knew where those were placed.

Thanks for any info.[fishon]
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]An answer for several FAQs:[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]The rock piles are not one big reef, but a series of bargeloads of rock dumped randomly in a rough north-south line...beginning about 300 yards straight out from the south marina channel line.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]They are in moderately deep water...meaning that under even the lowest water conditions they are not likely to pose a navigational hazard. Depth on my last trip out there was about 12 feet...with water levels down about 10 feet from high water mark.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Fish do not have GPS systems. But once they find an area to their liking they seem to be able to find their way back from time to time. So it takes a while for any structure to become a magnet.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]The number of fish of any species using the rock piles at any given time is going to depend on all the usual suspect factors: Water depth, temperature, clarity, etc. Also, seasonal movements of bait and spawning species. And heavy fishing pressure can move fish off any given rock pile...at least for a time.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I haven't fished the rocks all that much myself, but have had good, bad and neutral reports from others. Like any other "hot spot" on Willard it can be a day to day thing. But it is not a bad idea to have the numbers on your electronics and to be able to make a quick sonar check on your way to the other side of the lake.
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[icejunkie]

I was out there when they were making the rock pile, they dumped several loads of rock about 100 yards in length and 30 to 40 yards wide o ll putting the pile six or 8 foot high in 18 f.o.w. I cant remember exactly the amount of rock tonnage but I think it was 50.000 tons. Possibly.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF][url "https://fox13now.com/2016/06/09/utah-dwr-dumping-500-tons-of-rocks-into-willard-bay-to-improve-fish-habitat/"]HERE IS A LINK [/url]to a story run by Channel 13 in Salt Lake back in June 2016...with a video. That article uses the figure 500 tons. You got the first number right but off on the zeros. Do that myself all the time.
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[icejunkie]

Ya TD I knew it was a lot but I sometimes suffer from c.r.s. thanks for the correct numbers.
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[Crimson]

Thanks, interesting stuff!
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[TubeDude]

[quote icejunkie]Ya TD I knew it was a lot but I sometimes suffer from c.r.s. thanks for the correct numbers.[/quote]

[#0000FF]No extra charge.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I think we all suffer from PEBKAC problems from time to time. (Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair)[/#0000FF]
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[muirco]

Thank you! I guess I fished the rock piles last year without knowing it. Lol. Caught wipers there and kept going back. Some days were good and some days weren't. When they didn't bite, I moved to a different location. []
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[TheFishSlayer]

Hahaha I know just messing around. Thanks for always putting this stuff together.

Ryan
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[Get_Bent]

Sent you a PM about this
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Welcome aboard. Got your PM and sent a reply.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]For the benefit of curious members, your inquiry was about having difficulty locating the rock piles while ice fishing. My reply was that it is tough enough with a boat...in open water...when you can make S turns to seek them out on sonar.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]The spot you indicated on your map is the one provided by Willard State Park. But that is only the far northern end of a long line of individual piles at random spots. So my suggestion was to be sure to capture your own numbers for each of the rock piles you are able to find...and be sure to come back out during open water in a boat with sonar and GPS.
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[wiperhunter2]

Welcome to the site Get_Bent, sounds like you have been out on the ice at Willard this year, would you mind sharing with us how thick the ice is out by the Rock piles?
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[Get_Bent]

I've been on the forum for a while, but don't post much. It was last week when I was out there, but the ice was about 6" outside the south marina everywhere I went. That was before the storms though, so I would imagine that the ice is deteriorating quickly.
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[wiperhunter2]

We were hoping it was ok, so we tried to walk out there today, started walking out the channel but the ice did not sound solid, so we checked after walking a few hundred yds. We found it was not the best, about 2.5" of clear ice with 1.5 of cloudy ice on top of that, we stopped there after seeing what looked like open water or at least a spot where water came on top of the ice, at the mouth channel. Lots of water coming coming down the baffles by the entrance road and that upper section was all open water.
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