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Willard Perch
#1
It is no secret (any more) that there are some dandy perch in Willard...and that they move into several areas on the east side of the lake in November...and that they can be caught.  But the past two years the situation has started to get out of hand...for the perch.  Lots more anglers...even through the week (thanks, Covid).  And many of the more successful anglers are keeping all that they catch.  A full live well is the measure of a good trip.

I accept at least part of the blame for increasing the attention on these perch.  But I also assume some responsibility for trying to get them some relief.  They either need more compassion and conservation on the part of the anglers or restrictive rules imposed by DWR...or both. 

Perch have never been numerous enough in Willard to constitute a real "fishery".  A few perch washed downstream from Pineview in years past and established a small population.  But because baby perch are favored menu items for wipers, walleye and catfish there were seldom enough survivors to build the base numbers.  However, when wiper and walleye numbers took a dive, more perch survived...and thrived.  The result was some porky perch showing up for anyone who was still fishing Willard in November.

Until last year, I saw few other anglers while out tubing around in the late fall.  Last year I was dodging boats inside the marina and outside.  And a lot more perch jerkers were joining the growing gang of regulars.  It continued into the ice fishing season.  A lot of big perch left Willard permanently last year.

I have not had a "good" perch trip yet this year.  In year's past, I considered 10-12 nice perch a good trip...enough for a good family fish fry.  I haven't caught that many yet this year...on all trips combined.  But I know of several tricked out boaters...with sophisticated electronics...that have been successful in searching out and harvesting the scattered remaining perch.  And there have been reports of full live wells. 

My most recent trip...on Tuesday this week...told the tale.  Instead of my vehicle being the only one in the north marina parking lot it had at least a half dozen boat trailers for company.  And the area I planned to fish was regularly occupied by several boats.  I finished my day with one perch and two catfish.

I have put together the attached writeup to send to Chris Penne...at DWR.  I am awaiting his response and will share it when I get it. 

Lest there be any misunderstanding, this is not a crybaby thing just because I can't catch some perch.  I have a real concern that perch will become an afterthought on Willard...once again.  No real biggie in the greater scheme of things...and I probably won't be around to fish them much in the future.  I just hate to see a good thing ruined due to lack of concern.
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#2
(11-25-2020, 10:15 PM)TubeDude Wrote: It is no secret (any more) that there are some dandy perch in Willard...and that they move into several areas on the east side of the lake in November...and that they can be caught.  But the past two years the situation has started to get out of hand...for the perch.  Lots more anglers...even through the week (thanks, Covid).  And many of the more successful anglers are keeping all that they catch.  A full live well is the measure of a good trip.

I accept at least part of the blame for increasing the attention on these perch.  But I also assume some responsibility for trying to get them some relief.  They either need more compassion and conservation on the part of the anglers or restrictive rules imposed by DWR...or both. 

Perch have never been numerous enough in Willard to constitute a real "fishery".  A few perch washed downstream from Pineview in years past and established a small population.  But because baby perch are favored menu items for wipers, walleye and catfish there were seldom enough survivors to build the base numbers.  However, when wiper and walleye numbers took a dive, more perch survived...and thrived.  The result was some porky perch showing up for anyone who was still fishing Willard in November.

Until last year, I saw few other anglers while out tubing around in the late fall.  Last year I was dodging boats inside the marina and outside.  And a lot more perch jerkers were joining the growing gang of regulars.  It continued into the ice fishing season.  A lot of big perch left Willard permanently last year.

I have not had a "good" perch trip yet this year.  In year's past, I considered 10-12 nice perch a good trip...enough for a good family fish fry.  I haven't caught that many yet this year...on all trips combined.  But I know of several tricked out boaters...with sophisticated electronics...that have been successful in searching out and harvesting the scattered remaining perch.  And there have been reports of full live wells. 

My most recent trip...on Tuesday this week...told the tale.  Instead of my vehicle being the only one in the north marina parking lot it had at least a half dozen boat trailers for company.  And the area I planned to fish was regularly occupied by several boats.  I finished my day with one perch and two catfish.

I have put together the attached writeup to send to Chris Penne...at DWR.  I am awaiting his response and will share it when I get it. 

Lest there be any misunderstanding, this is not a crybaby thing just because I can't catch some perch.  I have a real concern that perch will become an afterthought on Willard...once again.  No real biggie in the greater scheme of things...and I probably won't be around to fish them much in the future.  I just hate to see a good thing ruined due to lack of concern.
Tks for your post T.D....I appreciate your sentiments and hope Chris and DWR will give your write up serious thought and some appropriate response..a reduced bag limit certainly would make sense....
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#3
Hopefully, it don't fall on deaf ears and something can be done to help the remaining population. Liberal to no bag limits decimated on some great perch lakes in Montana and now what was a great fishery is not so great anymore, Sad thing is it took fish and game too many years to realize the decline in the fishing.
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#4
(11-25-2020, 10:15 PM)TubeDude Wrote: It is no secret (any more) that there are some dandy perch in Willard...and that they move into several areas on the east side of the lake in November...and that they can be caught.  But the past two years the situation has started to get out of hand...for the perch.  Lots more anglers...even through the week (thanks, Covid).  And many of the more successful anglers are keeping all that they catch.  A full live well is the measure of a good trip.

I accept at least part of the blame for increasing the attention on these perch.  But I also assume some responsibility for trying to get them some relief.  They either need more compassion and conservation on the part of the anglers or restrictive rules imposed by DWR...or both. 

Perch have never been numerous enough in Willard to constitute a real "fishery".  A few perch washed downstream from Pineview in years past and established a small population.  But because baby perch are favored menu items for wipers, walleye and catfish there were seldom enough survivors to build the base numbers.  However, when wiper and walleye numbers took a dive, more perch survived...and thrived.  The result was some porky perch showing up for anyone who was still fishing Willard in November.

Until last year, I saw few other anglers while out tubing around in the late fall.  Last year I was dodging boats inside the marina and outside.  And a lot more perch jerkers were joining the growing gang of regulars.  It continued into the ice fishing season.  A lot of big perch left Willard permanently last year.

I have not had a "good" perch trip yet this year.  In year's past, I considered 10-12 nice perch a good trip...enough for a good family fish fry.  I haven't caught that many yet this year...on all trips combined.  But I know of several tricked out boaters...with sophisticated electronics...that have been successful in searching out and harvesting the scattered remaining perch.  And there have been reports of full live wells. 

My most recent trip...on Tuesday this week...told the tale.  Instead of my vehicle being the only one in the north marina parking lot it had at least a half dozen boat trailers for company.  And the area I planned to fish was regularly occupied by several boats.  I finished my day with one perch and two catfish.

I have put together the attached writeup to send to Chris Penne...at DWR.  I am awaiting his response and will share it when I get it. 

Lest there be any misunderstanding, this is not a crybaby thing just because I can't catch some perch.  I have a real concern that perch will become an afterthought on Willard...once again.  No real biggie in the greater scheme of things...and I probably won't be around to fish them much in the future.  I just hate to see a good thing ruined due to lack of concern.

That's a great write up, Pat.

It's nice to see folks that are passionate about the resource. 

You know that water better than most and I'm sure, knowing Chris, that he will take your information very seriously.
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#5
Thanks for all the info,It’s been good perch fishing,it sounds like someone is upset they spilled the beans on their spot on the internet.Maybe time to post a willard perch map or a flig party to cheer you up.I wonder if the bank tanglers write the FG about a guy with a fancy float tube,nice fishfinder,7-8 rods some Lh blue eyed minnows and a stringer full of whiskers kicking around on weekdays during a pandemic? The upside is you still have the big TOILET to get your whiskers,I doubt you will ever see guys with livescope spot locking on your mud cats.Tight lines!!
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#6
I got in trouble last week for posting about catching perch at Willard but in the same conversation, I was told from the same person that he had been fishing Willard for perch for 20 days straight. Sometimes I feel that keeping perch once a week is too much, so then I'll go to Pineview or some other location, so I don't take too many from one lake. Sure is funny to hear someone condemn me for posting a report telling others about the good fishing but it being Ok for him to pound those same fish for 20 days in a row and that is perfectly fine. Strange how that works, guess he wants to keep all the fish to himself.
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#7
Wow, that's something Curt, you guys had one great day and kept 15, how many is this individual keeping every day for the 20 days, that'll hurt the population more than the few that you and Ira kept.
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#8
(11-26-2020, 03:25 AM)meancuznalfy Wrote: Wow, that's something Curt, you guys had one great day and kept 15, how many is this individual keeping every day for the 20 days, that'll hurt the population more than the few that you and Ira kept.
I've know this guy for years and he is a good guy and really good fisherman but he just thinks we should all keep info like this to ourselves and never tells others about it by posting such info, of course I disagree Wink.
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#9
I see, don't think forums like this hurt much or give extra pressure because the circle is so small. But from what I've heard facebook fishing forum can get a place overrun in a hurry.
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#10
(11-26-2020, 05:59 PM)meancuznalfy Wrote: I see, don't think forums like this hurt much or give extra pressure because the circle is so small. But from what I've heard facebook fishing forum can get a place overrun in a hurry.
It's a double-edged sword.  While our forum is designed for the use and enjoyment of contributing BFT members, there are far more eyes that use our reports as a resource to target their own harvests.    Just look at the view count vs how many comments there are.  And once an outside "lurker" gets the intel they need...and verify there are fish to be harvested...they post it on their own social media outlets or through their own "grapevine".

Can't recall how many times on the water I have talked with others...only to find out they are not active BFT members but they routinely look at the posts for information.  Either that or they got their information second hand from some other lurker who DID get their info from BFT.

There are a number of cohesive identifiable groups of anglers who remain in constant contact...trading info on hot spots and hot techniques.  For example, each spring when the crappies show up in the north marina a couple of anglers might do well one afternoon.  But the next day it becomes elbow to elbow with bubble chuckers...even if nobody posts any kind of report on an open forum.  It ain't magic.  It's the internet and cell phones.
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#11
Just a suggestion but maybe see if transplanting some perch from fish lake is feasible. I mean most lakes in Utah which have been turned into walleye fisheries get there fry from Willard eyes.
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#12
Utah must be unique somehow.

First off, I have read SEVERAL actual peer reviewed scientific papers, and even more articles, essentially saying that panfish sizes and numbers are controlled by factors other than angling pressure and harvest. But, even so, I'm positive this can't be true in small bodies of water, and I doubt it's true in many Utah waters where forage bases are limited, lakes are not oligotrophic, etc. Pineview perch, I am certain, and Pat has preached for years, are controlled far more by water levels, spawns, etc. than by harvest. Willard perch, which I have never caught, may not be, due to llimited cover, forage, or whatever. WB at UL? I dunno. I saw a guy keep a limit of 14-16" smallies from Willard this year, and I just saw a guy keep several large spawing browns off some redds along the Lower Weber this week. Sacrilege to most flyfishermen, right?

But, I also fished for the first time in Idaho this summer, and found a very pleasant little lake, accessible, fishable, free camping, and just LOADED with big panfish; 9+ " bluegills, 10.5" perch and up, and even a few 11-12" crappies.......and I couldn't even FIND anything in the rulebook about limits or whatever, except on bass. To boot, there were quite a few fishermen, not a crowd, but enough to BRING a crowd if they told everybody. So what's the deal? All I could think was, "Why isn't this place fished out?"

Is there just THAT much more good fishing just a couple of hours north of the State line? Do they just not eat fish?

Finding big perch is always the goal, isn't it? And I think where they are is always gping to vary year to year.
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#13
All fish are subject to water levels, predators in the environment, fishing pressure, bag limits. Water levels and spring runoff can contribute to panfish numbers, low water and little runoff can hurt their spawn, a few years of these conditions can directly impact the number of fish in a reservoir, added angling pressure can impact that even more, especially with liberal bag limits. Whatever reservoir you fished in Idaho might not be well known except for locals, and there is no limit on panfish in Idaho that I know of, it could actually hurt that fishery in years to come, as far as I know it's great now.
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#14
Yeah. I get the feeling that the research I was reading applied to more fertile lakes in the Midwest and South/Central regions of the country.
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#15
That might be the case. I do know that reservoirs in Montana have had a serious decline in perch populations that was attributed to low water, lack of spring runoff and fishing pressure with no bag limit. Low water and lack of run off keeps lakes low and areas that might otherwise be flooded, like weed beds, willows and other low vegetation contribute to poor panfish spawn, as these are the types of cover they like to spawn in, plus the influx of walleye and pike, plus added fishing pressure has led the state to put a limit on panfish in certain areas now. As far as Idaho, I hope we are not going down the same path, with no panfish limits. Some lakes I fish can withstand the pressure because the herd needs to be thinned a bit, but I don't think fishing pressure will hurt anything here because it's hard to find information for lakes here, even from several fishing forums.
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#16
Some interesting posts here !! What Pat is talking about is reminiscent of Yuba back in the day. There were about 6 of us that regularly fished Yuba, Pat was one of them, and we would catch Perch up to 14inches and the occasional walleye. We did not advertise it and I don't think that any of us ever kept more than 2 doz., usually more like 10-12. Eventually the word got out and everyone was fishing Yuba. Where most days there was just our group and maybe one or two others, it became a virtual city down there on the ice, hundreds of fishermen. Many of those fisherman were keeping 3, 4, 5, 6, doz. jumbo perch. I saw one group of 4 guys come off the ice with two sleds full of jumbo's. I estimated that there were between 150 and 200 fish being taken home. Now, I can fillet with the best of them, but after spending 6-8 hours on the ice catching fish, I don't have the energy to stand at the sink and process 4,5,6,doz or 100 fish for the next 4 hours. Utah's have this keep everything they catch attitude, keep and consume, and it has a detrimental effect on the state's fisheries. I have fished in the mid west, the south, west coast, inter mountain west, and I have never seen such an attitude as exists here in Utah. Some of our Oriental friends display the same attitude, but that is a cultural thing. I still see many people at Utah lake trying to fill as many 5 gal buckets with WB as they can. I have always maintained that most people will not spend the time to process that many fish by themselves, to time consuming and too tiring. I submit that many of those fish are wasted !! If you talk with some of the Conservation Officers, they will tell you that over limits are pretty common. I would hope that the readers on this board would practice some restraint and only take what they can use and not over indulge when there are abundant fish, because eventually there will not be an abundance !!!
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#17
I have a bachelor’s degree from Weber State, but it is not in fisheries management.  That means my opinions on fish management are just that – opinions.  Big Grin 

But I do read and do some research about the management of the species and consider most of my opinions are based on the facts I can dig up.  I also fish which gives me a small amount of experience to add to the overall mix.

My first observation is that Pat has forgotten more about fishing in Utah than I will probably ever know.  I respect his reports, insights, and recommendations.  I think his letter to Chris was spot on and hope Chris can set in motion some solutions to remedy a downward perch trend at Willard.

My second observation is that it is EXCEEDINGLY difficult to ‘manage’ perch in Utah.  Folks are always trying to compare perch fisheries back east with ours.  And the main reason this doesn’t work most of the time is because of the differences in water environments.  Almost all the perch waters back east are natural lakes that have been in existence for centuries that are very stable in levels and structure and have stable native populations of perch.  Our perch waters are almost all man-made reservoirs, whose levels fluctuate widely ever year and have minimal habitat needed for reproduction that isn’t accessible every year.  So, the perch fishery in Utah is mostly boom or bust.  Willard water levels are more stable then most other perch waters.

Third observation is this.  Fishing pressure has increased from about 370,000 licensed anglers in Utah in 2003 to almost 497,000 in 2019.  It has gotten to the point that there are now waiting lines to get into State Parks with water venues on most weekends throughout the three summer months.  The parking lots are full and boats have to wait for a boat to leave before another one is let in.  Boat numbers of all types (fishing & power squadron) get bigger every year.

Last observation is this.  The attitude of “Its not a successful fishing trip unless I can take home a full limit of fish.” is rampant in Utah.  I rate all my fishing trips a success weather I catch fish or not.  I am thankful to be able to be there in relatively good health and enjoying the experience, usually with friends I like being with.  Bringing home a fish or 4 is just a bonus.  As to perch, my personal limit has been no more than 20 in the past which is two meals for my bride and myself.  I’m leaning towards cutting that to 10 this year as I fish enough such that I really don’t need to stockpile them.  I make no judgements about your decisions on how many to keep if it is within the legal limits set by the state.

Life is good.
Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."
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#18
(11-25-2020, 10:15 PM)TubeDude Wrote: It is no secret (any more) that there are some dandy perch in Willard...and that they move into several areas on the east side of the lake in November...and that they can be caught.  But the past two years the situation has started to get out of hand...for the perch.  Lots more anglers...even through the week (thanks, Covid).  And many of the more successful anglers are keeping all that they catch.  A full live well is the measure of a good trip.

I accept at least part of the blame for increasing the attention on these perch.  But I also assume some responsibility for trying to get them some relief.  They either need more compassion and conservation on the part of the anglers or restrictive rules imposed by DWR...or both. 

Perch have never been numerous enough in Willard to constitute a real "fishery".  A few perch washed downstream from Pineview in years past and established a small population.  But because baby perch are favored menu items for wipers, walleye and catfish there were seldom enough survivors to build the base numbers.  However, when wiper and walleye numbers took a dive, more perch survived...and thrived.  The result was some porky perch showing up for anyone who was still fishing Willard in November.

Until last year, I saw few other anglers while out tubing around in the late fall.  Last year I was dodging boats inside the marina and outside.  And a lot more perch jerkers were joining the growing gang of regulars.  It continued into the ice fishing season.  A lot of big perch left Willard permanently last year.

I have not had a "good" perch trip yet this year.  In year's past, I considered 10-12 nice perch a good trip...enough for a good family fish fry.  I haven't caught that many yet this year...on all trips combined.  But I know of several tricked out boaters...with sophisticated electronics...that have been successful in searching out and harvesting the scattered remaining perch.  And there have been reports of full live wells. 

My most recent trip...on Tuesday this week...told the tale.  Instead of my vehicle being the only one in the north marina parking lot it had at least a half dozen boat trailers for company.  And the area I planned to fish was regularly occupied by several boats.  I finished my day with one perch and two catfish.

I have put together the attached writeup to send to Chris Penne...at DWR.  I am awaiting his response and will share it when I get it. 

Lest there be any misunderstanding, this is not a crybaby thing just because I can't catch some perch.  I have a real concern that perch will become an afterthought on Willard...once again.  No real biggie in the greater scheme of things...and I probably won't be around to fish them much in the future.  I just hate to see a good thing ruined due to lack of concern.
I hope it works out for you TD but I dont have much confidence in Penne doing anything to help problems much concerning Willard Bay.
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#19
Western wildlife departments also seem to be "troutcentric" and warmwater fish get short shrift - they are far down on the priority list for management. When you read angler reports from local reservoirs, and they say they caught four fish, you may assume they meant trout. "Fish" here means trout. Period.

That is improving, I will admit. Biologists like Penne are quite interested in making all fishing better. Kudos to him and others like him. But there's still a public feeling that trout are important and other fish are not.
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#20
I appreciate all of the input and kindly comments so far.  Just for the record, I really doubt that much will or can be done to make any changes. First of all, the wheels grind slowly when it comes to getting new regulations.  Secondly...as I have stated many times on this forum..."YOU CAN'T MANAGE THE UNMANAGEABLE". 

As we are all aware, the vicissitudes of erratic weather patterns and yearly fluctuations in spawning and recruitment among all species is not anything we can quantify or regulate.  We can be properly grateful for the good times and the good years, but we can't be blasting DWR for everything that does not go the way we would like it to.  It is virtually impossible for them to predict what is coming next and act proactively.  The best they can do is try to patch things together after an unanticipated downturn or disaster.  I think they do a pretty good job with the resources they have...especially in the time of pandemic mayhem.

For what it's worth, I am working on another TD epistle (PDF file) on Utah Perchology.  I am going back through old reports and pictures and putting together some basic info on most of the recognized perch ponds in Utah.  Should be able to post that under a new heading in a day or so.
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