Willard 6/11

[Jig-fisher]

I don't like to fish post cold front for warm water species, especially Willard, but this was the only time we had to go.  Looks like a lot of other members gave it a try yesterday as well.  We pretty much had the same results.  We launched around 5:30 pm, water was murky, ran over to the west side running cranks.  1st fish came within 15 min, a small eye.



I thought it was going to be good after that start, but only had a couple of missed strikes for the next hour.  Tried some slower cranks with more action and some crawler harnesses, but only one miss on the harness.  We ran back to the south marina for a potty break, then decided to head over towards Freeway bay for the rest of the evening.  Tried a bit of everything but with the same results, nothing wanted to play.  The sun went down and we were getting ready to call it quits when one of my rods got slammed. I could tell right off this was no wimpy fighting walleye, it was taking drag and lots of it with some amazing runs.  You just can't beat the fight of a big wiper.  They are so much fun.



It weighed in at just under 5 lbs, and with 8 lb test on that rod it was a blast.  It destroyed my flicker shad, ripping the back treble right out of the lure.  We started pulling in the other poles and while reeling in, my wife got another wiper.



Nice way to end a very ho-hum outing.  

[Fritzfishin]

Nice job!! The flicker shad was always our go to wiper lure at minersville to!

[Jig-fisher]

Thanks, yes they are a great lure.  One of my favorites.

[wiperhunter2]

You did good, we were thinking about hitting the East side as well yesterday but we never made it that far. That was a nice wiper, did you measure it?

[Jig-fisher]

Right around the 22-23" inch mark. I didn't line it up perfectly on the fillet board, just put the tape out for reference.

[PACKFAN]

Thanks, yes they are a great lure.  One of my favorites.

I love the flicker shad and flicker minnows for trolling and so many new colors to choose from. I prefer to change the hooks out when I buy them as they bend and break too easy especially if you hook a good wiper or catfish. We have been having a good spring on the Bay this year. Headed back up Weds for a week, staying in Cottonwood, this will be my 4th long stay there this year.