Tubing Willard 5-11-23

[TubeDude]

The way the weather has been I gotta really watch the weather forecrash to pick a fishing day.  Thursday looked better than Friday...my original pick...so I went for it.  Hit the south marina and launched right about 7 am.  Air temp a cool low 40s...warming to 68 by noon departure.  Water temp in the marina was only 48, but started out at 54 in the main lake...warming to 58 by noon.  Our 60 degree days are soon to come.


Only a couple of boats out ahead of me, but there were about a dozen trailers in the lot when I came back in.  The boats all went off in different directions.  Saw a couple working the island but didn't stay long.  Musta found what I was finding...a whole lotta nuttin'.  Heading north from the marina I worked big S turns from 10 FOW out to 21 FOW.  It was like a big desert over most of that area.  Wondered if my sonar was broke.  But I did see an occasional single blip...either on the bottom or a few feet above.  But I saw a lot more on TV than on my line.

I worked through bottom bouncers with crawlers, fligs with minnows, casted plastics and Gulp minnows and even tried trolling cranks.  I still hadn't had a sniff after about 2 hours of fishing.  Then my rod with a new "hybrid" lure...a hot shot painted in fire tiger rigged with a 2 hook crawler rig...went bendo.  Thought it might be my customary single catfish day.  But 'twern't.  'Twas a nice wiper. 


But, that was it fishwise for the day.  I fished another 3 hours and had a couple of pop n drops.  But no more bent rods.  Alas.  At least my skunkless year is still intact.

Got to meet and chat with a couple of fellow BFTers at the ramp.  Good to see you guys.  Hope you did better out on the big lake than I did.  The water is still a bit cool and stained near the south marina...with all the runoff still coming in.  I suspect that once the runoff slows and the water clears and warms a bit it's going to be better for everybody.

[2knots]

Nice wiper Pat, glad you had some action. Yes there is a lot of water where you don’t see anything

[wiperhunter2]

Glad at least a wiper decided to play, crazy the cats weren't willing to give one of your offerings a try, especially with the water temp getting up to 58. What kind of lure was that, kind of looks like a hot-n-tot?

[oldguy]

Well it was good to meet pat at the ramp this morning. I headed out to the Island and got 1 small walleye but then it took all day to even get a hit . Trolled all over the lake and finely  got another small walleye In about the same spot as this morning long day just burning Gass to even find active fish water was still 57 to 58 inches morning but got to 60 when I left at 3pm . All were  caught on #5 flicker shad going2.2 mph the color  for me today was crome and green. Also seen dubob on his boat ride trying thing out for his first run of the year. Hopefully the lake settles down a little bit in the next week . Thanks Bill

[Cowboypirate]

Cookie says she don't feel so bad about her skunk if the fish Gods's have thumbed thier nose at ya twice in a row. Must mean we both got a really good trip coming soon.

[2knots]

Well it was good to meet pat at the ramp this morning. I headed out to the Island and got 1 small walleye but then it took all day to even get a hit . Trolled all over the lake and finely  got another small walleye In about the same spot as this morning long day just burning Gass to even find active fish water was still 57 to 58 inches morning but got to 60 when I left at 3pm . All were  caught on #5 flicker shad going2.2 mph the color  for me today was crome and green. Also seen dubob on his boat ride trying thing out for his first run of the year. Hopefully the lake settles down a little bit in the next week . Thanks Bill

What are you doing to get the #5 down close to the bottom or were your fish suspended

[oldguy]

Well it was good to meet pat at the ramp this morning. I headed out to the Island and got 1 small walleye but then it took all day to even get a hit . Trolled all over the lake and finely  got another small walleye In about the same spot as this morning long day just burning Gass to even find active fish water was still 57 to 58 inches morning but got to 60 when I left at 3pm . All were  caught on #5 flicker shad going2.2 mph the color  for me today was crome and green. Also seen dubob on his boat ride trying thing out for his first run of the year. Hopefully the lake settles down a little bit in the next week . Thanks Bill

What are you doing to get the #5 down close to the bottom or were your fish suspended

I caught them in 15 fow  and they were suspended  at about 9 ft.

[2knots]

Well it was good to meet pat at the ramp this morning. I headed out to the Island and got 1 small walleye but then it took all day to even get a hit . Trolled all over the lake and finely  got another small walleye In about the same spot as this morning long day just burning Gass to even find active fish water was still 57 to 58 inches morning but got to 60 when I left at 3pm . All were  caught on #5 flicker shad going2.2 mph the color  for me today was crome and green. Also seen dubob on his boat ride trying thing out for his first run of the year. Hopefully the lake settles down a little bit in the next week . Thanks Bill

What are you doing to get the #5 down close to the bottom or were your fish suspended

I caught them in 15 fow  and they were suspended  at about 9 ft.

Ok thanks I’m going to try a snap weight and see how it works to get the cranks down close to the bottom

[wiperhunter2]

Snap weights work great. We use to use the 50/50 method but the last time out we just put the weight about 5 feet from the lure, that way you don't need to take the weight off to net the fish.

[Wasatch801]

The way the weather has been I gotta really watch the weather forecrash to pick a fishing day.  Thursday looked better than Friday...my original pick...so I went for it.  Hit the south marina and launched right about 7 am.  Air temp a cool low 40s...warming to 68 by noon departure.  Water temp in the marina was only 48, but started out at 54 in the main lake...warming to 58 by noon.  Our 60 degree days are soon to come.


Only a couple of boats out ahead of me, but there were about a dozen trailers in the lot when I came back in.  The boats all went off in different directions.  Saw a couple working the island but didn't stay long.  Musta found what I was finding...a whole lotta nuttin'.  Heading north from the marina I worked big S turns from 10 FOW out to 21 FOW.  It was like a big desert over most of that area.  Wondered if my sonar was broke.  But I did see an occasional single blip...either on the bottom or a few feet above.  But I saw a lot more on TV than on my line.

I worked through bottom bouncers with crawlers, fligs with minnows, casted plastics and Gulp minnows and even tried trolling cranks.  I still hadn't had a sniff after about 2 hours of fishing.  Then my rod with a new "hybrid" lure...a hot shot painted in fire tiger rigged with a 2 hook crawler rig...went bendo.  Thought it might be my customary single catfish day.  But 'twern't.  'Twas a nice wiper. 


But, that was it fishwise for the day.  I fished another 3 hours and had a couple of pop n drops.  But no more bent rods.  Alas.  At least my skunkless year is still intact.

Got to meet and chat with a couple of fellow BFTers at the ramp.  Good to see you guys.  Hope you did better out on the big lake than I did.  The water is still a bit cool and stained near the south marina...with all the runoff still coming in.  I suspect that once the runoff slows and the water clears and warms a bit it's going to be better for everybody.

I rigged up some large salmon size apex lures like your hybrid hot shots. Will try running them with a crawler or power worm for walleye. Will report back if they work out.

[RockyRaab2]

Don't tell anybody, but a Flatfish dressed with half a crawler on the belly treble behind a rubber-core or Lindy sinker and pulled at "bottom bouncer" speed will catch walleye, too.

[TubeDude]

Glad at least a wiper decided to play, crazy the cats weren't willing to give one of your offerings a try, especially with the water temp getting up to 58. What kind of lure was that, kind of looks like a hot-n-tot?

I suspect that the cats might be locating in warmer areas of the lake...and moving in closer to the rocks as their spawning time gets closer.  There will always be cats scattered all over the lake but like most of the other species they tend to seek out more favorable conditions...especially during times of transition like our current rising water and variable temperature situation.

That lure is a "Hot Shot"...still made by Luhr Jensen.  Haven't used one in years.  Still had a few left over from when I lived in Sacramento and fished them for steelhead and salmon...back-trolling them on the Smith and Klamath.  Dug them out, repainted a few in "Willard colors" and rigged them with crawler harnesses.  Looking forward to more tests on them.

Actually, I have recently made "crawler conversions" on several other billed diving lures that I anticipate will get some love in the near future.  These include some lipless cranks and some small "Wally Diver" type lures.  I plan to do a lot of experimenting on them and I have already started a writeup on "Hybrid Lures".  I call them hybrids because they combine the basic attraction of one lure...and then add a second lure or modification to create something new and even more attractive. 

Actually, anyone who has ever used pop gear, flashers or even walleye spinners has been using some form of "hybrid" lure.  I got my start by adding my own hand-tied flies to plain old Colorado spinners when I was still a kid in Idaho.  But I have tried a lot more rash and foolish models since...and some of them even work.

Here is the introduction from my "work in progress" on "Hybrid Lures":
     
[b][font=Times New Roman", "serif]         [/b][/font][b]   Over the years there have been countless new lure designs developed.  These include a bewildering array of hardbaits, plastics and spinners…in every conceivable color and color combinations.  Most of them work.  The ones that don’t catch fish will catch a few fishermen initially and then disappear…to be replaced by other newer lure inventions.
[/b]
            Like most anglers, I am always on the lookout for the next great lure.  And I plead guilty to spending money on lures that looked purty but didn’t work worth a hoot on the water.
[b]            However, unlike most other fishermen, I have also spent a lot of time in making my own lures…and in coming up with some of my own unique creations.  I readily admit that many of my potential world-beating lure designs have not lived up to my initial expectations.  But there have been a few that have really worked well…both for me and for a few of my angling buddies.[/b]

---

Don't tell anybody, but a Flatfish dressed with half a crawler on the belly treble behind a rubber-core or Lindy sinker and pulled at "bottom bouncer" speed will catch walleye, too.

Right ye be.  Actually, you can dress almost any diving/wobbling lure with "sweetener" and they will work.  But on some diving crankbaits you have to put the bait on the middle hook, rather than the tail hook, or it kills the action.

I have used some of my old Flatfish lures for years to rig with a trailer fly...or bait.  They really do have a great wobbling "come hither" action.

But there are several things you usually have to address when rigging such a "hybrid lure".  First, as you pointed out, you gotta add some weight to help get it down...due to the increased drag of the addition.  Next you have to figure out the right speed and the length of line to let out to get the lure down to the depth you want to present it.  There are no charts as there are with some other lures and lines so it takes some experimentation.

[wiperhunter2]

Ok, thought the design looked familiar, that sounds like a great modification that you and Rocky mentioned but let me get this straight, the weight goes behind the lure, attached at the center hook or in front of the lure? Instead of using a weight do you think just using lead core line would work, with the worm attached at the center hook?

[TubeDude]

Ok, thought the design looked familiar, that sounds like a great modification that you and Rocky mentioned but let me get this straight, the weight goes behind the lure, attached at the center hook or in front of the lure? Instead of using a weight do you think just using lead core line would work, with the worm attached at the center hook?

If the water is deep enough, riggers would be the best way to go.  But lead core should work fine...and is controllable by counting the colors, etc.  A little experimentation in the depth you are fishing and you can run the lures at whatever depth you want.  Just keep changing up the length of line and the speed until you find the right combo...and the fish vote for it.

If you use weights you can use any size and type sinker you can attach to your line.  I usually rig with a small sliding snap swivel ahead of a barrel swivel on the line...and then about 4-5 feet of leader to the lure.  I use the snap swivel to attach different weights of sinkers depending on how the lure runs and at what depth you wanna fish.  Yesterday, for the Hot Shot modification, I was only using a 1/8 oz. sinker and running just a hair over 1 mph.  I suspect the lure was running about mid depth in 15 FOW.  I ran some other similarly rigged lures with 1/4 and 3/8 oz. weights...with more line out...and actually had them dragging bottom until I reeled up a few turns.  You can do the same with lead core.

I'll post some pics later of some of the other modified lures I have put together...for future testing.

[RockyRaab2]

MANY ways to add weights, from split shot, rubber-core, loop knots, three-way swivels, to beaded keel weights.

The simplest way to gauge lure action versus speed is to simply drag the lure next to the boat and change speed until you find the best looking (to you, anyway) action and then let out line until you get down to the depth you want to fish. But I guess everybody already knows that.

[wayno945]

I went out there last night (530-830). It was pretty dead. Only caught one cat near the north marina on a bottom bouncer. At least the weather was nice!

[wiperhunter2]

All great ideas for those that have never used any of these methods, especially with the deeper water at Willard this year. Normally we never use riggers unless the water is deeper than 20 ft, say 30 ft or deeper, we choose to instead use lead core line or snap weight to get our lures down to the depth where the fish are holding. A few years back while fishing with stan55, he showed me the beaded keel weights and how well they work for getting your lure down as deep a 40 ft. About that same time I started using snap weights and the 50/50 method but after fishing with Stan it occurred to me that instead of letting my lure out say 50 ft, then adding my snap weight and letting out another 50 ft, I could just add the snap weight about 5 ft behind the lure, that way I could lift the rod tip high enough to get the fish in the net, without removing the weight. Many times walleye are lost as you pause to remove the snap weight I found, so not having to remove a weight works well. When using a lure on lead core line, it is pretty easy to tell when it is hitting the bottom by the rod tip ticking, as it hits the bottom, so once you find the bottom you simply reel up a little until the ticking stops. It's a little different when it comes to fishing with an inline worm harness because there is no bill on the lure that you can feel ticking the bottom, sometimes all you can see is kind of a rumble on the rod tip that you have to watch for carefully or you will miss it. This info is nothing new for those that already use these methods but for those that have never used them hopefully it will help you be more successful.

[RockyRaab2]

One other note: The advantage of using a three-way swivel, a weight on a loop knot, bottom bouncers, or a beaded keel weight is that they eliminate line twist. That's the DISadvantage of using split shot or rubber-core sinkers, obviously. Worm and spinner rigs are guaranteed line twisters.

Contrary to what we all think, swivels alone do not prevent line twist because there's nothing to hold the swivel itself from twisting.

[wiperhunter2]

One other note: The advantage of using a three-way swivel, a weight on a loop knot, bottom bouncers, or a beaded keel weight is that they eliminate line twist. That's the DISadvantage of using split shot or rubber-core sinkers, obviously. Worm and spinner rigs are guaranteed line twisters.

Contrary to what we all think, swivels alone do not prevent line twist because there's nothing to hold the swivel itself from twisting.

I have always wondered why I get line twist with some lures but not others when I always use a swivel, now I know, makes sense but I need to pay closer attention to which lures cause this problem too.