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Time For a Change
#1
What's with all the whimpering and whining about the wiper fishing being over? You guys remind me of bass fishermen who fish all year the same way...casting spinner baits along the shallow shoreline...even when the bass go deep for the summer...or the winter.

Sorry guys. All I gotta say is when the fish change, you gotta change with them. When wipers aren't chasing bait or boiling, they move down in the water column and that's where you gotta go to get em. When trolled Producers ain't producin', you need to think low and slow.

I have fished stripers and wipers all over the country. The guys who have had a lot more experience on them than we have in Utah just know that there are times you have to go to a vertical presentation. That means "spooning" with flutter spoons and other shad imitations...or even drop-shotting plastics. Have any of you guys bottom-bounced plastics or drop-shotted?

The other thing is colors. While shad and white are traditional, you need to break out the chartreuse and hot red in cold water. They don't "match the hatch" but they definitely trigger reaction bites. And, you also don't have to fish with a big piece of plastic, to try to match the biggest gizzard shad in the lake. You will get more "inquiries" on a slow-moving smaller bait this time of year.

That being said, don't put away your standard gear, or even the top water stuff. A couple of warm days and you can still experience the occasional late afternoon aggressive bite. All I'm offering is that nobody should put their boat in the barn until the lake is hard. And then, if you sneak out on the ice at night, and set up a couple of lanterns, you might be surprised to find out that the wipers eat during the winter too. There are a couple of reservoirs in Colorado where they catch some of the biggest of the year during the winter.

No hard feelings. Just hate to see you guys overlooking some potential. I'm down in Arizona right now...where we are spooning white bass and stripers from water as deep as 40 to 60 feet. Last month it was a wide open top water bite, with spooks, chuggers and buzz baits. Follow the fish.
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#2
hey tube dude I cant agre more, time to get out the ice shanties [cool]
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#3
Tube dude, when are you coming back from arizona? Thats some wise advice there. Also, casting plastics against the dike can be an effective tool when the water is cooler. The sunny side dike where the water is a tad warmer with a slower cast and retrieve may be the ticket. As well, we cant forget that there are over a hundred other lakes in the state that have some awesome fishing right now. Why continue to get killed on willard when the walleye are slamming at utah lake, the trout are biting at strawberry, and you might be able to get a few lakers or kokes at the gorge.
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#4
Hey Tubedude, I didn't mean to sound like a winer. I am still a rookie at this wiper fishing and my arsenal of wiper weapons is very limited. I read your post and will take your advise and try the other ways that you suggest I'm always looking for new ideas. Thanks for the insite. AFDan
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#5
Peace, my brothers. You guys don't know me well enough to know that I don't take myself too seriously, and I don't expect anyone else to do so either. Man, the last thing in the world I would ever do is criticize a fellow fisherman. Yeah, I took a bit of a potshot, but I wasn't hoping to hit anybody in particular.

I did get a chuckle out of Coot's post about the guys slow trolling white plastics and catching wipers. I posted that suggestion over a month ago...including the blue back pearl shad and the white twisters with red heads. I also used to use white shad or twisters with a red line down the back, that I put on myself with a red permanent marker. I have always caught fish in Willard right up to hard water. In fact, some of the fastest fishing some years was pitching those lures next to the growing ice and bottom bouncing parallel with the ice edge. Of course, that was when there was water in the lake, and I fished inside the North Marina or South Marina.

All I am offering is the suggestion to try something new. I learned the low and slow lesson a long tima ago, with the help of a new fishing buddy who had been doing it for years. As soon as I got properly "tackled", and practiced the cast and retrieve variations, I began to catch more and bigger fish...in places and at times I previously blanked. I use it whenever the fish are slow, neutral or negative.

That brings up another point. I salute anyone who can routinely catch wipers on lures, with the exception of the times they are boiling or "eating the rocks". The pros down south quit trying to frustrate themselves when the fish aren't hitting lures. They net a few hundred shad and fish them live just off the bottom. Even then, it can be tough. In Utah we would get crucified for using live shad, so we have to make do with lures. Add a few drops of shad scent and it will improve the odds.

Predator...in answer to your question about me coming back to Utah, all I can say is that it will be as soon as possible. I was getting ready to head north again about a year ago. Then my mother had a mild stroke and my dad fell apart. They are both alive but in poor health. I moved them out of their house in Idaho and into my home in Phoenix, not expecting either of them to make it through last winter. Evidently the warm climate agrees with them and they are still with me. When their natural cycle of life allows me to resume my own, I will load my tackle and head back HOME.

I beg your indulgence if I pontificate a bit. All I am trying to do is pass on some of the great lessons I have received from some great teachers in my past angling experiences. Then, when I make it back up there, you can put me to the test...to see if I can at least thread a worm on a hook...or catch a fishie once in awhile. In the meantime, I love the forum and enjoy living vicariously through the comaraderie and fishing experiences of the regulars.

I'm truly sorry I couldn't work out something to make the breakfast. Coot has been working on me to make a surprise appearance at the shindig on ice. Wouldn't I love to do that.
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#6
AFDan52,
I have watched you listen and learn about fishing skills through the help of many here at the BFT message boards. I think you are using the correct way to learn. I have watched you go from no fish to catching them. Now it is my turn to give my input in hopes it might help you develop your future skills.
To fully understand you need to have a look at this post:
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...post=11935
I hope it will help ![Smile]
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