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Got out to Willard a little late on sunday but still managed 7 wiper and 1 walleye on cranks. Freeway bay and 2.0 mph in about 18ft of water seem to be the ticket. A friend of mine Tracy Rue wound up with 22 wiper and 3 walleye and I think he said a crappie.
I was on the water a little earlier today and the freeway bay bite was off. So I went and hit the North East bay... one wiper. Then I headed to the island, nada. Thought I would buzz over to the light pole and check it out. Nothin there either[crazy]. So I started pulling blades down the west dike check out the christmas trees with structure scan (explains alot of hangups, theres dozens of em there!) and popped a huge catfish, it was longer than my tournament board and its 25 inches long. But, I wasnt catfishin. So somewhere down the west dike I started drifting aimlessly to the middle of the lake. Bingo, found a pot of gold[cool]. I marked a ridge out in the middle in about 27 ft of water and this ridge came up to 20ft. I drove around it and put waypoints down on the structure scan to get an idea of what it looked like, it was about 200 yards long and about 30ft wide, really rocky. After I mapped it I started pulling blades down it and 8 walleye and 5 missed walleye bites later I realized I found me a honey hole ] Kept 3 of the wallys to eat and turned the rest loose. I didnt measure em but I would guess 18-20inches. All of the ones I cleaned were full of dark green bugs about a 1/4 inch long, no shad. Speed was 1.2 mph and the harness was green beads with a red and white blade.
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Dang sounds like you had a good trip and found a nice new honey hole! I am hoping to get my boat in the shop asap so i can try and catch my first wally of the year.. How big were the wipers?
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The wiper ranged from baby (13 inches) to the biggest being 23 inches. Seems like I had every size in between also. Even the babys fight like their big brothers![cool]
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and you were thinking about going trout fishing.......shame on you.
Now you have to take me and show me all eye tricks.[  ]
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Only if you tell me what color of velveta to use at the trout derby[sly]!!!!!!!!!!
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Can't hardly beat catching pound for pound the best fighting fish in Utah.(wiper) And can't ever beat catching pound for pound the best eating and sometimes seemingly the most elusive fish in utah for many(walleye), getting a handful of both in one day or a weekend of that, is the ultimate combination. I gotta get out there at least once this year. Hell, I gotta get out to Starvation too I have been neglecting it this year.
Is it just me or did the tails of a couple of those 'eyes have extra red tails? I don't why I noticed, it but I did. Good looking fish none the less.[fishon] Nice job on the fishing.[cool]
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I didnt get out on the ice with ya this year at starvation, but maybe ya can come sit in the back of the old procraft out at willard sometime this summer![cool] Maybe those tails were so red from em beatin the rocks on the 'Great Willard Reef' I found[ ].
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LOL, and you call yourself a eye fisherman[ ]. It is the aftermath of the spawn, they beat up their tails making a place to lay their eggs or something to that effect[sly].
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Ha Ha! I was just trying to make myself seem smart[crazy]. But that a bit of wally knowledge I didnt know! Now, just tell me exactly where there at all year and exactly what theyre eatin' and I'll close my chapter on the great walleye[sly][sly][sly]. Ok, nevermind... that would take the fun out of chasing the toothy critters around![cool]
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I am here for you when you need somebody watching your sonars on the back of your boat. I am always up to fish with a respectable walleye guy like yourself. If your ever in need of a good net guy you know who to call...er..... PM me .....[sly][sly]
Some shore lunch sure does sound good... I will bring everything we need. You tell me when and where. Get a couple of the other walleye guys in on the day.... Oh wait!!! they are all probably up North right now.[crazy] At least a couple of them.[fishon] Lets make them as jealous as they are making me right now. Fishing everyday like it is some kind of job.........[pirate][fishon].
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[quote wiperhunter2]LOL, and you call yourself a eye fisherman[ ]. It is the aftermath of the spawn, they beat up their tails making a place to lay their eggs or something to that effect[sly].[/quote]
That is what I thought at first. Then I looked closer and noticed that the tails were not really that beaten up. I have caught a bunch of post spawn fish, many with pretty hammered tails with multiple rips and tares but none that had that red of a tail, one of them has a faint red coloration but the other two almost seem like they were handled by someone with blood all over there hands.
Yea probably the spawning, but shouldn't they have spawned over a month and a half ago?
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Sounds good! I'll be prefishing the crap out of willard next week for the white carp... uh I mean wiper tourny (just tryin to ruffle some feathers of a few friends[ ]). I will be out almost every day (morning till about 1pm) so give me a whistle if you can make it out. Your always welcome in my boat, just not my bed, that spots reserved for your dog![laugh]
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I've seen a few fish like that and I always figured that some fish just spawn later than others plus I'm sure it takes a while for them to recover from all that damage they sustain while spawning. It probably takes months for them to fully recover. Maybe TD will chime in here and give us the rest of the story coverage[ ].
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[quote wiperhunter2]LOL, and you call yourself a eye fisherman[ ]. It is the aftermath of the spawn, they beat up their tails making a place to lay their eggs or something to that effect[sly].[/quote]
[cool] [#0000ff]Walleyes do not make nests. They are "broadcast" spawners...thrashing on the surface while spewing eggs and milt to be carried away on the current (in rivers) or by wind and waves in the main lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I think the reddish tails are the result of being in the cooler...maybe even next to ice. A lot of fish develop fin discoloration when they die. I would need to see them as they came out of the water to form any other opinion. I have never seen red tails on a freshly caught walleye. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen...but I have seen a lot of wallies and I ain't seen no redtails.[/#0000ff]
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You are spot on with that TD, if you have observed the eyes during the spawn you will see them splashing the surface sometimes on their sides while spawning especially around Bird Island in Utah Lake and the rocky shore line around Willard.
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Well there you have it, egg on my face again[blush]. I'm sure glad we have TD and PF around to keep me straight[ ]. Now I'm really wondering what was going on with those fish I've caught[:/]
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Now those fish that were in that pic were in my live well and still breathing about 5 minutes before they posed for all of ya. They werent on ice or been dead very long. Now im racking my brain to remember if I have seen any more like that! My fish arent as photogenic as yours are TD [laugh] so I dont have many pics to go back and look at. We get enough brains together on this one and we can solve the mystery of the red tailed wallys!!
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[cool][#0000ff]No deep dark mysteries. Tail fins get reddened from unnatural contact. Just like humans, blood flows to areas that have been bruised or injured. I have had fish of other species in my live basket that developed reddened fins after a while. It can also happen in a live well. I was using the cooler as an example because that is the most common cause...but not always. I have also seen fins redden just by having the fish on a stringer. Might be stress related as well as contact caused.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About the only thing I can state with reasonable certainty is that the redness is not a condition caused by spawning activity.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just for grins I took a trip back through a whole bunch of pics of walleyes I have taken over the years. NONE OF THEM have red tails...prespawn, during the spawn or post spawn. The only pic I found with some reddish tails were some from Starvation. The pic was sent to me by a fellow BFTer who had kept them in his live well all day and they were laid out at the cleaning station.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The best I can do is guess, based upon past observations and what little knowledge I have of old marbleeyes. Unless we call in CSI and their magic computers it is pure speculation. Probably gonna be tough to get Callie to come all the way to Utah from Miami.[/#0000ff]
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Mike you might want to be carefull about stating that the fish were still alive in your livewell just before the pictures, It's a pretty stiff fine getting caught with live fish in your livewell once you leave the water with your boat. I always bleed mine before I head to the dock they taste much better that way and not as messy during the cleaning process. Just an "Old Dog's" advice watching out for ya.[ ]
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I had that in mind when I wrote the post. I usually drain my livewell when I take the boat off the lake, they may be breathin' but no where near 'alive'. Nope, no bucket biology here, I can hardly keep em alive long enough to weigh em in at a tourny much less tranplant them[ ]. I guess if I run into a DWR officer thats having a bad enough day to write me a ticket for fish in an empty livewell, then I will take my chances with the judge[crazy]. I have thought about bleeding them though, you just cut the gills right?
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