Willard Cats

[Bo0YaA]

Hello new to the forum but have been lurking in the shadows for a while.

I was wondering if I can get a little advise about cat fishing from the bank out at Willard. Ive been told the SW corner is good with cut bait but just wondering if anybody has had any other success stories that might like to share.

Cat fishing has never really been my thing but I recently had a good friend of mine move here from Texas who loves fishin for the kitties. So far Ive taken him to Utah Lake, Pineview and Bountiful Pond without a single channel cat hooked. Hes starting to think real cat fish don't exist in Utah and to be honest so am I lol.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]First of all, welcome to the forum...as a registered member. Hope we can help you.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Second of all, if you are looking for good bank tanglin' and bigger cats you should look further south...at Utah Lake...or further north on the Bear River.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But, if you want to fish kitties at Willard Bay...from the shore...there are options. If you are trying to avoid paying the state park fees by fishing where there are no gates or fees, the SW corner is a good spot. However, you can also brave the disastrous road that continues around to the NW corner, at the light pole, and fish the rocks there too. I have done really well for the first 50 yards along the north dike after it makes the bend. A lot less "company" too. That SW corner can get busy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you don't mind paying a smaller $3 parking fee, you can park in front of the gate on the north dike, right off the road entrance to the north marina. Walk a hundred yards or so...anywhere past the outlet structures...and you can find fairly deep water close to the dike. Good wiper fishing along there at times too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A third option, if you don't mind a longer hike, is to park on the road just past the turnoff to the south marina...near the large water users building...and hike out on the north dike of the inlet channel. There can be good catfishing all along the dike. You just have to keep moving and casting until you find the active fish. There are almost always a lot of fish right out in front of the hog farm...where the feed lot is.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You can use nightcrawlers, minnows, carp meat or even pieces of hot dogs. When the kitties are active they bite fast. Either cast out at different distances, to find the ZONE...or fish near the rocks with 3 to 4 feet of leader under a bobber. Some days the fish are in tight. Other times they are out a ways.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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[Bo0YaA]

Thanks a ton, this information will help I'm sure.
We made it out last night for a couple hours in the SW corner. The wind picked up pretty bad not long after we got set up. My 10yr old daughter did manage to land the first channel cat of the year but it was only about 8-10 inches. Not long after that my buddy hooked into his first Utah kitty and it was a decent fish at 2 lbs and about 16-18 inches. That was it for the night but hey at least we caught something.
We have been out to Utah Lake but only managed a few mud cats out by the Pelican Bay rock pit. Being in Farmington, Willard is much closer and it seems that all the big cats I see pictures of at Utah Lake are from a boat.

Thanks again TubeDude
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Nicely done. Glad you found some kitties. Always nice to get "something"!

If you want to venture up to the Cache Valley area there are some nice cats in the Cutler/Bear River system. I've yet to meet the biggies myself, but have seen reports on here from some folks that've pulled in some monsters.
This was my first year to meet Channel Cats, instead of just dinky yellow-bellies.

There's some pretty good bank access where several roads pass over the reservoir. See lots of folks especially around the bridges/overpasses. I've circled a few in the attached.
A: below the dam - access from Valley View Hwy (30). I have yet to try, but in spring - would expect cats to make their way up to the outflow.
B: Cache Junction - there's a boat launch/picnic area (bathrooms) and also folks pitch from around the bridge.
C: Benson Marina - boat launch, picnic, bathrooms. Lots of shore access. Many folks fish around the bridge. There's also a trail to a wooden tressle bridge.
D: Sportsman's access - boat launch, bathroom. Lots of walkable access nearby.
E: Valley View Hwy - there's a boat launch, bathroom, picnic - on the S side of the Hwy. Plus a number of overpasses along the hwy where you can park on the side of the road and walk down.

The Cutler/Bear system is reported to have:
Crappie, Bass, Walleye, Catfish, Carp.
I personally have only seen catfish and carp come out, but I hear lots of stories...
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[wannabefisher]

[quote Bo0YaA]Thanks a ton, this information will help I'm sure.
We made it out last night for a couple hours in the SW corner. The wind picked up pretty bad not long after we got set up. My 10yr old daughter did manage to land the first channel cat of the year but it was only about 8-10 inches. Not long after that my buddy hooked into his first Utah kitty and it was a decent fish at 2 lbs and about 16-18 inches. That was it for the night but hey at least we caught something.
We have been out to Utah Lake but only managed a few mud cats out by the Pelican Bay rock pit. Being in Farmington, Willard is much closer and it seems that all the big cats I see pictures of at Utah Lake are from a boat.

Thanks again TubeDude[/quote]

We've caught lots of nice ones from shore at Utah Lake, that was a couple months ago though. Not sure if it has changed from shore now.

First one went 31" (laid the ugly stik down next to it for reference, 6 foot - medium, i forgot the measuring tape that day) and second one 27".
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[Bo0YaA]

Now those are what we are looking for wannabefisher!! which part of the lake were you lucky enough to get into those from if ya don't mind me asking? I would love to see my 10yr old daughter hook onto something like that lol. We tried once out there but didnt really have a clue where to go so we just drove until we found a spot. Caught a few yellow bellies but that was it.

As far as the Bear River goes, Ive fished it a few times almost 20 years ago but all we managed to get into were carp. I may have to try that area again and see if we can come up with anything.

We are heading back out to Willard tonight to try a couple places that TubeDude pointed out and I will keep ya posted if we find any.

Thanks for all the info guys it is greatly appreciated.
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