Whats left of Willard Bay (not for the weak hearted)

[Teroy]

[size 4]Was bored today so took a trip to the Bay to see what it looked like. I was hoping all the recent T-storms had helped it. I know it was a long shot but I was still hoping.



First stop was the inlet to see if they were letting in any water, well I guess you can see for yourself.


First sight of the south marina my jaw hit the floor!!

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[size 4]The channel is still flowing well...... the wrong direction though :-(
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The Current could almost be dangerous if one was to fall in


A coworker had told me there was a jet boat that had appeared to have sank, I didnt believe it but there it was. Get caught in bad weather or an insurance job?


There is a pipeline running over the southwest corner also pulling water out.


and it too is runnng full bore


and last but not least...... Their name is all over it [/size][size 4]



All I know is it will take one hell of a winter if we want to fish Willard again!!!!!!
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[polokid]

WOW, there really isnt any cover in the south Marina!!! I guess that wasnt funny. That is depressing, and to even let more water out!!! I hope our fishes will be ok this winter, not just the walleye and wipers, but the shad, this cant be good for them. But now the wipers have got to be having a field day, there is no more cover for the shad to hide in!!!! It seems it has gone from water to a treasure chest, Teroy, find any missing goods???? Well I am planning on going to tube Willard next week, I can experience the lake bed first hand!!!!
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[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]Hooooo ... Leeeeee ... Crap !!!!!!!!![/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]And to think that place is where I once used to fish out of my boat. Teroy, you were very right about these pics not being for the weak hearted. Just looking at them made my heart race faster than if I'd seen my wife with another man![/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]Enough water in the next 2-3 winters? ... I doubt it.[/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]Very many fish surviving till next year? ... I doubt it.[/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]Enough faith by the DWR to plant any more minows or fingerlings? ... I doubt it.[/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]Stories and pictures to my grand kids about a place I use to love to fish? ... You bet!![/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]Well I gues it's time to broaden my horizons. I might have to steel one of BLM's lake trout icons to put in my signiture block to replace the wiper.[/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][red][size 2]Please ... somebody ... wake me from this nightmare!![/size][/red][/font]
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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]"Just looking at them made my heart race faster than if I'd seen my wife with another man!"[/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]My wife told me she was going to leave me if I didn't stop fishing. I dearly love my wife so I'm sure gonna miss here....[/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]You're killing me, Coot! Does the bug got you?
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[Theekillerbee]

If I was God, I'm pretty sure I'd zap that pump station with a little lightning! It's truly horrible to see how badly Weber Basin Water manages H2O. My honest opinion is that EVERYONE needs to cut back. They have the attitude, "Well we own the water shares, so we are going to use them." They need to tell the farmers that the water will be shut off early. My uncle farms near Idaho falls, and last year they turned off the irrigation water in July! It needs to be turned off, or there will be nothing left of Willard. Regardless of who owns the water, they better let some back into Willard. Too bad the floods in Riverdale didn't put them out of business, then a real team of water managers could do the job. Too bad they don't answer to anyone....they need some kind of accountability. Just my 2 cents.
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[Shrimpboy]

That pump on the south west looks like it's putting water into Harold Crane. I think that by law they have to keep some water in the wetlands, even if Willard is way low.
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[Theekillerbee]

I'm glad they are putting some into Harold Crane, I am a big fan of waterfowl hunting....I was referring to the big ol pumping station that sucks water out of the inlet (now the outlet???)....big aluminum sided shack by the road that turns into the south marina.

All in all, Weber Basin Water is probably the biggest water wasters in the state.

When we going fishin' Shrimpboy?
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[Xman]

you think thats bad go take a gander at echo reservoir and how the gates are wide open during the mid summer of one of the worse droughts this year has recorded to date. my question is what will the farmers do once willard is too low and won stabilize from one winter. nothing to draw from means nothing to water with means nothing to grow which means sky rocket prices from farmers and crop growers locally. brilliant management people. instead of cutting the season short and milking for a few years just dump it all one year and have one mediocre year and millions of fishing dollars lost into one of the most popular state fisheries.
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[neveronsunday]

[#ff0000]And to think you paid 9 bucks to go have all that fun today! I drove through there today also just to torture myself again. At least they were laying new blacktop along the south end of the parking lot to enhance your state park driving experience so you didn't feel jipped so bad. It's just nasty....[/#ff0000]
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[wiperhunter2]

Great pictures Teroy, they will be a good reminder for the archives of what Willard can look like in a low water year. Thanks for taking the time to do it. WH2
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[aquaman]

maybe its time for everyone to grab a shovel and "dredge" the south marina ourselfs
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[Kent]

It is a shame that they can't get in there with a cat or a scoop right now and deepen the marinas. It has got to be a lot easier, and thus a lot less expensive, to do it while the water is gone, than to do it with a drag bucket when they have water in them.
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[aquaman]

what really gets me is why spend the money on inprovements such as the heated restrooms, fishing cleaning station, and that nice big parking lot and let the lake get in such a deplorable state

chris
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[Lundman]

This seems like the time to do improvements to the lake - increase the lengths of the boat ramps. dig out the marinas, and plant some brush piles that can provide cover for the fish when the water returns.

So what is the DMR officer that patrols the lake doing - cleaning the beach?

We should make some lemanade out of the lemons.. [unsure]

of course it wouldn't contain any water.[crazy]
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[wiperhunter2]

That would be something that would get us in trouble because the lake was built on an old Indian camp ground or something like that. That is why they need all the permits before they can dredge it. Plus with all the money they spend last year and the first of this year there is no money left to do anything beside dredge the channel in the north marina. What a bummer, when I talked to them last , I said the same things that everyone is talking about now and they agreed but with no money, their hands are tied. WH2
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[Teroy]

Hmmmmm, Just because they have no money doesnt mean they cant get equipment to do it. I just happen to have a back hoe and a bucket loader at work[][]
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[wiperhunter2]

As far as dredging the channel goes, I don't think the money was the issue, it was the permits. I told them there were people in our group that would be willing to work and donate equiment and time to dredge the channel but they had nothing to say about that. The money they needed was to extend the ramps and dredge the marina. Oh yea, I ask them what they were thinking when they put the beacon light inside the south marina, the guy I talked to said he was gone for a few days and the light was there when he came back, he thought someone had made a mistake on that one but he thought they were going to leave it there. I told him if they were going to leave it they should at least extend it 10 to 12 feet. WH2
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