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Two buds and myself fished at the Bay yesterday. It was mostly hot and calm, which I'm finding is not always conducive to great fishing! Seems the "walleye chop" is necessary to keep them biting. In fact, all our bites came when the breeze picked up! We managed to hook 6 eyes, landing 5... all bottom bouncing. We missed several other bites and lost a nice fish of some kind (we think a channel or larger eye). Also picked up a small kitty and a giant bluegill on the bounce, both released. The wipers were boiling in the middle of the afternoon. However, they were chasing tiny fish fry about an inch long. We would catch up to a school, throw jigs and traps at 'em, but they wanted nothing to do with us. These schools were moving extremely fast, moving too fast to keep up with them with our bow mount. We left when the wind seemed like it was not going to makes any more appearances during the afternoon... I NEVER thought I'd ever say that about Willard! But the fish seem to turn off and on like a light switch depending upon the breeze! Bugs were an annoyance but not bad. We left around 4pm I think. Overall, a nice day on the Bay without the annoying power squadron! Surely today will be different!
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I almost forgot... one walleye was actually caught on a husky jerk. That fish must've come well off the bottom in about 14-15 ft. of water. Also hooked a smallie casting to the dike while bouncing... taking the initial skunk off the boat!
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Good report thanks for sharing.
As for the walleye coming off the bottom. The way the shad are being eaten up by everything you never know... a lot of walleyes are spending a good amount of time on the surface or near it.
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[quote Wasatch801] The wipers were boiling in the middle of the afternoon. However, they were chasing tiny fish fry about an inch long. We would catch up to a school, throw jigs and traps at 'em, but they wanted nothing to do with us.[/quote]
Did you try throwing anything an inch long into the pile? Sounds like a smart-aleck question, but I am trying to learn more, still plotting how I'm going to land my first wiper..
Seems like the right time to throw a 1-1/2" sparkly white tube jig into the crowd, maybe behind a clear casting bubble so you can get the distance on wiper-worthy line?
Or a tiny castmaster...?
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[cool][#0000ff]You're thinkin' straight. Match the hatch. Only thing is that when the fish are "patterning" on one specific food item...and there is a lot of it...it is harder to get them to hit. Chances are they are eating plenty and not hungry enough to hit something different.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are a couple of things I have used successfully during the shadlet glut. One is the little Rattlin' Rap in holo shad, blue shad or green shad. You can get them less than 2" long, unless the knowledgeable wiperholics have cleaned out the display at Sportsmans.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Another good plastic...besides white, pearl or silver glitter tubes...is the clear/multisparkle from Southern Pro. Available at Cabelas...#301 color. The 1 1/2" tubes can be fished with a light head or behind a bubble with no weight. Just nose hook them with a small size 6 nickle hook.[/#0000ff]
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No, not a smart-alecky question at all! I had the same thoughts in fact. I thought about tying on something that small... but I just would not have been able to cast it that far. The schools were moving extremely fast and we only had time for one or two casts at a time. Next time, I will have the ultralight ready! Hooking one shouldn't be a problem. Landing one of those freight trains on the tiny tackle will take patience however!
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[#0000ff]"Seems like the right time to throw a 1-1/2" sparkly white tube jig into the crowd, maybe behind a clear casting bubble so you can get the distance on wiper-worthy line?"[/#0000ff]
Man I like that idea. Next time I head out to Willard hoping to land a wiper from a boil, I will have a pole with that setup standing at the ready. Thanks for the idea.
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