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went to willard bay for some ice fishing on sunday. and what a mistake it was, we got there at 7 am and proceeded to fish in 17 ft of water just off the boat ramp. right when i dropped down i got bite but nothing worthy for a hook set. after sitting there for an hour or so i tried a different spot by some boat docks with some structure. we fished there for 2 hours, we had fish coming through every once in a while but they wouldnt take it, just little nibbles like they were smelling are bait or something, really really light bites. the lightest ive ever had ice fishing. dont know whatthey were i assume perch or mmaybe some gills. knowone else out there that was fishing caught a dang thing. one guy had one crappie get off at the hole and he about started to cry cause it was probly the only action he had all day. he was using jigs with crappie nuggets for bait, i on the other hand tried everything in my arsenal tipped with waxie. i wonder if they would like frozen minnows there instead since the abundance of shad. there was an open spot of water in the middle with about 10 dead shad floating in it,strange.
so if your planning on willard my advice would be to stay home, cause even if i would have snagged any fish on those lite bites i would have only iced 4 0r 5 in 6 hours of fishin. not very good.
tight lines
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Quitting Willard is tough,I've tried a hundred times-but I still keep coming back in hopes of that one lucky day.I guess it's alot like a gambling addiction.
The chance of catching quality fish-wiper- walleye-smallmouth -catfish-I've seen 14inch perch and15inch crappie come out of there.
Willard is hardly ever a quantity deal through the ice, just quality, so even though I get skunked 4out of 5 times I just keep trying willard cause I know that on just the right day the jumbos will be hungry!
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On lakes like Willard, my advice is to not be complacent when you get a tiny nibble. I've become very aggressive on hooks sets even with the smallest of bites, and my catch rate has gone up significantly. When fish are lethargic or are tapping light, I now hold my rod even while deadsticking, and give it a tug at the slightest provocation.
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[quote hogstalker]Quitting Willard is tough,I've tried a hundred times-but I still keep coming back in hopes of that one lucky day.I guess it's alot like a gambling addiction.
[/quote] I HEAR THAT !!![pirate]
But on the other hand It only takes 1 good wiper to make a meal.[cool]
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Pack it in
PACK IT OUT !
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I do quite a bit of deadsticking, or almost dead - with an occasional bounce, wiggle, then still.
But I do hear the crappie like more action, and I believe it. I think a number of ice hookups come not from a BITE-TUG-PULL so much as noticing their mouth is near the hook, and getting that vertical 'set'.
Are you using spring bobbers? I have a Mr Jigger teeter totter, and even with that - the spring bobber will show movement that doesn't even make a bob. Lots of misses - but some of those hooksets on a tap turn into weight on the line. With a camera you can see a lot of slurp-spit action that causes NO movement.
I've met many of the resident skunks at Willard - but also get drawn in by the hopes of something of quality.
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You know REALLY REALLY light bites can be crappie. And the "lightness" of the bite is not any indication of the size of the fish.
I have caught 14" crappie that didn't even make the tip of the pole wiggle. The line just went kinda slack for a second. And upon setting the hook there he was!
The reason a crappie bite is so light is because the attack from below, so they swim UP to the bate and lightly suck it in. If you are not right there on top of it, you missed them.
Better luck next time!
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ya i use 2 really sensitvie poles that ive had for 20 years and ive never had a light bite like that, ive had light bites before and i could still stick even the smallest gill or perch but when i was getting hit at willard it would pull down maybe an 8th of an inch just once and right back up. i only set the hook once and failed. im almost guessing that they didnt like wax worms almost like they were tasting it or almost smelling it with a little nudge of there mouths. ive always had somewhat of success everytime of year but still havent pulled a single fish out of there in 3 ice trips, i keep sayin to myself i wont go back next year but i always do cause i know there are big slabs aswell as jumbo perch. my dads friend has gon out and caught a few wipers through the ice everytime he goes, everytime i go there on the ice its very demoralizing as a fisherman, especially the long drive and the 10 dollar fee with nothing to show for it.
thanks guys for your replies
tight lines
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I had a day like that last year in the south marina. Lots of fish moving through and lots of tiny bites. I went proactive and wouldn't let go of my rod until I caught one. Well I did finally catch one... it was a 3" spottail shiner. I didn't know what It was until I came home and looked it up. I didn't know there were other forage fish in there besides shad.
But don't let it discourage you good fishing can be had if you find the sweet spot there.
I found the honey-hole in the south marina last year and had a couple good trips with decent to big perch and the occasional catfish.
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hey that perch gives me some hope on that lake.
what a hog man. get a few more for a good ol fry.
nice on theCCat too
tightlines
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I agree with the other guys, don't go to Willard to catch numbers on the hard deck because it just won't happen. Every once in a while, it can be good for larger perch and crappie but expect a few shunks along the way. A lot of us buy the state parks pass because $10 is too much to pay when you can't even get to a bath room in the Winter without going to the camp ground[unimpressed].
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+1 the parks pass is a good one i think its 75 for a year. i wasnt expecting to catch numbers, i would have been happy with one good perch or crappie that i could have eaten for dinner, been cravin some good fresh fish, but ill have to wait till ext monday when i go hit up starvation for some jumbos and a few eyes. thinkin maybe pelican too while im up that way.
tightlines
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To bad about the gate being locked to the honeyhole. Let me know when you decide to make the hike......
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