Willard is all wrong

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Ever hear the old fisherman's saying "You shoulda been here yesterday...or last week?" About as bad as "Wait 'til next week." With the on and off weather and up and down temps I have not had a good trip on Willard this year. Today was the same ol' same ol'. Shoulda stood in bed.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Oh yeah, the weather was nice...today. But not so much the past few days. Water temps were down to 57 at 6:30 launch. TDC. They did warm up to about 61 by the time I boogied about noon. Too little and not early enough.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This time of year I can almost always count on at least a few kitties to play with if the "other guys" ain't cooperatin'. Today was one of the very few times I can ever remember not getting a hit on a minnow as I was dragging it out to the entrance. Saw a few fish on the sonar but they were mostly suspended...shad or crappies. No ID badges. No bites neither. I was flinging plastics while I dragged the minnow. (Yes, I have a 2 pole permit.)[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About the time I reached the open lake Flygoddess drove up and set up her Renegade to show me how it was done. Right. She got no love from those frigid fishes either. Couple of ha-ha hits and no connection. Those fish are either inexperienced and don't know how to hang on...or too experienced for us dumb fisherpersons to catch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The goddess lady worked hard along the rocks to try to find ANYTHING that would accept her feathers. All she got was elevated blood pressure when a boat full of dimbulbs trolled between her and the rocks...maybe twenty five feet away. Just pretend she's not there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Eventually I got down to my "cookie condo"...where I ALWAYS load up on catfish. Not today bucko. A couple of pop and drops on the minnows. That's it. Many days in the past...this time of year...I have gone through a couple of bags of minnows at that spot within a couple of hours. Today I caught one fat cookie...and that was on a small blue plastic tube jig. Caught another smaller one later as I was going back inside the channel. That was it. Two kitties away from skunkville. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Flygoddess had all the fun she could stand by about 11 am and bagged it. I lasted about an hour longer. Got a lot of howdies from BFTers and lurkers today. I guess I am kinda reckernizable. Got a quick chat in with Mike4Cobra and Wiperhunter2 as I was getting ready to ramp it. They were just on their way out. Hope the water and the fishing warmed up for them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Stick a fork in me. I am DONE with Willard for a while at least. Deer Creek and Starvation are calling. Also the whitie fling at Utah Lake. I need some fish love to restore my fractured ego.[/#0000ff]
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[TyeDyeTwins]

Great pics of the water crafts...Wet Dream is classic and funny as hell!

As for the stand up paddle boarder there you will probably be getting used to that sight. As you know we have given up on ETDT's toon and well my dad has a few of those boards. ETDT will be fishing off of those. They already do in Hawaii and man they get big fish there.

You made me think you got the skunk. Wuss be happy for what you got old man.....I have never pulled out more than 2 fish there to date.

I am gettin all excited about the White Bassin harrassin that is coming at UL.
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[Jazzperch1]

im to the point where if willard is fishing good and i go then it sucks[frown]. i dont know why but atleast you got a cookie for dinner. still wanting to figure that place out though. good report TD


tightlines
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[WaveWolf]

[#502800]Yeah, I wandered down to the N. Marina to see if there was any action ..........I talked to 3 guys that hadn't got so much as a sniff .....Two of the guys were asleep and I thought the other one might be dead as his bobber had washed up on shore.[/#502800]
[#502800]I didn't know you were out there or I would have chucked a rock at the boat that buzzed the goddess.[/#502800]
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[#502800]I hope Mike4Cobra and Wiperhunter2 got into something.[/#502800]
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[lavaman]

Well well.....he IS human after all!

Guess that's why they call it fishin' and not catchin'. Always good to get out though, IMO. Even if the fish are few and far between.

Great pics, Pat!
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[Marathonman]

How could Willard be so wrong if its so right? That lake reminds me of a beautiful woman to tantalizes you and then dumps you when you finally give in and go to her side. (NO personal experience, just seen a TV show like that. Ha.)
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[Roghet]

Knowing there haven't been that many great weather days, I was wishing I was out with ya when I saw the blue sky this mornin'. But it sounds like I should be glad I stayed home and worked. Sorry to hear it... [:/]

I haven't had much "fish love" either since last Fall at UL. (Speaking of which, the name of that dude's boat is indeed rather shamelessly priceless. [:p])

If UL doesn't become really good this year - I'd sure hate to see us both start primping to go"jump off a tackle box." [:p]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]There was another standup paddleboarder just getting ready to leave as I was packing up. I know you would have enjoyed a shot of her much more than the one of the guy I clicked earlier. But the combination of her pulchritude and her attire caused a short in my thought processes and it did not occur to me to take a pic for you lecherous lads. The girl must be from a poor family. Couldn't afford enough of a swimsuit to cover her very well.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Poetic and appropriate comparison. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But I'm guessing that it's not just something you've seen on a reality show. Hey...if you're a guy we've all been skunked and we've all been dumped...and dumped on. Keeps life interesting. Sometimes TOO interesting.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the immoral support.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We both know that it is WAAAAAY too early to be calling this a bad year...YET. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But I sure get tired of playing that song over and over...you know, the one from Annie..."Tomorrow".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]God give me patience...AND I WANT IT RIGHT NOW.[/#0000ff]
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[SkunkedAgain]

Now if that was my catch for the day I would feel okay about it. I think everyone has inflated expectations for you as our superhero. Two kitties makes a meal for you and TB so looks like a good day to me. Did you fish north of the marina very much? I'm planning on trying it Friday and need to make a game plan. Any suggestions? I'll be fishing from a boat. Last year you mentioned wiper in the inlet this time of year have you tried that? If I was going to try that, what works best? Thanks J
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[flygoddess]

Any day on the water, blah blah blah...[laugh][laugh][laugh] It is all true. Felt good to be out and I do have a nice slice in my finger from that ONE fish that hit, then ran like a freight train, then break off.
There was another while I was changing line on the other rod. Watch the one in the water bounce a couple times then line peeling off, but that one just let go.

Now, about this boater, I was maybe 15' to 20 feet off the rocks (8' of water) I watch him cruising up along the rock edge. He got closer (within 30') and I asked, Seriously! What are you thinking? I didn't move but I did have to hurry and pull my line in so he didn't cut it. So, he stops and the idle was screaming on that thing not to mention stink and smoke. He had a woman in the boat and she is just acting like nothing is wrong. I am staring straight at this guy as he is me. As soon I I lifted my line to recast, YUP, he crawled between me and the rocks, I was maybe a foot away.
All I could say was "dumb as a Rock ain'tcha". This had to top all Dumb Arse I have ever encountered.

Anyway, not all loss, I headed home and pit stopped at the river and filled my fix with a nice Carp. Got home and my new GoPro sitting on the front porch, Life is good.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]No kitties were sacrificed in the making of this epic report. Still swimming.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I worked the water hard today. Started with some minnow soaking and plastic pitching both in the channel outside the marina and on the ledges both north and south. Have almost always done well there for wipers this time of year. Zippo. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Then started up the dike to the north of the marina. Made big slow S turns...fishing from shallow (in the rocks) out to 16' deep. Saw quite a few fish in the 11 to 13 foot zone...both on the bottom and suspended. Lockjaw. No love.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Really worked it hard around the feedlot (hog farm). That area is generally swarming with cats and often has a fair number of wipers and some stray walleyes. Not today. Didn't even see many fish on sonar. Worked a ways around the corner toward Freeway Bay. Finally accepted reality and started back...bottom bouncing jigs and small spinners...in and out...shallow to deep and back again. Had a few one-shot whacks but no major munches.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My guess is that the water will be warmer on Friday and your chances much better...wherever you like to fish. There are likely to be some crappies inside the marina by then too. Some have been showing up but they don't get hammered as much there as they do in the north.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not sure about the inlet. Absolutely no water coming in over the baffles. That is what brings in the wipers. Like white bass they are attracted to flow during their (false) spawn. When the runoff water is coming in fast the wipers swarm up in the scour hole at the inlet and the happy harvesters lay waste to them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are fish moving in to the rocks...crappies and wipers to spawn and catfish getting ready to spawn. If the water warms enough to get them active that is where I would try most. Throw white plastics or small crankbaits either parallel to the dike or cast in and work it back. Once you find a productive area and determine the best depth then you can focus your attack. Find a pattern.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Sometimes this time of year, when the water is still a bit chilly, you will do well early and late by fishing chartreuse plastics and cranks. One popular combo is white and chartreuse...both on plastics and hardbaits.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]BUT...forecast is for another weather "blip" on Thursday. Kay, Sara and Sara.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Glad you could make it but sorry you couldn't make it better. Not a good experience for your first trip to the south marina. Believe it or not, it can be much better.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Oh, and that stuff about "nice day on the water" and all that. That's what losers say when they get skunked. I know. I use it myself.[/#0000ff]
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[walleyebob]

Hey Pat.
It's not just Willard that is all wrong. I went down to my secret Spanish Fork river spot last night. Should be so many White bass in there that all you need is a hook to catch em. I lost a nice cat and caught a small white bass. That was it. Walleye are long gone. Carp are all over. But no whities. Just plain weird. It would have been a total bust if I planned on fish for dinner. Luckily I had an alternate plan. Captured a big bundle of wild, free range Asparagus on the way home. Love the free veggies.
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[Jmaze]

Willard was not kind... I went Sunday and got the skunk as well. I am actually glad to see it. Makes me think I might be figuring out Willard... By not going when the weather is this spotty.. Utah lake this Monday sounds better. Better weather pattern as well.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I remember our communications on your wallie hole last year. You whacked 'em good. I never did get a chance to hit it while they were in there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Funny you should mention the asparagus. BFTer FishWisconsin was just launching his inflatable kayak on Willard as I was leaving. He was proud of the haul of "free range" asparagus he had just "liberated" along some of the back roads around Willard. His announced goal for the day was to get the fixins for an asparagus and wiper dinner. He was halfway there. Hope he got the other 50%.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This is turning out to be a wierd year already. With the limited snowpack I fear that our favorite fishing holes will be somewhat lower at end of year than they were last year. Water users are already sucking the water out big time. Last year at this time they were enjoying lots of late rains, full lakes and just the beginning of a big runoff.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]When I got my druthers I prefer to plan fishing trips at least two days after a front moves through. That gives the water temps a chance to come back up and the fish to stabilize...and become more active. Unfortunately, with the weather we have had the last month, we have had to just dive in whenever a front passes...before the next one blows in. Not good for fishies and not good for anglers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also have my crosshairs on Utah Lake for Monday. All conditions are go. Hope the fish read the same reports. Toss up right now between the Knolls and Lincoln Beach.[/#0000ff]
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[Springbuck]

We should form a club. I had a decent day at Willard a few weeks back where Dad caught a walleye, and I caught a little smallmouth.

But, then again, I'm no TubeDude.....[:p]

This year and last have both been funny at all my favorites; UL, Mantua, Rockport, Jordanelle, and Pelican. I can't find them where I normally do.......Or in the other place a little to the left...hmmmm...

Glad you got out, TD.
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[Springbuck]

Hmmmmm, how can we get a small diameter aircraft cable to float, so you can present it across his stern and tangle his prop good, next time???
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