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Went to the inlet yesterday after reading here that it was open this year. left home(riverdale) about 6am still dark when I got there. expected to have to share the water with 1 or 2 fellow anglers. was surprise to see 10 or more. one of them had a limit and was heading home. as dawn broke I hooked up my first Utah Walleye. ended up with 2 legally hooked fish. released many fouled hooked (SNAGED) fish . I could not believe how many snagged fish were going on stringers. I maybe wrong but to me any fish that is not hooked in the mouth or at least in the mouth area is a snag. I seen tail hooked fish, back hooked belly hooked fish going on stringers . DWR officer did come by once. but I seen nothing done and I'm sure he must of been somewhere watching though his glasses. before coming down to the bank. but that is just my guess. Anyway guess my report is Fishing is hot if you don't care how you get them. slow if your looking to harvest a legal fish. All males still no big mama fish in there yet. hope there will still be some mature males left when the females come in.
please harvest wisely take what you can eat not what you can get.
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[font "Calibri"]This is more of a statement then a question. If a fish is snagged in the guts or hooked in the lip, which one would have a higher mortality rate if released? Even if ALL people was to release illegally caught fish I would dare say that a good percent of them would not go on to making baby fish for next year.[/font]
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understand your statement Mac , but unless there is a big rip in the fish's belly. I don't see how a fish snagged on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz jig is going to die.
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I was there as well yesterday and all but one fish I saw was caught in the mouth and the one that was foul hooked was released. I was there between 10 and 12 noon, I'm sure I was fishing near you, I was right beside the guy with the dog.
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[#0000FF][cool] Back in the late 70's...before the inlet was officially closed to snagging...I was introduced to that fishing by one of the local "pros". He instructed me in the fine art of using a tandem jig rig to SNAG the massed up fish. He proceeded to snag one fish after another to make his "point".
Sorry to admit it but I tried it and it worked. It was ridiculously easy to drag the jigs through the fish and then set the hook whenever you felt resistance. Happily, I never did that again. Got a case of the "do-rights".
Since then I have been solidly against this illegal harvest...of any species except maybe carp, if you need one for bait.
Seems like only the folks who don't have the skills or experience to catch walleyes legally resort to snagging. True, they are tough to catch most of the year and frustrated/hungry anglers sometimes suspend their morals while they do whatever is necessary to bring home the fillets.
I first encountered this on the lower Provo River in 1962, the first year I was introduced to walleyes in Utah. Again, the guy who was showing me the ropes was a snagger. His rationale...like most of the other snaggers along the river...was that the fish don't bite lures so the only way you can catch them is by snagging. They were all using a "Provo River Dry Fly"...a big treble with a bell sinker wired to the bottom and some yellow foam around the shank for visibility...for sight fishing.
Don't know how many times I have witnessed a snagged fish being brought in and put on a stringer or in a bucket. And then when I have confronted the "angler" I was told..."I snagged it accidentally, so I can keep it." That's like saying that if you close your eyes and don't see it anything is legal.
There is a hard core group of Willard fish rapists who yearly harvest vast numbers of walleye and wipers from that lake...legally and illegally. They are smart enough to not show up when "fish cops" are there...or else they play by the rules when they are being watched. But whenever they think they can get away with it they fish illegally (snagging) or take over limits when they can catch them. On "good" days the same offenders can be seen taking home a limit and returning for other limits several times in one day.
As a recreational "sport" fisherman, all I ask on any given trip is the opportunity to catch a few fish...and maybe keep a few for dinner. I deeply resent the scofflaws who steal my fish...just because they can get away with it.
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this whole snagging thing sickens me! what a waste ! I can't understand why they would open up that area for fishing after all these yrs. [mad]
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Pack it in
PACK IT OUT !
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I was next to the baffles . seen a few dogs, but you must of been close to the 3 men that had that huge stringer of fish. now I may be mistaken, it was a little ways away and eyes aren't what they used to be but looked like several of their fish were hooked on the body. the young man next to me snagged both the fish that I seen him get. I mentioned to him that they were illegal . his reply was that if you don't intentionally go snagging then it's ok. I was there to enjoy the day and not to debate the law. so left it at that. the guy next to him also kept a fish that was hooked on the back, along with the guys on the other side of the baffles.
wish I had been fishing next to you wiper then I wouldn't have seen them and wouldn't be all worked up about it.
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I got a question, will the walleye actually hit a lure this time of year out of aggression or is it basically like salmon fishing where its feel the pressure and hope your line is in their mouth? I have never fished for eyes during the spawn and wouldn't mind going over to willard and trying but I don't want to go snagging, takes all the fun out of it.
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The closer you are the better you can tell for sure. From where I was to that guy with the big stringer, I never saw any of them hooked in the back or the tail but I did not get there early either, so he might have before I got there, plus I could not clearly see every fish he caught in the two hours I was there. When he left and we moved closer to that spot, I never saw one eye snagged there and the two guys(father and son) that moved to that spot caught three before I left. I don't blame you for being worked up about it and I'm glad I did not see it.
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take me with you! I would love to try snagging one on #22[laugh][laugh]
Seriously, I would love trying to "catch" one of the Willard Eyes...is there room for fly fishing if you don't back cast?
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My thoughts exactly. I was at the seminar last night and when I asked if there were any decent fly fishing techniques or if there were any certain patterns (asked specifically if there were top-water) that might make a walleye jump, I was greeted with jeers and laughter. I guess I'll just have to be there next year to report which patterns and techniques work and which ones don't. Wanna help? [  ]
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The only way to make a Walleye jump is to use dynamite. [crazy][crazy]
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You bet, but why wait till next year....... Buggers Away! Let's go
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I'm 110% serious. I talked to two of the old timers last night who said in the 15 to 20 years they'd been doing this seminar (or others like it) that was the first time anyone had asked about flies. Seriously? I accept that challenge, sirs!
I have no idea what the weather is going to be like, or when I can really get a day to go down, but by Glob, I'm going.
RHOMBUS!
![[Image: jake_zps7714a133.png]](http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m71/flakestein/jake_zps7714a133.png)
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I think that they can be caught on flies, but the topwater action may be a little slow.
If the water stays up on the DC this year I might be able to get you to some areas that you would have a good chance at catching an eye or two on some sort of little fish of craw pattern.
Hell last year I was catching them on spinnerbaits.
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I have caught them on spinnerbaits as well, I actually have read articles in Infisherman about using spinnerbaits to target walleye.
They will definitely hit flies too. My best walleye took a small, brown, mohair leech, and I seem to recall Fly Goddess mentioning catching one on the fly as well.
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I'm not an eye expert by any means, but seems like I always see walleye's on the bottom. So get your weighted lines ready. Good luck. J
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I have caught them at DC and actually at Starvation...just thought this newly opened drag and snatch might be interesting[  ]
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[cool][#0000FF]I have caught quite a few walleyes in Willard on flies. In the "olden days" (late 70's - early 80's) I fished big white creations both on a flyrod and as a dropshot on a spinning rod. Best time is from about mid May through late June...after they are through spawning and go on the chew. It can be good again in the fall.
In those days the walleyes gathered along the rocks more, since their primary forage was small crappies. In recent times they have shifted more to eating shad and are more likely to be out in the open water. But last year there was a few weeks when they were hitting near the north dike in 10-11 feet of water. A moderate sinking line with a white bugger...with silver and blue in it...would no doubt have scored some fish.
There are several dedicated fly-flingers who regularly work along the dikes with big white stuff and catch both wipers and walleyes.
Top water? When the wipers boil in late summer there are sometimes both catfish and walleyes right up on top with them...mopping up on the shad. If you could keep the wipers off your white popper you might score an occasional glassy eye.
If you do go to the "hog line" at the inlet, don't take your flyrod. Them meat hunters don't take kindly to having to dodge other people's gear. Even with a roll cast you would have a tough time operating with the frantic masses crowding in around you. But it might help you keep your elbows in. And for best snagging you might wanna upgrade from the size 22 to a 22/0.
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Yes, they will definitely hit lures this time of year. Mostly the males, but I've had females bite as well. Probably more out of aggression or instinctive reaction than feeding behavior. But I still believe they should be left alone in the concentrated spawning areas like the south marina inlet while they conduct their annual spawning ritual. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or trained biologist to figure that one out. There is still plenty of opportunity for the general public to catch a walleye without harassing them during the short time they're trying to reproduce.
While the DWR might think it is an "underutilized opportunity", and won't hurt the walleye population; how can it possibly help anything? Maybe it helps promote illegal/unethical techniques and over harvesting, that's about all... I just can't see it doing any good for the bay.
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