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[#0000FF] Call me a masochist but I hadda have one more shot at the Willard crappies before it's all over. Figured there would be an armada of other masochists to contend with. Almost baqged the trip when this morning's weather forecast showed 10 mph winds at 7am...planned launch time. Glad I din't. Lake was flat calm all morning. Sometimes I love it when they're wrong.
Day started off good. Slept soundly and woke up about 10 minutes before my alarm was set to go off. Like many fishing addicts I sometimes sleep poorly before a fishing trip...afraid I didn't set the alarm...or it won't go off...or whatever. Glad I still get excited enough about fishing to do that at times.
Next on the positive side was getting in the gate at Willard 10 minutes early. Got there about 5:45, hoping the gate might be open. Nope. But a few minutes later I saw the lights of an exiting vehicle driving up to the gate. Restarted my engine and slipped through behind him as he came out. Had my tube prepped and ready to launch by 6:30.
Two other boats launched and hit the open lake before I got out the channel. But as soon as I was past the buoys I put out my double hangershot rig with two weightless tube jigs. Before I could get my other rod ready the first rod took a bounce and my first crappie reluctantly crawled in my net. It was about an inch under a footlong so I let it swim. As I did about the next half dozen. Couldn't believe the smaller sizes after catching numerous 13 and 14 inchers my last two trips. Must have been a lot of pressure on them.
Besides the double hangershot rig...resting in the quick draw holder...I was casting a pair of 1/32 oz. marabou jigs. One was white with a red eye. The other was white with a yellow eye and black pupil. I briefly threw a couple of crankbaits later but came back to the first two rods and never had to change.
The growing number of boats began circling around me. I was catching fish with some regularity...more than anybody in the boats. So I got popular. But every time I would move away from them I found some new shiny fishies that wanted to play and then the guys in the boats got friendly again.
We all started out pretty close to the channel outlet. But I kept moving further and further north...and catching fish...and gaining new friends. From the descriptions of others on previous days there were not nearly as many boats as before, but enough to make me feel crowded. So, at one point I moved into fairly shallow water (4 feet) and started back the other way. Whaddayaknow? The crappies were in the shallows too...and they loved my little jigs. Caught more.
By this time most of the crappie cru ers were at the far northern part of the ZONE. As I worked my way back around them I did see a few of them catching crappies. So they weren't fishless. But I still delighted in catching and releasing a lot more fish as I left the field of battle. I had culled a limit of 12 to 13 inchers and was not keeping any more.
It was just after 9 when I decided to get off the water and go play with my bow. Had seen some carp working in the shallows earlier and figured that as the sun got warmer the "carp Lambada" would go into full orgy mode. I figured wrong. By the time I got my tube and fishing gear packed up and got out my bow there weren't no carp to be seed. Probably came out later after I left. About the only real downer for the day. Coulda been worser.
Oh yeah. Water temp was 60 at launch and didn't warm up much in the short time I was there. But I'll bet it hits the mid sixties by end of day.
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Excellent Pat. I grew up in Brigham and we never fished Willard. Doh!
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Good job Pat, I was there the other day, but talked myself out of fishing with the cru ers. Maybe I shouldn't have.
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Looks like the willlard pinball machine is still in full tilt.[:p] Nothing like a little fish to keep one moving along. Hope the weather holds...
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[#0000FF]Some people's kids.
I grew up less than a couple miles from Disneyland. Only went when I got free passes from the mother of a friend who was an officer of Bank of America. And I haven't been back in almost 60 years. Don't know what that has to do with fishing. Just agrees that we often miss out on opportunities that are easily within our grasp...and hindsight is always 20/20.
And like they say about other things in life...if you miss one you are one behind the rest of your life.
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[#0000FF]I actually accept part of the blame for the onslaught on "Rocky's Reef" the past couple of years. I have fished Willard since the 1970s...through several cycles of high water and low water. So when the water was not deep enough to suck all the crappies into the harbors I knew to look for them on a few spots outside...like those humps and bumps. Then I hadda go blab about it and everybody else "discovered" it.
The cool thing is that even when there are mobs on the main gathering spots there are still plenty of "humpettes" that hold a few fish. It takes some looking and changing tactics but you can still gather a few.
The "tale of the day" was one guy who motored right up behind my tube...while I was slowly kicking along working my jigs. He dropped anchor well within my casting range. Then, when I quit kicking to bring in a fish the breeze blew me a few feet back toward him and he yelled at me for crowding him.
Hey Gary, when are you planning to hit Starvy? It is getting about time for me. Would be good to see ya again...especially with some fish for both of us.
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It's good to hear there still fish left. I have also had boats stake a claim even tho the don't give you space to begin with.
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Sounds like I picked a bad day to bow to the boss man and ditch the fishing trip. Glad you decided to go put the smack down on the Crappie anyway.
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Clearly, I share in that. too. Made the huge mistake of describing in this forum how to find one of those humps last year. Never again.
I had to be using too big a lure yesterday, Pat. Only landed one crappie all day. Had a few that pulled the pants down on my tube jigs, and it never occurred to me that what they probably wanted was a smaller bait.
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[#0000FF]As we both know, when the crappies are on the chew you can't use a lure that is too big. They will hit anything. And I did very well a couple of times last year on 3" Gulp minnows.
But something told me today that with all the pressure they have been getting they might be a bit more skittish. So I downsized to the two 1/32 oz. marabous on 4# line and a light action rod. Many of the bites were just a bit of back pressure...no real hits. Any change in the force was worth a free hookset.
Part of my game plan was suggested by my success with the fly rod last week. I was using marabou flies that were almost identical to the little jigs I was using today. And I fished them a lot like files...cast, slow sink and then steady middepth retrieve.
Oh yeah, I found that I got more love if I anointed the little feathery things with some Gulp perfume periodically. I think we are both members of the Gulp cult.
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Yup, a serious Gulpophile here.
I'm simply must make up a few of those weightless jigs for tube bodies. Hot glue and a #6 sickle jig hook sound about right?
I use a length of roll solder instead of hanger wire. Clip it off, fold it over and tie at the fold. Seeeemple.
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Thanks for the report, sounds like we were hitting the water at about the same time. I have been fishing the north side a lot, so decided to launch my tube in the southwest corner. I also didnt want to be caught in the crazy mix of anglers that seems to sit right outside the north marina every day. Was first person out in that area but within 1 to 1.5 hours a couple tooners had joined the party. I was really hoping to hook into some wipers, but only found crappie - all on the fly rod.
I was also surprised that each one I caught was MUCH smaller than ones caught the last few weeks, so I let them all go. My search for the Wiper continues as I had no success with them today....
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[#0000FF] I use a size 4 for 1 1/2" tubes...and size 2 for 2" tubes.
The purpose of the hot melt glue is to provide a stop to keep the tube from sliding down over the hook. So just wrapping on a turn or two of chenille just below the hook eye will accomplish the same thing.
A good hook to use for making these weightless tube rigs is the Eagle Claw 202. It is a sharp, light wire hook especially designed for fishing crappies with minnows. The ring eye is ideal for pushing up through the plastic tubes and fishing dropshot.
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![[Image: 426551.jpg]](http://www.barlowstackle.com/Assets/ProductImages/Hooks/426551.jpg)
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[#0000FF]Well, at least you got some fish.
The upside of catching some of the smaller ones is that they will be the footlongs and teen-inchers for next year. Sadly, most of the biggest fish of this year may be spawning for the last time. They really don't live very long.
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Ya they definitely don't live long when filleted. LOL Nice meting you at the ramp when you were pulling out. I braved the crowd for a while and got tired of that scene quickly. There was a boat out in about 8 ft of water that had a marker out and they were catching fish pretty regular. There were a couple of boats that came around him and I swear they weren't 10 feet off his marker and talking to the guy like they were new best friends--geeez some people! The good part was they weren't catching any fish.
Caught a few there and moved over to the other beach and caught a few there and even a nice eye decided to play on a maribu crappie jig. All of of the crappies I got were males so I'm guessing they are on the nests and spawn about done.
I saw your carp on the shore flopping around on the south side of the marina parking lot.
Bad news was my motor acted about the same as before I spent $440 on repairs. Back to the drawing board.
Hope to get out to Starvy myself in the next week or so. Worth the extra drive to avoid the crowds.
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[#0000FF]Good meeting you too.
That boat with the marker buoy was one of the ones who followed me around. Then as soon as I moved off that spot...where I caught several fish in a row...they pulled in, put out their buoy and thereafter claimed the spot for the rest of the day. I watched them catch a few fish while I was within visual range. They were all using bobbers but some of them weren't very impressive in their casting, hook-setting and fish playing skills. Guess that's why crappies are so popular around the country. When they group up in the spring almost anybody can catch them.
Sorry about your motor. But glad it's not me. My motor (legs) are having their problems too. Glad I have the electric as a primary power source when my "big motor" gives out.
See ya at Starvy. It's time.
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Yep yep. There were two boats with markers out when I got out and their markers were only feet apart. One picked up shortly thereafter and one remained--interesting how fish make people act.
New moon middle of the month on a Monday is enticing or sometime around it. It is definitely time!
More expensive to fix your motor than mine--mechanics hourly rate a lot more. Not to mention the time it takes to get it back on the water.
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Try contacting Geezer with your motor problem. He is pretty handy and has helped me out in the past. Good mechanic.
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"New moon middle of the month on a Monday is enticing or sometime around it. It is definitely time"
[#0000FF]The upcoming full moon is Sunday and Monday. My fave full moons...for walleyes...are June and July. Some good shoreline shallow fishing for the big hogs. Not sure about the May full moon. Water is still cool at Starvy and I suspect that will be about the time they finish their spawn over there. Give it a couple of weeks after that and things should heat up.
About that marker thing. I have had times in the past when guys in bass boats have thrown markers out within a few feet of my tube and then lay claim to all waters surrounding the marker. Sometimes I think they think my tube is just a big slalom marker. And other times it is a placeholder for them to move in and take over a good spot. Fair play and sportsmanship? Hey...biggest craft has the right of way. Right?
Since I always have my camera on a lanyard around my neck I love to pull it up and take pics of these guys...at close range. The reactions are priceless. They don't know if I am going to report them for something or what...and can't figure out what they might have been doing wrong. Some get downright belligerent. Gives me pleasure to give them displeasure. One of my favorite responses is to say "I'm putting together a book on #$$holes I have met on the water. I'm thinking you guys will probably make the cover." And, by the way, I have a pretty large file of pics I have collected over the years. Maybe I will do that book.
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