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I'm now living near hill air force base making willard bay one of the closest fishing spots and I'd like to try it out now that its starting to warm up. I don't have a boat and won't have access to one until I can convince my family down in salt lake to de-winterize theirs so I'll be stuck on dry land. I haven't fished willard bay before so I thought I'd do a little research on the area. I would like to catch some wipers since I've never caught them before but I'm open to catching just about anything.
On the map there seem to be a few different ways into the lake, the state park with the marinas and the dike road. Is the dike road (coming off 4000 N and going around the southwest edge of the lake next to the dike) open access and free or is it still considered part of the park? Are there any spots that are considered good for shore fishing there?
I was thinking of trying things I could easily cast from the shore such as shad rapalas or grub style bass lures. Would anything else be suggested here, any kind of bait?
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[#0000ff]Welcome to Willard World. You are fortunate to be fairly close to some of the best varied fishing in the West. The lake can be fickle but it can also produce memories to last a lifetime...good ones.
Still in a transition phase right now, with fishing off and on with weather changes. Within a few weeks there should be good fishing for all species wherever you can find deep enough water near shore to wet a line. Watch the forum for reports.
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Sent you a PM
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"OCD = Obsessive Catfish Disorder "
Or so it says on my license plate holder
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I highly suggest you study the material TubeDude has provided, he has probably provided better information and helped more people enjoy their Utah fishing experience than just about anyone!
That being said, the easy answer is hook up 2 lines with muscles behind a couple split shot and cast them out as far as possible. Catfish and wipers will both munch on those! Look at TD's maps and just try different areas along the dyke!
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I highly suggest you study the material TubeDude has provided, he has probably provided better information and helped more people enjoy their Utah fishing experience than just about anyone!
True dat!
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You might consider getting a float tube...
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[quote HD7000]...
That being said, the easy answer is hook up 2 lines with mussels behind a couple split shot and cast them out as far as possible. Catfish and wipers will both munch on those! Look at TD's maps and just try different areas along the dyke![/quote]
Sorry...it's an important distinction.
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Thanks for all the suggestions, looks like there should be some decent options.
[quote HD7000]hook up 2 lines with muscles behind a couple split shot and cast them out as far as possible. [/quote]
I've seen other posts mention mussels. What kind of mussels are used? I've never seen anything like that sold at fishing shops. Or are they raw or canned mussels from the seafood section of a grocery store used?
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Winco Foods, at the back near the deli counter, frozen sea foods, a blue bag of frozen mussel meat, already shelled. There are boxes of pre cooked mussels that have butter and garlic on them, but they are still in the shell, and aren't quite as easy to hook up, plus you have the shells to dispose of.
The bag of mussel meat is about $2.68 a bag. Cheaper than 24 night crawlers at Wal-Mart. I usually get a bag out of the freezer the night before I plan on hitting WB, open it and put about half in a zip lock bag to take with me. If the Cats and Wiper are hitting, a half bag could result in 20 or more fish.
One additional bit of info on mussels. Unless you hook them up on a treble hook, and sometimes even then, if you cast out like from the shore to the water, you will loose a lot of the mussels off the hook before it even hits the water. If you can drop them off the side of a slow drifting or anchored boat, they stay hooked up longer.
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"OCD = Obsessive Catfish Disorder "
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Another way to keep the mussel on you're hook is to run the point and shank through a little black colored piece of meat inside, then wrap and skewer the meat on the shank. Then you take a small elastic band and wrap around the outside of the mussel to the hook shank a couple of times.
I have put a heave ho to get out as far as I can with very little coming off, seems to work for me. I have even had some pretty good hit and runs with most of the meat still there when I reel in.
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Great info tubedude, Thanks!
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[#0000FF]You're welcome...and welcome aboard.
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Hey Skinny, that's funny!
humpy
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