Posts: 96
Threads: 10
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation:
0
I have never fished Willard before, and have been dying to try it for years. I finally talked my wife into going with me tomorrow to give it a try from shore for the famous wipers. I know to use a circle hook and mussels, but other than that, I have no idea how to rig them, or how to fish them. Any advice in this regard would be much appreciated... if i can get my wife to catch something, she will want to come with me more and more, and my life will get easier 
Also, my dad and I were wanting to get out on his boat to try fishing for walleye sometime this spring as well, but we know nothing about willard. His boat is 24' (cant get him to just buy a regular fishing boat dang it!), and I was wondering about what time the water will be high enough to be able to launch?
As always, any help is very appreciated and I am most grateful
[signature]
Posts: 140
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2008
Reputation:
0
use a Carolina rig and keep an eye on your pole or you will be going in after it.
[signature]
Posts: 3,711
Threads: 130
Joined: May 2011
Reputation:
5
North Marina might be deep enough for a 24' boat. But north or south, keep the motor trimmed up as shallow as possible, and stay in the middle of the channel, and get WELL out past the buoys before making any turns. Once you are out past the NO WAKE buoy, you should be safe to trim the motor down and go wherever you want. Most of the main body of the lake should be 10 to 12 feet deep about now. And this may sound a bit obvious, but keep one eye on your depth finder / sonar. You would be surprised how many boaters I have towed off the rocks or sand bars at shallow water times that when I asked them if they had a sonar, their answer was " oh we aren't fishing, we don't need a fish finder". Have a good, safe trip.
[signature]
"OCD = Obsessive Catfish Disorder "
Or so it says on my license plate holder
Posts: 303
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2013
Reputation:
0
How is this recent cold weather going to effect the fishing? Will it need a couple days to warm up?
MArk
[signature]
Posts: 96
Threads: 10
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation:
0
Also, as far as fishing from the shore, is it best to use live mussels or frozen ones? and if they are frozen... cooked or uncooked? any tips for keeping them on the hook? Thanks again
[signature]
Posts: 140
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2008
Reputation:
0
I use cooked frozen ones .a small rubber band will help keep them on the hook.
[signature]
Posts: 569
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2011
Reputation:
0
buy a small snap swivel and a small treble. Push the eye of the treble through the middle of the mussell. Attach the the treble directly to the small snap swivel. Best way I have seen. The wiper could careless about that small snap swivel and they eat the whole thing. All of this use to be Kind of a secret, I mean people have known about mussells for a long time but you know what I mean but that facebook page has everybody in Utah knowing everything now and directs people to hot fishing instantly. I use to think hotspotting was bad on here. Well, just hope your favorite fishing spot isn't hotspotted over on that page cause it will send the bucket brigade out in force instantly.
[signature]
Posts: 20
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2012
Reputation:
0
So, are they really that much better than lures? Or is it just the fad bait right now? I've never fished with them.
[signature]
Posts: 264
Threads: 4
Joined: Mar 2003
Reputation:
0
Just curious, what Facebook page? Just for full disclosure, I do not do Facebook, maybe I need to?
[signature]
Posts: 37
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2015
Reputation:
0
Great thread! We're heading there tomorrow for the first time, clueless.. Haha. I think it was tubedude that put out a nice article on fishing the bay, but I can't find it! I've never fished with mussels before, do you sink them or float them? Thanks for all the input! If you see us tomorrow come say hi! Aluminum boat with a Merc. , two guys and a collie.
[signature]
Posts: 569
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2011
Reputation:
0
If you want to know where the bucket brigade/power bait squad will be than it might be useful. I won't mention it's name on here as to advertise another page, shouldn't be too hard to find.
[signature]
Posts: 40
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2015
Reputation:
0
I don't like to bait fish much and am wondering what type of lures are being trolled successfully and what size, trolling speed etc.
[signature]
Posts: 1,336
Threads: 13
Joined: Oct 2007
Reputation:
2
Trolling flicker shads and rattle traps. We picked up two Wiper today both released. One hit a bottom bouncer crawler harness. Trolling slow .7-1.3Mph line out on cranks 50'. Water temp was 54* when we left at 2. Past weather system cold front kept bite very slow. Didn't see many catching..
[signature]
Posts: 447
Threads: 2
Joined: Aug 2011
Reputation:
0
Three of us launched about 1pm fished till 7 and caught 1 small wiper on a rapala, 2 crappie 1 on a flicker shad and 1 on a soft plastic swim bait trolling at about 1.5 to 2 mph. Question: does catching crappie in deep water trolling mean they are not ready to spawn yet? they were in 15 fow.
[signature]
Posts: 542
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation:
0
When I'm targeting wiper, I troll small rapalas at 3mph or twice as fast as you would troll for trout. before this cold front came through, we were catching 8-10 in a couple hours... From years past I have tried to give the lake a couple days after a storm to settle. This is when they really turn back on! Last year I was catching them on deeper diving lures, but for some reason so far this year I have had better luck on f-5 Rapalas only a couple feet below the surface.
[signature]
Posts: 3,711
Threads: 130
Joined: May 2011
Reputation:
5
HD, you know as well as I do that the only constant at WB, is that there isn't really any constant. For Wiper, what works today, may not tomorrow. I've had a Rat-L-Trap that 2 years ago caught Wiper every single time I put it in the water. Last year, and so far this year............nada[:/]. And I haven't been able to find another one exactly like it since then.
[signature]
"OCD = Obsessive Catfish Disorder "
Or so it says on my license plate holder
Posts: 542
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2015
Reputation:
0
[quote Tin-Can]HD, you know as well as I do that the only constant at WB, is that there isn't really any constant. For Wiper, what works today, may not tomorrow. I've had a Rat-L-Trap that 2 years ago caught Wiper every single time I put it in the water. Last year, and so far this year............nada[:/]. And I haven't been able to find another one exactly like it since then.[/quote]
Agreed! Somewhere out there is a hidden light switch that someone flips on and off whenever they feel like it for no apparent reason that controls the fish bite! Sometimes you can double and triple hookups on all different lures, then the next day get skunked all together.
[signature]
|
