Willard South Oct 15-29

[MisterCompletely]

I camped at Willard South for 2 weeks, Oct 15-29. Basically fished every other day. Most days I did alright (but not great) on the wipers, and also caught 2 cats, the biggest one going 24 inches and 5 lb 2 oz. The biggest wiper was 24 1/4 inches and 4 lb 1 oz. I used a planer board on one side and downrigger on the other side, with various Flicker Shads, old Producer lipless cranks (remember those?), Shad Raps etc, all tipped with a little piece of worm. One day I actually got totally skunked, probably Friday the 21st. All fish were released.

I didn’t even consider using a downrigger at Willard until I read jjanie’s post and decided to try it, and I’m glad I did. I caught just as many on the rigger as on the planer board, using the lipless cranks.

Don’t get me wrong, fishing was slow every day, but most days I caught at least my “limit” of wipers although I didn’t keep any. No walleye or crappie. I talked with several fishermen on the ramp each day, and most were having about the same experience I did.
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[wiperhunter2]

You did good, typically the catching is slow this time of the year but maybe you tipping your lures with the bait sealed the deal for those fish that might other wise not have taken the lure but whatever the reason you did better than most members have recently. Did you find one area of the lake that did better than any other?
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[MisterCompletely]

I mainly fished the south dike and the southwest corner, and marked lots of fish almost everywhere there. One day I motored over to the north side and didn't mark nearly as many fish along the north dike.
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[wiperhunter2]

Last Fall I tried fishing in that area with mussels, because trolling wasn't working but all I got was a few, half hearted bites. I guess the higher water level we have this year is really making a difference, with the fishing this year. Maybe I'll give it another chance, I haven't been there in almost a month now. I still have a few Producers but just don't have much luck with them any more, glad to hear they worked for you. By the way, how fast were you trolling?
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[jjannie]

Sounds like you had nice time fall camping with a little fishing to boot. Yeah, using the downriggers really surprised us as well. Although we do like using planer boards too. Its just nice to have options, isn't it? Slowly trolling around on a nice day can be so relaxing and peaceful.

Thanks for reporting - maybe we'll make another trip there before putting the boat away and waiting for the hard water.