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Thanks for the report. Willard can be a tough mistress to crack sometimes! Keep the reports coming brother.
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[cool][#0000ff]Sorry you got "Willardized". That lake has been stingy to most folks all year...for all species. We have had some brief flurries of walleyes, crappies, wipers and kitties. But the "average" trip for most guys has been pretty disappointing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This time of year it can be especially tough. I have fished Willard since the 1970s and I usually like the late fall - early winter period for walleyes and crappies. But I also catch a few kitties right up until ice keeps my tube off the lake. I can tell you that most trips during this "cool down" period can require a lot of searching to find just a few fish. I cover a lot of underwater real estate to locate the fish...and finding them is never a guarantee they will bite. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Over the years I have found a very few spots that are most likely to produce something when the water is cold and the hard deck is not far away. And none of those spots are within casting distance of any shoreline...with the exception of a couple of spots inside the marinas. I used to do a lot more bank tanglin' around Willard and I still fish close to the rocks during warmer times...but at this time of year I have never done well in water shallower than about 12 to 15 feet...and there ain't many spots that deep within casting range from the shoreline.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not sure you would have done any better with minnows. On my last two trips to Willard my minnows have gone largely unmolested and most of my fish have come on small jigs tipped with worm. It has really been surprising when I am not getting bites on minnows but am catching catfish on small jigs on my second rod. Most of the time a nice chub minnow is money for the kitties. But the last ones I caught inside the north marina had not even been eating anything. I suspect that they hit the little jigs on a "reaction bite" rather than because they were actively feeding.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have been flipping a coin all week, trying to decide between Willard or Pineview. As soon as Mama Nature closes the freezer door for a day or two I will have to decide. Might even start early at Willard and then be ready to change venues if my walleyes or crappies don't wanna play. Decisions decisions.[/#0000ff]
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Sorry to hear about this. I am planning to go out Friday, but it is looking more like Willard is not the place to go. May end up at Pineview.
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[cool][#0000ff]I hit both today. Report to follow. Got 6 cats at Willard and a grundle and a half perch at Pineview.[/#0000ff]
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I will definitely keep my eye open for it. I have no doubt it will have plenty of good information. You always seem to deliver. I am certainly heading up to pineview tomorrow and will put your shared knowledge to the test.
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[cool][#0000ff]From what I heard from the boaters, the narrows offers the best shot at some crappies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But if you are after perch there were quite a few schools of them in 56 feet of water between the port ramp docks and the yacht club. Just gotta keep moving to find them. Lots of crappies there too but not biting for me. With the full moon it might be a night bite...or early or late.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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(fine with me always like to go muddin) we arrived at the light pole on north west. Hiked up the dike and sat down on the rocks. I was fishing with nightcrawlers on one pole and shrimp on the other. My woman was doing shrimp. I also tried a white tube jig and tailed jig set up. Stayed there for about 2 and a half hours only got one little bite on the worms. So we trekked back down to the truck to try out the south west side of the reservoir. Same set up, worms and shrimp and nada! Was thinking I should have picked up some minnows, maybe that is what they were wanting.