Learning Willard

[mallardmann]

Went to Willard yesterday with my brother, Happytroller. He had never caught a Wiper but ended up getting a limit. His best was over 5 lbs. I managed to catch 1 Wiper which seems to be all that Willard will allow me every time I go. Picked up a few Walleye as well. We are getting better but still trying to learn the lake.
I have seen the map with the labelled landmarks but everybody seems to have their own names for areas of the bay. Old Coot mentioned having success at "Tournament Alley" yesterday. Anyone have any idea where this is? Is it top secret protected information or common knowledge? I'm just tring to get some of these landmarks down.
I don't know exactly where we fished. We just tried to stay in the deepest water we could find. It seems like if we were in 10 feet or less, our boat motor would spook the fish and we caught nothing. It was best for us in 12 to 13 feet of water.
I missed enough fish to get my limit. They were smashing my lure, stripping line and almost ripping the pole out of the boat. Then, I'd pick up the pole and nothing was there! It was like I had no hooks on the lure or something.
All in all, it was a fun day and I'm glad we got some nice fish. Just wish they would open up the cleaning station. I hate filleting fish at home.
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[Springbuck]

I loved reading how excited HE was in his other post!

Willard is mean to me, too, though I actually had two good days there last year, one for wipers (3), and one for crappie (50 in two hours). At least you were catching the walleye, something I am still trying to learn. My last night trip from shore my dad caught two, but I managed only 5-6 smallmouth bass about 11" long. That's good fun, too.
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[albinotrout]

Willard is funky. In my last three trips I caught fish once and that was last year when I went with WH2. There are some contours and structure out there. Just need to mark them as you go over them so you know where to find them again.
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[mtncat1]

I saw in the first picture that your using the right rod and reel , isn't that a velocity rod and reel , as for the fish being able to hit that hard and still get off it amazes me. I think the area you are interested in is north of the island.
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[mallardmann]

Yes, we are running velocity. I love the rods and the black ops reels are even better! Thanks for the tip
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[mallardmann]

I think I marked a couple already, I'll just have to stick with it. Thanks
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[HD7000]

Most people recommend that you troll for wipers at 3+MPH. I have found this to be a good speed, not because they prefer faster moving bait, but because you can cover more water in a shorter amount of time at this speed! The trick with Willard is finding the fish. I have trolled for 3 hours without a bite, but after my first hookup, drifted casting and landed 15 fish in the following 20 minutes!
There are pockets of fish all over the lake and they move around. This is why one day people kill them, then get skunked their next trip.
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[mallardmann]

Interesting, I've never thought about drifting and casting after catching a fish. It makes sense, I'll have to give it a try. Thanks!
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[BagABigOne]

Isn't the limit for crappie on Willard 10?
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[mallardmann]

I'm not really sure what the Crappie limit is. I've never targeted them at Willard so I haven't had to look it up
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[HD7000]

Yeah, 10 crappie, 3 wiper, 6 walleye (only one over 24")
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[FishSlayerJT]

Loosen the drag, dont set the hook when you pick up the rod, put the boat into neutral or slow down and go just fast enough to keep the lines from crossing and tangling and tighten the drag after they run the first time and the boat slows down. I never usually have any problems losing fish this way. To me it looks like you guys did well.
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[Springbuck]

Yes, the limit is 10, but I CAUGHT more than I KEPT.
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