Willard Bay North Marina 8-31-07

[TubeDude]

[cool][#ff0000](Copied and pasted from the Float Tubing Board)[/#ff0000]
[#ff0000][/#ff0000]
[black][size 1][size 2][blue]TubeBabe wanted to hit Willard Bay. Road drove his truck with our tubes in it and we hit the north marina about six. Fishfinder pulled in right behind us and Petty4Life was not far behind. We had us the makin's of a floatilla.

Cloudy conditions with a light breeze at launch. About 75 degree air temp and 76 degree water temp. A good three feet at the ramp and over six feet going out in the channel. There is a 2.5 foot bump to go over at the mouth of the channel, and then the depth drops quickly to 8 or 9 feet...as long as you go straight west for a few hundred yards. To the north and south there are exposed rock piles and gravel bars.

We were all on the water just after 6:30 and everybody started scoring small catfish quickly. Those babies are thick and they are hungry. Before the day was over we would all have all we wanted of those pesky but tasty little morsels. We also had enough of the carp. Bajillions of them working the surface with open mouths, slurping up the newly forming algae blooms.

At 7:15 I heard a loud whoopin' and hollerin', which set off rockslides on the mountains to the east. TubeBabe had hooked up with a wiper and it was whuppin' her good. 19" and just over 3 pounds. The onliest one we got all day. Way to go Babe.

We all had and lost fish we suspected (hoped) were wipers, but no others landed. No walleyes either. it will be a couple of weeks at least before the falling water temps start bringing them in better.

Plenty of action for everybody. We all went through a lot of bait and had a great time. There was a pesky north breeze for about an hour and a half. Just when it looked like it might pick up and get serious it suddenly died off and the water was glass from about 10 AM on. Lovely day.

As we were hitting the ramp to go home, after noon, the water temp was up to almost 84 inside the marina. Two large boats launched without problems as we were packing up. As long as you load and unload from the steep bank to the west of the ramp you can do it. And, you need to stay to the north edge of the channel for the best depth...and use your sonar.[/blue][/size]
[/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29110;"][#333366] FLOATILLA MORNING.jpg [/#333366][/url](149 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29111;"][#333366] CLOUD STUDY.jpg [/#333366][/url](153 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29112;"][#333366] TUBEBABE BENDO.jpg [/#333366][/url](197 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29113;"][#333366] WIPER NETTED.jpg [/#333366][/url](264 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29114;"][#333366] CARP CLUMP.jpg [/#333366][/url](306 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29115;"][#333366] COOKIE CUTTER KITTY.jpg [/#333366][/url](154 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29116;"][#333366] JIG KITTY.jpg [/#333366][/url](104 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29117;"][#333366] RETURNING RIPPLE.jpg [/#333366][/url](185 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29118;"][#333366] ROAD ON GLASS.jpg [/#333366][/url](203 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29119;"][#333366] FISHFINDER RAMPING UP.jpg [/#333366][/url](198 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29120;"][#333366] TUBEBABE TRIUMPHS.jpg [/#333366][/url](186 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29121;"][#333366] ROAD'S END.jpg [/#333366][/url](171 KB) [/size][/black] [black][size 1]Attachments:[/size][/black] [black][size 1][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=29122;"][#333366] A TISKET A BASKET.jpg [/#333366][/url](292 KB) [/size][/black]
[signature]

[lunkerhunter2]

Nice job on the wiper TB. Sounds like a fun day by all. Any of the bigger 3 or 4# cats?
[signature]

[Hellsangler69]

Thanks for the report . I only need 1' to float so I should be good to go . I need to find a lake that is not crowded this weekend if I go . Kinda mad at myself for not playing Johnny Appleseed on the island this year . Might be too late to transplant some willows .
[signature]

[Theekillerbee]

Sounds like a great trip out. I'm surprised there is anyone still brave enough to launch a big boat. I wouldn't risk the prop.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]On my last Willard trip, I fished the channel up inside the buoy and got a 6# kitty. But, on this trip I don't think any of us got anything over about 18". Truth to tell, I deliberately fish for the smaller ones because they are so darned good eating. Sure, I like to stretch my string on the bigguns at Utah Lake, but unless I need smokin kitties I don't keep the larger fish.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Here are a couple of pics from today, showing the launch conditions and a couple of the boats that had no problem launching.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Because there are no courtesy docks and only a narrow ramp, I predict that this weekend would be a good time to set up chairs and score cards to rate the launches...and the fights.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for getting out there and posting your report Pat. Sounds like the water level has continued to drop since I was last out there last Friday evening. Those little rocky islands were still underwater then and I figured my finders transducer was a foot or so under water at the back of my boat. If that is correct, then the water level has dropped another foot. I'm glad to read and see those cats a doing as good as they are because it means there is chance that some of them will get over the next two years or so of low water conditions. It seemed like for years all we were seeing were those little 10 to 12 inchers and few over 15 inches. How bad was the algae bloom? Way to go TB on the wiper they sure seem hard to come by lately, what were you using?
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]The algae bloom is not bad...yet. It is just starting to form in the afternoon heat. Likely to get worse as the water cools a bit.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Don't be too optimistic about the kitties. I have been fishing them all year, since April. Earlier in the year all of the cats we kept and filleted were fat and had internal body fat. Most had remnants of crawdads, fish or other kitty type food. And, because they were well fed, they were less aggressive and more difficult to hook.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The cats we caught yesterday were lean and mean. They were visibly thinner than those of early summer. What's more, they had guts full of algae...not protein. They are scavenging to find anything to fill them up.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]With the low water this year, there was no rocky cover for them to get a good spawn. They need structure in which to build and guard nests. The water was down below the rocks this year and will be next year too.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We caught egg-laden females that had not spawned, clear into July. In most years they will spawn by late may to mid June. The water temps were well past the 65 degree spawning range in May, so they would have spawned if there was nesting cover. Instead, the females just dump their eggs and the spawn is lost. In some species, the unspawned females reabsorb their eggs but catfish do not seem to do this.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I really do not think the water has dropped much in the last two or three weeks. The exposed rock piles I reference, straight out from Eagle Beach, are just about at the same level they were the last time I was out there. As you know, there are some variables that might make different sonars read slightly differently...including the depth the transducer runs and the angle at which it is set in relation to your craft. Anything less than a foot, between two units on two different craft is subject to question.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I was pleasantly surprised to see SOME visibility in the water. It was "stained" but still some visibility. Not enough to get sight feeders like the wipers up on the boil, but enough for them to hit a slow moving lure in their strike zone.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[bassrods]

Are you going to take a bell to start each round or just let'm go at it????[pirate]


.
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

I always thought at least some of the cats spawned in the South marina channel but I also know at lot of them were spawning in the flooded areas along the East side of the lake when it was high. With the high number of shad in the water this year, I guess all that food is just swimming right over the heads of all those catfish. I know in years past when the water was clear the cats would chase the shad, do you think it is just a matter of them not being able to find them in all the murky water right now? I know along that West dike we were marking hugh numbers of fish that I think were likely shad, did your group mark any of these fish? It will be interesting to see how all the different fish in Willard fair after Winter.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]You have been on enough crowded ramps to know that THE ONLY RULES IS THERE AIN'T NO RULES. No referees and no bells. The winner gets the "No Bell Prize".[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Too bad you can't set up some chairs, charge admission and sell refreshments to the spectators. [/#0000ff]
[signature]

[mactuna]

Nice report Pat, looks like it was a good day.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]The cats will spawn wherever they can find enough brush or rock to set up a defensible nest. The males fight for the good spots and then there is a procession of females that each lays a few eggs in that nest. A good process for diversifying the gene pool and assuring that they don't put "all their eggs in one basket"...in case of nest failure due to raids by carp or sunfish.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Even in the lowest water years there are likely some depressions in the bottom or some isolated rocks that provide suitable nests for at least a few kitties. But not like in the high water years, when they have the whole rock dike shoreline to choose from...or the flooded brush in the northeast corner. And, yes, a lot of cats do spawn up in the channel too.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Catfish have the reputation of being bottom feeders, because in most parts of the country they live in waters that are always muddy, with poor visibility. But around the country, wherever there are clear water rivers and reservoirs, catfish do become sight feeders and will hunt and chase down live prey. Willard Bay has always been a good place to fish for cats with lures and even flies...when the water is up and has good clarity. I have taken them on topwater along the dikes when fishing for wipers or smallies. And, I have caught them near the surface on shallow running lures in over 20 feet of water when they were up hunting for shad. Sometimes they are taken right in among the wipers on a boil.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]But, with the murky water, the cats are not effective at hunting the shad. Shad typically stay higher in the water column and without the visual help from clearer water the kitties are handicapped in their hunt. So, they revert to hunting along the bottom for whatever they can find.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I worked out into the deepest water I could find out of the north marina. That was mostly about 10 feet, with one depression of 11 feet. There were lots of fish suspended from just above the bottom to about mid depth in many areas of the deeper water. The size of the marks would indicate to me that they were probably shad, but my sonar was not tuned finely enough that I could see their exact size and shape.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As long as the water stays murky, it will be more difficult for the predators to find their food. But, all of the main predators...walleyes, wipers and kitties...are equipped to find food in complete darkness, through their sensitive lateral lines. They are finding enough to eat, but are not chowing down for winter like they normally do this time of year. All of the cats we kept were "lean", but healthy. The one wiper we kept was much thinner than those we caught earlier in the year. The fillets were not very thick at all. However, I have had reports from others that they caught healthy wipers. So, some of them have adapted better than others.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If there is an ice cap on Willard this year, the water will clear up and the shad will be easy pickins in the shallower water. The REAL issue is whether the shad will survive. They live on microorganisms...algae, zooplankton, etc. The abundance of their food depends on the fertility of the lake. And, there has been little runoff or nnutrients coming into Willard for quite a while. It would be interesting to know how healthy the shad population is in general, and whether or not they have enough food (and stored fat) to take them through a long hungry winter. If all the shad die off, the predators will need to send out for anchovy pizza.[/#0000ff]
[signature]