02-21-2017, 08:02 PM
[#0000FF]We have to accept that much of what the final reports say is based upon limited regular surveys. DWR biologists do conduct periodic "creel reports", in which they gather info from "assorted" anglers. Some of those anglers are shore fishermen. Some are just coming back in boats or "other floatation craft". And timing is everything. Willard can be good one day and bad the next...on any and all species. In the absence of a full time staff monitoring the lake every day of the year there is a great potential for "skewed" observations. But I think they do a great job with the personnel shortage and the widely varying conditions.
The parts of the report that are most accurate are the results from the nettings. To keep the stats as true as possible they try to net the same areas at the same time of year. The variables are mostly due to water levels and weird weather factors. Willard is a fickle lady and has mood swings.
I agree that last year SEEMED to be less productive on walleyes...not only for me but for most of the other Willardites as well. Sure, there were fairly regular catches off walleyes interspersed with wipers during the June peak. But there was a light showing at spawn time and for most of us there never was much of a fall fling.
Yes, I am sure that a big part of the seeming decline in the fall fishing was at least partially due to the rapid peak and decline in the shad population. The heavy abundance of midsize wipers slurped up the mini shad quickly and left little for a fall feedup. It also accounts for the lack of boils. They were few and far between simply because there was not a lot of schools of edible sized shad for the predators to round up and slaughter. By late fall we were seeing both wipers and shad with empty bellies and thinner fillets.
It was good to see larger cats this past year. And the fish being caught early seem to be bigger than the "cookie cutters" of recent years. I suspect a big part of that is having water up into the rocks again. That allows for crawdad reproduction and survival. And to get big cats in Willard you gotta have some crustaceans. The wet rocks also improve spawning success for the kitties. So we should soon be seeing their numbers increase as well.
My personal prediction on crappies is that there will not be as good a harvest as there has been the past two years. The current largest year class is not nearly as abundant as last year's. I know I was not releasing nearly as many smaller fish last year and that does not bode favorably for a robust run this year. I hope I am wrong. I know that the improvement in water depth will flood some more brush and help this year's spawn. I only hope enough adults escape the happy harvesters to lay some eggs.
With the warmer early months and the greater inflow of fertile water it is likely the shad will be able to bring off a good spawn. They usually spawn over several weeks, beginning in April when conditions are right. And with all the new nutrients in the water the zooplankton should bloom enough to feed the new hungry masses of shadlets.
There were a lot of 18 to 20 inch wipers last year. As soon as they start chowing down on baby shad they should put on another 2 to 4 inches...or more. We should be seeing some two footers in the 5 to 6 pound class by fall. Maybe not as many as last year but some with shoulders.
Not sure about the perch "bump". There were a few more caught this last year than the year before. But there were far fewer than two years ago. Like crappies, perch need flooded vegetation or other underwater structure upon which to spawn. The extreme low water levels for the past few years have not allowed much spawning and recruitment for either. And baby perch are a top menu item for all the predators in the lake. The cycles of good fishing are usually several years apart.
Willard is about the only lake in Utah that ever paints me with skunk smell. But it has been three years since that happened last. I plan to give it another shot at me in a week or two...as soon as Mama Nature gets through with her current hissy fit. I always like to catch fish but if I gotta sacrifice my first trip on Willard to the skunk gods...just to have a good year afterward...bring it on.
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The parts of the report that are most accurate are the results from the nettings. To keep the stats as true as possible they try to net the same areas at the same time of year. The variables are mostly due to water levels and weird weather factors. Willard is a fickle lady and has mood swings.
I agree that last year SEEMED to be less productive on walleyes...not only for me but for most of the other Willardites as well. Sure, there were fairly regular catches off walleyes interspersed with wipers during the June peak. But there was a light showing at spawn time and for most of us there never was much of a fall fling.
Yes, I am sure that a big part of the seeming decline in the fall fishing was at least partially due to the rapid peak and decline in the shad population. The heavy abundance of midsize wipers slurped up the mini shad quickly and left little for a fall feedup. It also accounts for the lack of boils. They were few and far between simply because there was not a lot of schools of edible sized shad for the predators to round up and slaughter. By late fall we were seeing both wipers and shad with empty bellies and thinner fillets.
It was good to see larger cats this past year. And the fish being caught early seem to be bigger than the "cookie cutters" of recent years. I suspect a big part of that is having water up into the rocks again. That allows for crawdad reproduction and survival. And to get big cats in Willard you gotta have some crustaceans. The wet rocks also improve spawning success for the kitties. So we should soon be seeing their numbers increase as well.
My personal prediction on crappies is that there will not be as good a harvest as there has been the past two years. The current largest year class is not nearly as abundant as last year's. I know I was not releasing nearly as many smaller fish last year and that does not bode favorably for a robust run this year. I hope I am wrong. I know that the improvement in water depth will flood some more brush and help this year's spawn. I only hope enough adults escape the happy harvesters to lay some eggs.
With the warmer early months and the greater inflow of fertile water it is likely the shad will be able to bring off a good spawn. They usually spawn over several weeks, beginning in April when conditions are right. And with all the new nutrients in the water the zooplankton should bloom enough to feed the new hungry masses of shadlets.
There were a lot of 18 to 20 inch wipers last year. As soon as they start chowing down on baby shad they should put on another 2 to 4 inches...or more. We should be seeing some two footers in the 5 to 6 pound class by fall. Maybe not as many as last year but some with shoulders.
Not sure about the perch "bump". There were a few more caught this last year than the year before. But there were far fewer than two years ago. Like crappies, perch need flooded vegetation or other underwater structure upon which to spawn. The extreme low water levels for the past few years have not allowed much spawning and recruitment for either. And baby perch are a top menu item for all the predators in the lake. The cycles of good fishing are usually several years apart.
Willard is about the only lake in Utah that ever paints me with skunk smell. But it has been three years since that happened last. I plan to give it another shot at me in a week or two...as soon as Mama Nature gets through with her current hissy fit. I always like to catch fish but if I gotta sacrifice my first trip on Willard to the skunk gods...just to have a good year afterward...bring it on.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]