07-30-2007, 10:03 PM
[cool][#0000ff]I don't know which of us is the biggest glutton for punishment...or the greatest optimist...me or Flycasting. He talked me into hitting Willard Bay during a full moon period and I went for it. At least there was no W...wind. There were also no WIPERS or WALLEYES. Bad day all around for the Ws.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We drove up to the launch ramps at the south marina around six. The big full moon looked down on a couple of other stalwart souls...boaters who were fruitlessly trying to get a boat to float off the trailer in the shallow water. They combined talents to get both small boats launched, but only one of them eventually caught one wiper. Otherwise they were both "mooned". They were off the lake early.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The air temp was over 70 and the water temp was 78 when FC and I launched. He dragged bait and threw lures all the way out the channel to far out in the open lake. Deepest he could find today was under 9 feet. Saw lots of suspended (mooney) fish on sonar, but they all had their little mouths closed. He did get to play with the always friendly kitties though, and scored a limit for the basket. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Like FC, I dragged a minnow on one rod and threw a succession of plastics and hardbaits on my second pole. In comparing notes later, we were shocked to find that neither or us had so much as a tentative bump on anything artificial. We almost always catch at least a misguided kitty, and often hang a couple of wipers. Not today.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Unlike FC, I worked up the inlet channel, toward the place where the water comes into the lake. To my surprise, there was a noticeable current pulling me toward that end of the channel. There was absolutely no breeze, so I assumed it was the result of water being sucked out of the lake by the water users pumps at the end of the channel. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When I had fished my way to the inlet, I was surprised to see water tumbling down the baffles and into the channel. There were several bank tanglers gathered there, fishing right up against the wall where the water runs down. It looked like they were trying to snag fish...but I did not see them connect on anything.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I had caught several cats on the way down to the end, but did not have any bites at all after going shallower than 4.5 feet. I fished in the 10 foot deep "scour hole" at the inlet for awhile, but saw only a few scattered fish on sonar and had no bites. When I started to kick my way back up toward the ramp, I found out just how strong that current was. It had to be at least 1 mph, and I had to kick twice that hard to make headway upstream. They must be sucking a lot of water out of Willard to create that much current all across the channel.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Once I got back to water deeper than about 5 feet, I began to get hit on bait again. I got one cat on a bobber head jig, with a minnow under a bobber. But, every other fish came on minnows or carp meat dragged on the bottom. I released about 6 or 8 small kitties and kept a limit of 8 for some kittie krispies. Included in that 8 was a 24" 6 pounder that slurped up a piece of carp meat and beat up on me pretty good. At one point he ran clear across the channel and tried to beach himself in the shallows. Then, when I got him close to the tube he spun me around several times and tried to hogtie me by wrapping the line around my ankles. Didn't work.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When Tyler and I met up after fishing all morning in different directions, we each expected to hear that the other had got into the wipers and had filled their basket with them. We were both surprised (and happy) to find that we had both had the same lack of luck on those finicky finsters.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The moon is only part of the problem...if even a problem at all. Willard Bay is a mudhole. When the water is so low, any wind at all blows waves on and over the exposed mud banks and colors the water. That does not shut down the catfish, but it does slow them down. It is rare that we don't get a few on jigs. Today we did not get a hit. It really slows down the wipers. When they don't have enough visibility to see the schools of shad,they can't school up and boil on them. They will still hit any bait or lure that they can see, feel or smell, but they are greatly handicapped in their normal predatory actions.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As usual, had a good time with Flycasting. I also had a good "seat day" on my H3. Got the right seat cushion now, and got it dialed in for proper inflation. Decided to go for it again with the cut down lawn chair seat. Absolutely splendiferous. Most comfortable trip on the water to date in Ol' Rojo.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Also as usual, it was a good birdwatching day. Lots of flights of geese, ibis and other large birds flying over from daybreak on. Also got to see a western rondup...with some real cowboys herding some real cows down the dike. Yeee Hawwww. If only the wipers were that easy to herd and control. Oh well, there is always next time.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We drove up to the launch ramps at the south marina around six. The big full moon looked down on a couple of other stalwart souls...boaters who were fruitlessly trying to get a boat to float off the trailer in the shallow water. They combined talents to get both small boats launched, but only one of them eventually caught one wiper. Otherwise they were both "mooned". They were off the lake early.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The air temp was over 70 and the water temp was 78 when FC and I launched. He dragged bait and threw lures all the way out the channel to far out in the open lake. Deepest he could find today was under 9 feet. Saw lots of suspended (mooney) fish on sonar, but they all had their little mouths closed. He did get to play with the always friendly kitties though, and scored a limit for the basket. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Like FC, I dragged a minnow on one rod and threw a succession of plastics and hardbaits on my second pole. In comparing notes later, we were shocked to find that neither or us had so much as a tentative bump on anything artificial. We almost always catch at least a misguided kitty, and often hang a couple of wipers. Not today.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Unlike FC, I worked up the inlet channel, toward the place where the water comes into the lake. To my surprise, there was a noticeable current pulling me toward that end of the channel. There was absolutely no breeze, so I assumed it was the result of water being sucked out of the lake by the water users pumps at the end of the channel. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When I had fished my way to the inlet, I was surprised to see water tumbling down the baffles and into the channel. There were several bank tanglers gathered there, fishing right up against the wall where the water runs down. It looked like they were trying to snag fish...but I did not see them connect on anything.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I had caught several cats on the way down to the end, but did not have any bites at all after going shallower than 4.5 feet. I fished in the 10 foot deep "scour hole" at the inlet for awhile, but saw only a few scattered fish on sonar and had no bites. When I started to kick my way back up toward the ramp, I found out just how strong that current was. It had to be at least 1 mph, and I had to kick twice that hard to make headway upstream. They must be sucking a lot of water out of Willard to create that much current all across the channel.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Once I got back to water deeper than about 5 feet, I began to get hit on bait again. I got one cat on a bobber head jig, with a minnow under a bobber. But, every other fish came on minnows or carp meat dragged on the bottom. I released about 6 or 8 small kitties and kept a limit of 8 for some kittie krispies. Included in that 8 was a 24" 6 pounder that slurped up a piece of carp meat and beat up on me pretty good. At one point he ran clear across the channel and tried to beach himself in the shallows. Then, when I got him close to the tube he spun me around several times and tried to hogtie me by wrapping the line around my ankles. Didn't work.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When Tyler and I met up after fishing all morning in different directions, we each expected to hear that the other had got into the wipers and had filled their basket with them. We were both surprised (and happy) to find that we had both had the same lack of luck on those finicky finsters.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The moon is only part of the problem...if even a problem at all. Willard Bay is a mudhole. When the water is so low, any wind at all blows waves on and over the exposed mud banks and colors the water. That does not shut down the catfish, but it does slow them down. It is rare that we don't get a few on jigs. Today we did not get a hit. It really slows down the wipers. When they don't have enough visibility to see the schools of shad,they can't school up and boil on them. They will still hit any bait or lure that they can see, feel or smell, but they are greatly handicapped in their normal predatory actions.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As usual, had a good time with Flycasting. I also had a good "seat day" on my H3. Got the right seat cushion now, and got it dialed in for proper inflation. Decided to go for it again with the cut down lawn chair seat. Absolutely splendiferous. Most comfortable trip on the water to date in Ol' Rojo.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Also as usual, it was a good birdwatching day. Lots of flights of geese, ibis and other large birds flying over from daybreak on. Also got to see a western rondup...with some real cowboys herding some real cows down the dike. Yeee Hawwww. If only the wipers were that easy to herd and control. Oh well, there is always next time.[/#0000ff]
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