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Good report Muskyhunter, too bad the catching wasn't better.
Lately it is quite an adventure just to be able to fish Willard in a boat. How big was the boat you were in? Did you have any problem launching it? How deep was the water on the west side? WH2
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WH2,we had no problems unloading or loading my 14' alum.We drove out on the gravel just east of the ramp,but once the ground gets soft it gets soft!!BLM is probably still out washing that stinky mud off his truck!!we used the oars to get out of the marina and walked it back in and the deepest water I seen was 10' but I think the avg.was about 7!!M.H.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]muskyhunter reminds me of Las Vegas. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...What happens with muskyhunter stays with muskyhunter..Great guy![/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Launching was not a problem. We drove out on the gravel bar in the middle of the north marina and launch right into the channel just as slick as can be. No wading, no mud no nothin'![/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]We fished but it was a little windy and some rollers and waves all morning. We saw some surface activity in the SW corner and did a little casting but no dice. Like Jamie said 1 small wiper for the day.[/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]When we got back, I drove my truck back out on this gravel bar. We were using my truck because it has 4x4 and Muskyhunter's is a 2x. When I pulled up on the gravel bar I pull to close to the water and sunk my truck's front end to the frame! Stuck BIG TIME! Well there was no way even in 4WD was it coming out on it's own so Muskyhunter got his truck and after some good yanks on my 2" nylon strap, he popped me out. [/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]We got the boat out no problem but my truck frame was packed with Willard gravel/mud everywhere! After getting home and laying under the truck with a screwdriver and a hose I got 99% of the gravel/mud off the frame, suspension, tires, motor, etc. I will say this for Willard mud. I polished the heck out of my aluminum rims to a nice shine. They were nice and clean from the spinning in the abrasive mud.[/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Thanks Muskyhunter for the great trip. You're a guy to run the river with![/size][/font]
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Muskyhunter must not have a fish finder huy? I think if Wiperslayer and I go out in his 12 footer we will go south of the marina and launch in the bay. When we launched last Sunday, we also got stuck in a rut someone had made. Did you guys find any lures or old trucks when you were wading? WH2
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WH2 we didn't realy look for any thing while wading,but did notice alot of assorted junk along the bank,enough bricks to build a house,old tires ect!!Where are you talking about launching south of the marina? And yes I do have a fish finder!!M.H.
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The reason I ask if you had a fish finder was, I wanted to know the depth of the west dike, the area south of the light pole is the deepest part of Willard. Did you get a chance to get a reading from that area?
We tried to launch from the beach area, south of north marina today but it was too far to the water, so we went back to the marina and launched there. There is so much junk out of the water now it is hard to believe. We trolled to the S/E corner and saw over a dozen tires on that side, then we headed to the north dike where we saw what seemed like hundreds of birds diving and over a dozen snowy egrets but no wipers. As we trolled to the north marina we saw two raccoons and half a dozen old christmas trees with tires around them on the shoreline and we ended up catching one wiper about 1/2 mile before the N/E corner. Willard sure isn't like the Willard of Old anymore. Just last year BLM and I were slaying the wipers on the west dike but this year it is hard to even reach the west dike. WH2
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We never made it down the west side,other than straight out of the north marina,north/west corner.With all that stuff sticking out of the water i sure would hate to be out there after dark!!M.H.
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