Willard - 20 May (Wed)

[MichiganAngler]

Took advantage of a small break in the weather to make my first trip out to Willard this year. Tried all the tricks in the usual spots and spent a ton of time searching on the sonar, but only one taker today. Water temp was 55 at 11 and 62 at 3. There was little to no wind.

Saw 'em all over on the sonar, but they were just off today. Marked the most fish along the north dike - water was a couple degrees cooler up there. The west and south dikes held very few fish. Lead-core rigs with crawler harness have been absolute killers for me at Willard, but I couldn't buy a bite. Just need momma nature to clear things up for us, although we do need the water. I gave the one I caught a free ride across the lake in the livewell and let him loose.

Maybe next time. Starvy this weekend. We'll be camped at Rabbit Gulch; stop by and say hello. Blue F-150 with a shell.
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[mtncat1]

thanks for the report , do you think that was fish on your down scan image?
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[MichiganAngler]

Definitely. I saw small schools of 5-10 fish like this all over. I figure they're probably small groups of walleye.

FWIW, side-scan imaging sonar is a game changer. Today I was able to see 50-60 feet to either side of the boat.
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[Outfishing13]

I know not many people really pay attention to the Solunar tables, but I have noticed that the wipers are pretty tuned into the Solunar cycles.

Earlier this week the Solunar tables were really good and getting worse, which may explain the number of fish you saw on your sonar, but not many biters. The rest of this month may be fairly slow.

I fished Willard for the first time last year and also paid attention to the Solunar tables. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bite got much better at the greater times and then would stop when the best fishing time ended.

Now, I have noticed that some fish are more affected by the Solunar cycles than other are. The white bass in UL and the Wipers on Willard were more tuned into that cycle.

Just my two cents.
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[WiperMac]

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[font "Calibri"]Thank you for the report. I personally haven’t been to Willard in a couple weeks because of all the instability, looks like I didn’t miss much.[/font]
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On a side note, welcome back home soldier!
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[MichiganAngler]

I completely agree on the moon/solar cycles. I always wonder if that's a general reason for a bit turning on or off, but I rarely remember to check them before I fish.
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