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[#0000ff]Had a reason to be up in Ogden today so I did a driveby on Willard...with camera...no tackle.
North Marina: Marina completely ice-free except for a small area near shore around the private docks. Open around the channel mouth and out a hundred feet or so. Otherwise, ugly green ice over most of the lake still. Water level up about 18" from last fall.
South Marina: Water coming in over the baffles from the canal. Not as much as full flow runoff but should be enough to start bringing the level up. The inlet channel is open clear out past the opening, and maybe 100 yards beyond. But there is still an ice cap in the boat basin. However, it is starting to open around the bottom of the far north dike. Water level still below the bottom of the docks.
I'm thinking I could launch a float tube and get some close in fishing next week...at either marina. Might just go for it. No longer need an auger to launch.
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Thanks Pat, it's a changing for sure. Later J
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Thanks for the drive by info and pics Pat. The water level is really on the rise from last Fall. I guess no more ice fishing there this Winter, oh well, at least I got out there once this year. Too bad the catching wasn't as good as a few years back. Good to see that much water coming down the baffles, it would be nice to see a 10ft or more increase in the water level there this year[:/] Good luck if you get out there next week, hope you find some willing fish.
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Great report.. do wipers start biting this early in the season?
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Thanks for posting Pat, looks like it's just about time for the "Snag Fest" to begin. [:/]
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[quote Jiggy81]Great report.. do wipers start biting this early in the season?[/quote]
They feed all year long even under the ice they have to eat, but their metabolism is much slower in cold water. It is really hit and miss from the reports I have read over the years at ice off... Try fishing much slower presentations than you would when the water is warmer.
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Boohoowahaha. I'm baaack!! Didja miss me? With all this warm weather we're having, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Tube Dude doing some high speed trolling across the bay. I better start working on my boat and getting some gear checked out. I'll be seeing you on the water this year Pat. Hope it's a good year for ya.
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[quote Jiggy81]Great report.. do wipers start biting this early in the season?[/quote]
[#0000FF]As already stated, wipers slow down but do not become dormant in colder water.
But, their feeding habits also change from now until the newly hatched shad are large enough to eat. There is usually a big dieoff of smaller shad under the ice each winter. And the survivors from last year's spawn are mostly too large for wipers to eat (7-9 inches). So wipers and walleyes have to forage harder for food.
This time of year the predators scour the bottom for dead shad, live crawdads and other invertebrates...and the young of other species...like perch, bluegills, crappies and even catfish. That's one of the reasons why those who use crawlers and mussels often score some good catches of wipers. They are hungry and they aren't as picky as they get when baby shad are their main forage.
I catch a few wipers on the chub minnows I drag for cats and walleyes. And I have also caught them on carp meat and perch meat.
You can catch wipers and walleyes on lures when the water is colder, but you will usually do better by fishing plastics low and slow...rather than dragging a shallow-running crankbait at warp speed. And as the walleye specialists start dragging their crawler harnesses as paint-drying speed they will also get to play with some cold-slowed wipers.
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[quote PACKFAN]Thanks for posting Pat, looks like it's just about time for the "Snag Fest" to begin. [:/][/quote]
[#0000ff]Disgusting, ain't it? Can't believe how many "naysayers" dispute the eyewitness accounts of we who have witnessed the treble hook assault of the happy harvesters.
I wanna barf when I get that "Well, it gives everybody a chance to catch walleyes." That is the same stuff they were dishing out back in the early days when the walleyes ran up the Provo...and it was open to wholesale snagging. I actually had old goobers justify the use of their "Provo River dry flies" (weighted trebles) by claiming that walleyes do not hit baits and lures.
It is gratifying to see DWR making supplemental plantings of walleyes in Willard. But there is just something fundamentally wrong in allowing such a blatant assault on those fish that are instinctively drawn up into that flowing water. That was shut down and monitored for many years. The result was more and bigger walleyes. Hmmmm?
Edit: There were several trucks parked in the designated parking area yesterday...for those who fish the inlet. I did not have the time to go down to see if they were scoring anything or not. I'll bet that parking area fills up fast when the fish start showing up.
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[#0000FF]Hey Bob, good to hear from you again. Hope you have worked through your health issues and are back to full power.
Been missing the "Blue Maru" opening up the ice channel at Lincoln each year. That was an official rite of spring.
Where are you living now and what waters will you be targeting? Look forward to seeing you again.
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Looks like I got to start getting my toon ready for an assault on Willard again this year.
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[quote TubeDude][quote Jiggy81]Great report.. do wipers start biting this early in the season?[/qu[#0000ff]
This time of year the predators scour the bottom for dead shad, live crawdads and other invertebrates.
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Are there Crawdads In Willard ?? I was under the impression there wasn't ..
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[#0000FF]Yes there are crawdads still in Willard. But not nearly as many as there used to be. Back in earlier times the water levels mostly stayed up well into the rock dikes and there were a lot more 'dads. That is what a lot of the catfish fed on a good part of the year, and that is why catfish used to exceed 10 pounds with regularity in Willard.
Today we have more demands from water users and more variable weather/runoff. Water levels fall below the rock dikes more years than not...and there is little natural structure or cover for the crawdads in which to spawn and for the young to find protection.
When you factor in that now there are lots of wipers...as well as catfish and walleyes...that rely on crawdads as a food source for a good part of the year, you can see why the mudbugs are relatively scarce.
Here are a couple of CSI pics, of wiper and walleye stomach contents...containing crawdads. I have caught grundles of cats with crawdads too.
[inline "DAD IN WIPER.JPG"]
[inline "CRAWDAD IN WALLEYE.jpg"]
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