Willard Inside N. Marina 8-26-09

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]It has been awhile since I hit Willard, and it has been over two years since I was able to fish it inside the marina. Heard tell of some shadlets and wipers cruising the marina, in the higher water levels, so thought I would try to relive the successes of old.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Met up with Wildcat94 at the SE corner of the north marina just after 6. Topwater action in the low predawn light. Carp rolling. Big whoop.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Warm and calm, with water temps about 71 at launch. Only up to 73 by noon. Good clarity. Not much showing on sonar. Depth in the back end was from 10 - 12 feet. Ideal for foraging wipers but they did not read the manual. No shows. A few shadlets on top, but no schools of bait and nothing chasing them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Threw all kinds of plastics and hardbaits while dragging the customary minnow. The customary kitties obliged a few times and I caught several customary cookie cutters. Also dinged a small largemouth bass while casting a white plastic tube toward shore. Good to see a few still in Willard.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Very slow. About 8:30 I thought about pulling out of the north marina and heading down to the south marina. Shoulda but din't. Instead I kicked out the channel entrance...casting and dragging a minnow as I went. Got clear out to 20 feet of water without a teensy touch. Did see a grundle of bait in the water. From 15 feet to 20 feet my sonar was almost black constantly with stacked up shad and a few larger fish just hanging out with the groceries. No ticks, no chomps, no munches.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After about an hour and a half of nothing doing, I kicked back inside the marina. Wildcat94 had caught one channel cat and a big bluegill. He started fishing around the docks and found a good quantity of small crappies hanging in the shade. Most were under six inches. Biggest he got was about 9 or 10 inches. Better than zip...but not much.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I changed minnows and plastics several times, trying to find willing fishies. Nary a whisper on bait, and only an occasional tweak on the plastic. I finally got a good whack and brought in a smallie that was about a match sizewize for the largie I had caught earlier. Back it went.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Then I had a powerful whack and surge. Line peeled off the drag of my light reel and my 6# line strained. Yeee hawww. Wiper? Nay. But a 10 pound TGW...toothless golden walleye. Much fun. Invited it to accompany me to the cleaning station where I helped it through a tremendous weight loss program. Got some good bait from it. Totally grossed out some old dude who saw me filleting it and (with eyes bulging) asked "Are you gonna eat that thing?" I said "Sure. They make great sushi." I thought he was gonna ralph right there.[/#0000ff]
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[Old_Coot]

Thanks for the report Pat. Good info even though catching could have been much better.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A couple of other things I did not include that might be of interest. I talked with a couple of boats out on the lake and neither one had a bite all morning...trolling the standard stuff. And, there was no evidence of recent activity at the cleaning station when I went there. All dry and no fresh scales.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]During mid morning, the lake was like glass and you could see forever. No splashes anywhere except for the occasional carp roll. You could see occasional patches of "nervous water" from shadlets on the surface, but nothing pushing them from below. There were a few terns flying around and they would drop down and snag a stray shadlet from time to time, but no concentrated activity anywhere I could see on the lake. One good tern deserves another.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I wonder if there ever will be a period of "normal" fishing for the remainder of the summer season. The high water helped the shad get off a massive spawn and it is good for the fish but not the fishermen.[/#0000ff]
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[fsh4fun05]

Good job on the bass, I haven't heard much about them this year. Hopefully slow fishing for the wipers right now equals big wipers next year.
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[Old_Coot]

[#0000ff]"I wonder if there ever will be a period of "normal" fishing for the remainder of the summer season. The high water helped the shad get off a massive spawn and it is good for the fish but not the fishermen."[/#0000ff]

Yup ... my sentaments exactly.
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[rctalbot]

Great report! I need to get with you to "pimp my ride" so to speak[]. My tube needs upgrades. thanks again also for the info you gave me on blue lake.
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[TubeDude]

[quote rctalbot]Great report! I need to get with you to "pimp my ride" so to speak[]. My tube needs upgrades. thanks again also for the info you gave me on blue lake.[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Shoot me a PM when you get serious about the pimpin' project. Glad to help if I can.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[quote fsh4fun05] Good job on the bass, I haven't heard much about them this year. Hopefully slow fishing for the wipers right now equals big wipers next year.[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks. Both the smallmouth and the largemouth suffered from the low water years. Not much structure in Willard when the water drops below the rocks and brush. But, they are still in there and should bounce back with continued good water levels.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Bigger wipers? Yep. There were quite a few larger than average wipers last year (over 5#) with several approaching 10#. Seems to be quite a few hefty ones this year too, and if the smaller ones keep chowing down on all the available forage they will put on weight fast.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am predicting that the state record will be broken this fall and again next spring.[/#0000ff]
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