Fishing Willard with Mussels

[Old_Coot]

No, not Quaga mussels. Rather, mussels that you buy from the store.

Hey, any you BFTers fished Willard with mussels? I'm a little uncomfortable asking but heck, some people lower themselves to fishing with earth worms! [sly] So I figure it's ok to ask about using the little clams. [crazy] I have heard second hand that it is pretty effective. Not being much of a bait fisher, I have never done it. I was thinking that once the bite shut off for trolling, I might give it a try. I'm thinking that dangling a line or two under an anchored boat might work. But I have a few questions:

1.. Where would you recommend I get the mussels?

2.. Must the mussels be fresh raw or is frozen ok?

3.. I would imagine that it might be difficult to get the mussel to stay on a hook. If so, what are some good ways to attach them to a hook.

4.. What kind of hook would you suggest? Treble? Bait hook? Jig head? Just thinking, I would prefer a light jig head hook but I wonder if a piece of mussel would stay on it long enough to catch a fish.

5.. Would this technique work out on the lake in a boat anchored over one's favorite hot spot or is this pretty much just a bank fishing thing?

Any more tips or tricks you have would be apprecitated. PM me if you would rather not share it in public.

Thanks much,
--- Coot ---
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[Chasing_Walleye]

1. Any grocery store like smith's sells them for around 3.99-5.00 per package

2. I saw a two guys next to me catch 8 wipers while I caught none using the mussels so I know it works and you see the shells everywhere.

3. you have to hook them whole for some reason if they are in pieces it's less affective. The hook goes through the top with the tip of the hook going through the dark brown piece in the middle of them. The dark piece in the middle is tougher than the rest of the mussel. use a sinker with about a foot leader.

4. use a bait hook because of the size of the mussel it will just fly off if you try to use a jig head.

5. Not sure only seen people catch them from shore at williard.

Hope this helps.
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[FishMcFisherson]

I've been thinking about messing around with mussels myself. A guy I work with catches lots of Eyes and Wipers up at willard using them. I haven't gotten too deep into the specifics with him, because his English is pretty bad. But he says he just buys them from the grocery story and throws them on a hook.

I was actually up at Strawberry once and a couple guys were catching fish left and right just down from me while I wasn't having the greatest luck. I asked them what they were using and they said "mussels". So there's gotta be something to it. If you give it a try let us know how it goes.
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[fsh4fun05]

Send me a pm with your hot spots and I'll let you know[]
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[Old_Coot]

PM sent ... Thanks ...
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[PACKFAN]

My grandson has been catching the heck out of them all spring from the shore using those for bait.
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[LOAH]

You might try squid too...
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[timberhall]

I spent my whole childhood using them for bait off the beaches and rocks in California. They where awesome. We did not use trebble hooks. We would just stab the hook through the bait few times. Then we would wrap some thread around the bait to hold it together. We used thread to hold the anchovies too. Worked great. I use the same technique in Utah to hold chicken livers on.
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[Flyfishinglover]

You can by them from the scuba divers that collect them at Lake Powell. []
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[PACKFAN]

My grandson called me last night around 8 or so and said he and his girlfriend caught 20 some wipers at Willard from the dike yesterday afternoon using the mussels for bait. He said they caught some nice ones up to 22 inches.
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[cpierce]

I bet the stores in town are loving this.

Or they are really wondering about the sudden popularity of mussels.[crazy] I see price increases in the future as demand rises! [shocked][laugh]
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