12-13-2017, 05:56 PM
[#0000FF]Thanks for corroborating my guesstimates. Actually, that has been kinda standard most years. The shad are temperature motivated...even though they can tolerate colder water than their smaller cousins, the threadfin shad. They do stress and have some winter kill in Willard...seeking out the deepest (warmest) spots to spend the winters. And of course the predators follow the groceries...like teenage boys.
You had problems enticing hits because the bigger fish were well fed. My problem was that all the fish were somewhere else. As I am fond of saying: "Ya cain't ketch 'em where they ain't."
Hopefully there will be more hungry predators by spring...when the shad have either grown too large for them or died from winter kill. I predict pretty good fishing for wipers and walleyes at least during May and June. After that it will depend on the success of the shad spawn and how fast the babies grow to munchin' size.
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You had problems enticing hits because the bigger fish were well fed. My problem was that all the fish were somewhere else. As I am fond of saying: "Ya cain't ketch 'em where they ain't."
Hopefully there will be more hungry predators by spring...when the shad have either grown too large for them or died from winter kill. I predict pretty good fishing for wipers and walleyes at least during May and June. After that it will depend on the success of the shad spawn and how fast the babies grow to munchin' size.
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[signature]