I usually like to hit the water early…mostly because of the decreased chance of wind. Yesterday the forecast for Willard was for calmer weather later in the day…and warmer temps. I hit the water at 10:30 which is about the time I am being chased off by the power squadron in the summer.
I decided to launch at Pelican Beach and fish some areas off the trees that used to hold some crappies and walleyes in late fall. I didn’t anticipate doing any good on wipers. Good thing. They were not there. Neither were any crappies or walleyes.
Air temp was 34 at launch and 43 at 4:30 departure. Water temp was a COOOOOL 42.3 at launch and all the way up to 43 at beaching time. Only saw two boats on the lake all day.
**I worked all kinds of plastics while dragging a minnow on my second rod. Nary a bump on the plastics. With the cold water I didn’t even try a crankbait. Up until about 1:30 (3 hours of fishing) I did not even get a hit on the minnows. **
I thought my sonar might have used up all its pixels on my trip to Huntington last week, when the screen was full of fish. Couldn’t find anything at any depth yesterday at Willard. Oh yeah, the occasional single blipper, but no groups of likely looking targets.
I worked in and out from 8 feet out to about 18 feet. I have done better in the past fishing shallow on the east side than fishing deeper. Didn’t see a single fish deeper than about 13 or 14 feet. No married ones either.
As I got into one area that had produced some kitties in the past I began to get some inquiries on the minnows. Very tentative. Brief nod on the rod or pop and drop. I finally finessed my first chilly cat. It was a Willard Bay cookie cutter kitty…about 15 inches. Almost released it, thinking it was likely to be the only one for the day. But, I had a hankerin’ for some grilled catfish so I put it in the basket and fished harder.
Something else popped the line from the clip. But, like the first hooked kitty it did not move off. When I flipped the bail and raised the rod there was weight so I set the hook. Success. But not another fish. It was a cheapo rod and reel…a spincast at that. Why is it that everybody claims to lose Loomis rods but I can only catch the low end stuff? Maybe you other guys are losing your cheap rods and just report them as Loomis to get more sympathy on the board. Hmmmmmm?
Had to work hard and really finesse those chillin’ kitties to scratch out enough for dinner. Finished up at 4 with 4 in the basket. Other than a cool NW breeze most of the afternoon, it was a purty day. Sunny and clear. Saw 5 eagles hanging out in the trees and a blue heron fishing near shore. Nary a water skier or jet ski in sight. And, I got some fish to avoid the skunk and to prove to TubeBabe that I wasn’t hanging out at the bar.
I seen that[:p]. my pole is about 1/2 way from the north marina and the north dike, west of the weed line. I wish you would have found mine.
How have you been?
I seen that[:p]. my pole is about 1/2 way from the north marina and the north dike, west of the weed line. I wish you would have found mine.
How have you been?
Just been chillin’. Hard to avoid this time of year.
**I originally planned to fish the NE corner but changed my mind. I have not fished there much since the water came back up this year. **
Sorry about your rod and sorry if I touched a nerve.
You did not touch a nerve. Holly checks the board first thing, and we both thought it was funny. I hope I didn’t word it wrong. If anyone was to catch it I’d want it to be you.
Again so sorry about the wording.
Just part of fishing I guess. I have those floaters on my poles now
No need to be so sensitive. I didn’t take it wrong and hoped you wouldn’t either. I have a warped sense of humor that some folks don’t appreciate.
I hope you know that if I did bring in your rod…properly identified of course…that it would find its way back to you. As you know from visiting my “stash” I ain’t running short of rods.
Knock on wood, but I have never lost a rod overboard on my tube. Guess it’s cause the tube is one big safety floatie. But, I know that keeping my rods in the rod holders and being careful when casting is a big part of keeping my tackle intact.
I have lost count of the number of rods I have snagged while dragging bait or jigs from my float tube. And, I have recovered some good quality rods. But most of the ones I bring in are not of the best quality. I suspect that a lot of them are lost by the kids using them.
Was anyone catching any crappies around the docks?
Was anyone catching any crappies around the docks?
There was nobody fishing them. When I got there at 10 AM, I was the only vehicle at the whole north marina area. When I left there were two boat trailers in the parking lot but nobody fishing inside the marina.
I thought about taking my tube out there and working the docks but did not do so. I have done well in years past by working around the docks and dropping jigs vertically next to them. Fishing them from a tube is quieter and lets you work a lot more area. Maybe next trip.
Nice job of stickin’ with it and gittin’ er done. Glad you at least had enough success to provide a good refueling session.
It looks like I’m going to be fishing Thursday and Friday mornings this week - haven’t decided where yet. Ya wonna hook up fer sumpthen?
Wanna play on PIneview tomorrow? Late morning through afternoon looks doable weatherwise. Shoot me a PM if interested and we will work out the details.
Pat, you always manage to pull victory from the jaws of defeat, way to go. Fatbass and I were out there trolling a week ago and only managed a 14" shad. We were still marking a ton of fish along the North dike but now of them wanted to play[unimpressed]. I think I’ll stick with the trout until we get some hard deck.
The fish are definitely going into winter mode. I would bet that sonar would show a ton of fish over in the deep spots on the west side. And, because there is so much food and the fishes’ metabolism is slowing down, it is going to probably be tough to get bit…especially with fast moving hardbaits.
In years past, there have been crappies and some walleyes and wipers that move into the north marina just as the ice is coming on inside. I have had good luck pitching small plastics right along the edge of the advancing ice when conditions are just right. Hopefully the water levels this year will bring some more fish in for the auger floggers.
Water temp last week was 46* so it has continued to drop from the sound of your report. We launched from the North marina and looked around in the marina a little before we headed out into the bay. We marked a few fish in the marina but the channel was loaded with fish. You are correct about the deeper water holding the most fish. Straight out from the marina we were marking fish but in much smaller numbers than the deeper water along the north dike. There were only three feet of depth difference in the two areas but what a difference in the number of fish. I too hope we see some fish move into the marina this winter, sure would be nice to catch some slabs or a wiper through the ice again.
I never eat chili at Willard I prefer to eat pork and beans with potato chips.
You mean chilly as in cold, sorry. I wasn’t wearing my glasses. I thought the title of the blog was Chili at Willard, ooops.[:/]
Congrats on the kitties. Did they put up a fight when you reeled them in?
Remember last year after Thanksgiving? Those kitties at Willard fought pretty good and I thought that was cool.
“Congrats on the kitties. Did they put up a fight when you reeled them in?”
**The water temps are dropping pretty fast and I think the cats are waiting for them to stabilize. They were not very active either feedingwise or fightingwise. They did not run with the bait as per usual and when I hooked them they just kind of rolled and flopped rather than fighting to get back down to the bottom. **
But, once they get used to cold water they still fight pretty good. The first ones I caught this year, on Feb. 21, at the south marina…after trudging through the snow…fought amazingly well. Only a small area of the lake was open and the rest was ice. But the way those kitties hit the bait and fought you would have thought it was mid summer.
Your lapse in vision is noted and forgiven. Let it be known that I do not eat chili at Willard or at or before going upon any other waters. One bad batch of chili and you will hate yourself forever if you are wearing waders. No escape.