Ira and I got up to Willard yesterday and we decided to take a few pics of the pond they are building just outside the entrance to the park. It is a lot bigger than I thought it would be and the deep end is a lot deeper. They are putting structure in there and what looks like a launch for small craft. Fishing report below pics.
Remember you can click on any pic to enlarge it. Last pic is the only fish we caught while trolling.
After several hours of trolling in very stained water we gave up and went to fligging. We fligged just outside the North marina in one of TD’s favorite areas. We started catching cats right away, with most over 20" and the big one going 25 & 1/2 inches, all of the big fish were very fat. We saw many dead or dying shad right on the surface, so the colder water temp are taking a toll on the young of the year. Should have taken a pic of the big cat but we did not think about it until it was back in the water. Water level is about 5 ft lower than it was at this time last year, with it only being about 7 to 8 ft in the marina. Almost forgot to mention, while blue/silver caught a few cats, the dark olive was the hot flig yesterday.
Curt,
I’ve seen that big hole being dug as I come down the freeway from the river. I thought it was a holding pond for something. Do you know is it actually going to be a fishing pond ? Maybe for bank fishing like the community ponds ?
The proposed name floated is the “Veteran’s Memorial Willard Community” pond. The pond is also slated to have an aerator in it. I understand that the State paid for structure to be place in the pond and the contractor donated matching funds - stand up contractor!
**I understand that Crappie and Bluegill will be stocked next spring, but predator species will be held off to allow the spawn to succeed. **
Every time I see it I think I should get permanent pictures for the future, then it changes. LOL
Hey Lynn, Sounds like a great morning. Thanks for sharing the report and pics! I’m glad you got back out there, the cats seemed t obe getting bored only seeing my boat and tackle!
Is the pea soup in the harbor slowing the midge slurping whites in the morning?
Thanks all and yes Jim the sludge in the channel put the damper on the wb activity… tried a small spinner and a curly, no interest. The sludge, at least in the channel is crusting over with some really bad stuff. The open water was soupy but improved as I moved away from the channel. I had some good frozen wb that worked just fine. I rigged up some spinning floats some TV star guy was using and they worked as advertised. Thanks.
The cats i caught were good healthy fish. Probably just that I am rusty from being grounded for a while, but those cats seemed to fight harder and make more and stronger runs than most the cats I have caught this year. The drag on my reel was smoking from the long runs and bottom hugging cats that did not like to come onboard. The 20-pound braid I use would not have held them without a good drag. Fun.
I lost two fish that I really would like to have landed but alas, it was not to be… yet. I had two lines in the water and I noticed one of the poles had gone limp, then noticed that where the line entered the water. the line was passing my boat. When I caught up with the fish it was directly under the boat with only about 10 feet of line out, when the hook stung it was as if there had been an explosion under my boat. He made several long runs but refused to come off the bottom, went around the boat several times, I tripped over my net handle and nearly fell out of the boat and… i lost him… unbuttoned. Now that is fun!
Can’t wait to get out again. Of note: I see they have resurfaced and improved the parking lot. The campground closed last week, ramp is open. Lots of good fishun’ ahead.
Hey Lynn, sorry had a brain fart with my last post… Guess i got so used to Jim doing all the UL posts I spaced off… Should have known with the 36" comments that it was you, but my brain had left the building… Sorry, but glad you did get out there and found some great tugs… Later Jeff
I have been sidelined for a couple of weeks with duties at home but finally made it back out to Lincoln. Still about four feet of pea soup water in the channel (yucky stuff) but the water is better outside the channel. The cats were active and aggressive today, caught about 16, three of them 30 inchers, best one was 31 inches.
I lost two 36+ inchers before I could get them to the boat, plan to pick them up next trip out. Hard fighters. They seem to be recovering from the rigors of their love cycle and all their battle wounds have healed. The next month or so should produce some big cats.
I started fishing in 7-9 fow but most of the cats today were caught in 4-5 fow. White bass on a Santee Cooper type rig worked best, strolled at .5 to .7 mph. A good day.
