Once I heard that Utah Lake was “ice free” I couldn’t wait to do some open water fishing again. Yesterday Theo Hymas and I decided to try our luck at Lincoln Beach. We didn’t leave Orem until after 8:30 a.m. and didn’t get to the lake until after nine. To our surprise, when we arrived at the lake, the boat ramp parking lot was full. We launched the boat and boated over to the rocks on Lincoln Beach where we usually have “fun” with the walleye. Again, we were disappointed to find that there were boats everywhere we usually fish.
Rather than “butt in” where there was little space, we decided to fish in deeper water where no one else was fishing. The weather was a little windy, and the water temperature was 44 degrees. I started throwing a pair of curly tails on 1/8 oz heads in 11 feet of water. Both of the jigs I used had black bodies and chartreuse tails. I only fished for a few minutes when I hooked into a nineteen and a half inch walleye. It was my only hit of the morning.
After fishing for a few hours we decided to go fish in the bay just south of the boat launch. The water was 47 degrees there with a south breeze . We only caught one white bass over an hour or so of fishing. Therefore, we decided to pack it up and call it a day.
Although the area we wanted to fish was crowded, we still had an enjoyable time fishing open water again. Things will just have to get better as we move into Spring. Besides that, I did catch a walleye. For those of you who know me, that one event “made my day”!
man bob you 2 rocked em good today!!! 12 in a few hrs. wow. nice fishing!!![;)] will you add them to the walleye board? thanx ken. see you next tuesday same bat spot same bat chanle. lol
Hey Ken. I kinda figured there were more eyes out deeper. We anchored in 5.9 and threw out deeper. It was nice because we could reel slower without hanging up. I had three fish in three casts and me and Brad had a double on the first of the three in a row. Good fishing. Wish the wind would have stayed down a bit longer.
Now my boat is in the repair shop until tomorrow mid day. Hope it stays windy or I might have to go down and swim out.[:/]
swim out. lololol i casted a 1000 times deep pulled 1 beond 6ft all day. they probley moved deeper last night with the low presure infront of this front. next tuesday. be there!!![fishin]
I hit AF boat harbor about 9 pm Tuesday night hoping for an eye. I was thinking the conditions were good, the weather had been warm and steady for a few days and the barometric pressure was dropping, and the lake was glass, good conditions right? I caught a great big skunk fish again, aren’t those fun? I did manage to see two big beavers swimming on the west side of the AF harbor area, at first I thought they were two great big fish at the surface, but as I threw out to the north of them, they made a big krplunk splash with their tails and they were gone.
Very Nice Bob, I’m guessing the fuse wasn’t the whole problem with your boat.
did you use the relays that you bought after all ?? boat problems at the first walleye bite of the year really sucks. I had battery issues all day Tuesday, dirty cable, duh.
kinda puts a damper on the moving around deal. I’ll be out next Tuesday with fully charged batteries and clean cables. later chuck
You might be glad you DIDN"T hook into one-a them beavers! There was a post last fall about exactly that! - But hey - they put up a fight like a 30lb carp - so have at it!
Bobster: Damn- them’s a nice load of Walleye! You MUST be doing something right! Ya’ll down south have a real nice lake there. I envy that. Willard’s not too far, but it can be mean. But I’m a glutton for punishment.
Don’t know what the weekend wind will bring, but I’m still thinking to try it. Hoping for the early Walleye.
Willard this weekend? Early AM…
So wadda ya say TD - south end, north end - inside harbor, outside harbor? Anyone else willing to share a suggestion. Walleye would be wonderful, cats would make me smile. Don’t know that the marinas have “turned on” for Crappie?
I was thinking to hit S.Marina, and “go left” and play along the wall south to the corner. See what I might find. Dragging and pitching. Maybe I’ll hook up an xmas tree and add more decorations.
Your UL is definitely on the list for a visit. Might be worth looking into an overnighter - give it 2 shots!
“So wadda ya say TD - south end, north end - inside harbor, outside harbor?”
**It has been a while since I “endured” the exhilaration of “March madness” walleye chasin’ on Willard. But I used to hit it heavy anytime after mid march about every year. **
As a general rule, I do better doin’ the “rock walk” and casting parallel to the rock dikes than fishing from a boat or tube. The fish come right up onto the rocks early and late…and through the night. If you are fishing right you will donate some jigs to the rock gods. That’s why I like to fish the custom jigheads I make…1/16 oz. heads on 3/0 hooks. Good for Lincoln Beach rock monsters too.
**Best spots on Willard will depend on wind direction and intensity. The NW corner by the light pole has traditionally been one of the consistent producers. A long drive around on a bomb cratered road, but often worthwhile. It can also be productive along the north dike…in the area of the outlet. Ditto for the points on either side of the channel entrance to the south marina. **
Sometimes it is a good idea to put on some good hiking boots, a small backpack with lures and stuff, and then just work your way along the dike until you find some fish. Moving only 20 yards can be a world of difference.
Use plain white, pearl or chartreuse plastics. Fish them a few feet out off the rocks and reel just fast enough to keep from snagging. A long rod will help give you better line control. I used to use my 9’ “bubble chucker” and caught lots of fish when others were not doing as well.
One down. How many to go?