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LAUNCH — Postimages)
I’d like to think my mama din’t raise no fools. But I put that silly notion to rest by launching my tube and powering out to the marina entrance into the main lake. Some 3’ waves pushed me back inside. So I decided to fish in the channel until Mama Nature got back on her meds and settled down. But several trips up and down the channel showed few fish on sonar and produced nary a sniff on anything I offered. **
**
Finally, about 8:30 I could detect a decrease in the steady wind. And the waves were no longer crashing on the rocks at the channel entrance. So I pushed out into the main lake. Lots of rocking and rolling still, and the bottom on my sonar screen looked like a vicious saw blade from the up and down motion. ** **
**There were at least a dozen boaters that had pulled into the launch area but had kept their craft on trailers up to this point. Now they all got launched and powered off to distant hot spots. I could hear the roar/wham cadence as they crashed over the waves. ** ** **
**Fortunately, the wind and waves gradually diminished and I was able to work a succession of worm harnesses, crank baits and plastics…through all depths from about 4 feet out to almost 13 feet. Saw very little on sonar and even less on my line. Had hoped to find a couple of stray wipers or walleyes but it was looking grim. Was starting to smell the striped kitty by 10 am. ** ** **
Soooooo…I broke out the deadly fligs and chub meat. But in spite of my optimism I got no love in the previously productive depths and areas. Water temps were starting to go up…about 1 degree every half hour. When they reached 57…and after I had allowed my craft to cruise out into over 12 feet of water…I went bendo on my first kitty. ** **
For the next hour and a half I stayed out in 12 foot depths and managed to bring another five or six cats to net. Got almost all of them on the tandem flig rig…with an orange tiger flig on the bottom and a blue back silver flig two feet up. Got fish on both. In fact, one of those silly kitties ate both jigs on the same rig. Fished a succession of other colors and rigs on my second rod but only had a few pop and drop hits. Even the normally deadly pink tiger color failed to get a hook up. ** **
Hit the ramp about noon. There were a few bank tanglers fishing inside the channel. Talked to one of them and he said they had been catching a few wipers. Also said there were some crappies showing inside the south marina at a couple of places. But two of the boaters I talked to as they were coming in said they had caught nothing. At least I got to bend my stick and stretch my string…even if it was only on some catfish. I got no pride. LINK TO VIDEO
](
LAUNCH — Postimages)
I’d like to think my mama din’t raise no fools. But I put that silly notion to rest by launching my tube and powering out to the marina entrance into the main lake. Some 3’ waves pushed me back inside. So I decided to fish in the channel until Mama Nature got back on her meds and settled down. But several trips up and down the channel showed few fish on sonar and produced nary a sniff on anything I offered. **
**
Finally, about 8:30 I could detect a decrease in the steady wind. And the waves were no longer crashing on the rocks at the channel entrance. So I pushed out into the main lake. Lots of rocking and rolling still, and the bottom on my sonar screen looked like a vicious saw blade from the up and down motion. ** **
**There were at least a dozen boaters that had pulled into the launch area but had kept their craft on trailers up to this point. Now they all got launched and powered off to distant hot spots. I could hear the roar/wham cadence as they crashed over the waves. ** ** **
**Fortunately, the wind and waves gradually diminished and I was able to work a succession of worm harnesses, crank baits and plastics…through all depths from about 4 feet out to almost 13 feet. Saw very little on sonar and even less on my line. Had hoped to find a couple of stray wipers or walleyes but it was looking grim. Was starting to smell the striped kitty by 10 am. ** ** **
Soooooo…I broke out the deadly fligs and chub meat. But in spite of my optimism I got no love in the previously productive depths and areas. Water temps were starting to go up…about 1 degree every half hour. When they reached 57…and after I had allowed my craft to cruise out into over 12 feet of water…I went bendo on my first kitty. ** **
For the next hour and a half I stayed out in 12 foot depths and managed to bring another five or six cats to net. Got almost all of them on the tandem flig rig…with an orange tiger flig on the bottom and a blue back silver flig two feet up. Got fish on both. In fact, one of those silly kitties ate both jigs on the same rig. Fished a succession of other colors and rigs on my second rod but only had a few pop and drop hits. Even the normally deadly pink tiger color failed to get a hook up. ** **
Hit the ramp about noon. There were a few bank tanglers fishing inside the channel. Talked to one of them and he said they had been catching a few wipers. Also said there were some crappies showing inside the south marina at a couple of places. But two of the boaters I talked to as they were coming in said they had caught nothing. At least I got to bend my stick and stretch my string…even if it was only on some catfish. I got no pride. LINK TO VIDEO You got more action than me. I was there the day before you and I went home like a dog with its tail between its legs. I marked fished randomly with not even a sniff from any of my offerings. I gave it a good 3 hours of using floating jigs tipped with worm, regular jigs with plastics, even chunked some crankbaits. Oh well maybe next time. Nice kittys Pat. Gabe [/quote]
Nice job on sticking it out…looks like it paid off…tks for the video – getting pretty good…if you start throwing in a joke or 2 you might have Hollywood giving you a call !
Too bad the two W fish did not want to play but at least no skunk was involved it the making of your post and video. Hopefully the weather settles down and the catching improves soon.
Yup Pat, we appreciate that order for nice weather for the flotilla… Those past windy rain fests were sort of a bummer… Hoping to get to Willard for my first trip this year… Hope I don’t find your furry friend that you avoided on this trip… but it’s been a couple years since I’ve taken a boat over to Willard, so i hope I’ll be able to find something… Anyway I enjoyed the video, and those early waves looked sort of sporty for a tube, glad it laid down for you and turned into a pretty nice day… not sure I would have stuck around and waited it out, but looked like it was worth the wait… The size of those cats looked pretty nice, are they about 24"ers? Thanks for the report… J
Pat, when are you planning on launching on Saturday? Just wondering if I could put in an order for fligs? If you’re going out early, I’d see if i could pick up the fligs before the trip? If you’re coming later, I’ll just get them at the gathering… if you have some for sale anyway… ( I’d like some of your pink and orange tiger fligs, also like to get a couple of your big cat fligs, not Kong, but the size under them, in a perch pattern, few whirly fligs would be great too, been a while since I stocked up.) Thanks for the tips on tactics too… Thanks Jeff
So I had some non fishing business by Willard yesterday, so I stopped by the south marinato check things out. In looking out through the inlet to the harbor, there was a big mud line right at the entrance, but inside was clear and about 10-15 ft past the entrance was clear. Is the entrance to the harbor shallow? or is something else going on there ?? Never seen a big mudline just across the entrance like that
!!
I was unaware that there was a bunch of mud exposed in the main lake. You explanation of wave action stirring up the shoreline mud make sense. Thanks for the response !! Have fun Saturday !!
](LOW WATER — Postimages) Probably won’t be fishing Saturday but hope to be able to meet up with old friends and make some new ones. [/quote]
