Yes thank you very much for chiming in Drew I and others appreciate it.
I do have a question. since the DWR raised the limit on wipers I think it was in 2005 but not sure. I as a wiper fisherman and target only wipers when I am at Willard have noticed that the fishing has been getting tougher every year since then, wipers have been getting more and more pressure from catch and keep anglers every year with more people getting hooked on catching these hard hitting and hard fighting fish,which I understand there a blast to catch. But sadly I think over harvest has got the numbers of fish way down which more and more of the shad are surviving. this is not a bad thing because I have also noticed the crappie coming back and there big, the walleye are getting bigger and there are many age classes in the lake, and the catfish are doing great to. I like others are hoping the wiper fishing will get better which means they will have to be a little hungrier than they are now, the lake is defiantly over populated with shad, Last time out they would black out the screen on the fish finder and this has been the norm for the past three years. with this year being the worst for catching.
will you consider putting a four or even better a two fish limit on wipers until your stocking numbers can get back into the 400,000 mark? or will you leave limits where they are?
do you and the other biologists feel like the shad numbers are way up or do you feel it is an over harvest problem. I’m and other are pretty frustrated in how the fishing has been the past few years for the wipers,the lake seems to be getting into the same position it was before you put the wipers in. the catching is not worth the money we put into driving up there. Don’t get me wrong I love just being out but you put the wipers in to make the catching better and it worked great. I would like to go to willard and catch a fish, and that hasn’t been happening for awhile with one to two fish for a ten hour day on the lake. I can’t see spending the money on a license and gas for truck and my boat to go and get skunked.
here is to hoping you lower the limit for awhile so the numbers of wipers your putting in can put a dent in the shad population.
It is merely stocking issue. There were some water quality issues at our Wahweap Fish Hatchery the last couple of years and Willard is seeing that manifest itself. We are ready to start producing our own wipers next year so numbers won’t be an issue. I fish Willard as well so I understand your frustration but I assure you that next year stocking adequate numbers of wiper won’t be an issue.
It is merely stocking issue. There were some water quality issues at our Wahweap Fish Hatchery the last couple of years and Willard is seeing that manifest itself. .
Drew
So if you run into this situation again in the future will you lower limits to keep fishing good? It would seem like the thing to do if your not able to stock fish
it seems like he is doing and has been doing a good job at willard. every lake goes through cycles, but as stated by most here there are healthy wipers and walleyes cats and crappie being caught at willard. maybe you just need to put in your time and figure them out and quit blaming the fish and game.There are other ways to catch fish besides boils.have you been to lake powell when there are no shad, every fish suffers, if the fish and game is to error on shad it should be too many.
it seems like he is doing and has been doing a good job at willard. every lake goes through cycles, but as stated by most here there are healthy wipers and walleyes cats and crappie being caught at willard. maybe you just need to put in your time and figure them out and quit blaming the fish and game.There are other ways to catch fish besides boils.have you been to lake powell when there are no shad, every fish suffers, if the fish and game is to error on shad it should be too many.
LOL! calm down!
I think are DWR does a fine job, My questions where to Drew not at the DWR.
And I have been wiper fishing along time and I have many techniques to get bit, But with only 16 posts you probably don’t know that.
I appolgize to Drew if he is taking my question offensively?
If you read my earlier post I acknowledged how well all the other species are doing. I know this is a good thing, I fished Willard when the walleye and crappie where all stunted and skinny, that’s why they put the shad in. and when things got out of hand with the shad they put the wipers in to thin them out. It was amazing to see the fishing come back. the wipers did very well ever since they where put in, so did all the other fish. Low water years is what hurts the lake. Not the lower number of shad. There will always be enough shad they create huge numbers of fry from very few adult size shad. Willard will never be a lake powell because wipers don’t spawn.
No offense taken. Regulations are always an option if fish are being overharvested. In this instance we just haven’t had good results on raising wipers at Wahweap Hatchery. It is difficult to predict survival on fry to fingerlings on wipers in that situation down there. Now that we have a firm grasp on manufacturing our own wipers I am confident that we can generate the numbers of wipers to bring Willard back to it’s hay days.
Thanks!Drew I was not trying to put you or any of the DWR down. You all have a tough job trying to keep use fisherman happy [;)] I appreciate your reply’s and dedication to making Utah a great place to hunt and fish.
Man, That is exciting news can’t wait to hear the drag screaming on a regular basis again. I’m sure you can’t wait either it has been tough catching.
I am curious to know how you do though? You know knowing the species better than most how have you adjusted your techniques to get fish to the boat?
I did well on walleyes this year at Willard but not so well on wipers. After I stopped using my traditional baits (braided line, crankbaits and planer boards) and started long lining 1/8 oz and 1/4 oz white jig I did better on wipers. It just took me a while to get over what I thought I knew.
I have done well on walleyes on bottom bouncers with small chartruse blades and a worm harness. I usually fish from the light pole and then GPS a track to the island. There are a number of humps that always hold fish along that route. Also there seems to be a little different bottom material over by the light pole that just looks different (softer) on my fish finder and it seems to hold more fish as well.
i have read your posts all year,you have been crying about wipers and begging for other people to tell you how to catch fish instead of putting your time in.you have been there 2 times all year and said fishing sucks maybe 50 times on the internet.the sad thing is people have told you how to catch wipers over and over on this board and you dont listen.you yourself saw some guy who trolled all day for 3 wipers.maybe those 3 might weigh 12 pounds, that is a good day in my book.you have fished 2 times and you claim to be a great fisherman/biologist[;)]..I dont need a chill pill, it might solw down my fish catching[;)].I hope if those boils start again and they will i hope you will show some respect,and you wont run over some other fishermans line again[;)]. its time to talk about other people fishing fnf[;)]
LMAO! OK man you got me figured out. I don’t know how to fish and I know nothing about fishing.
And me running over a line was a joke, I was showing this family where and how to fish the boils. we got into them good that night to. damn that was fun!
Thanks for the good questions and good info. It is not that often that we get to see good question and answer threads like this with a member of UDWR right here on BFT.
Thanks again, and pop your head in more often Drew.
Thank you for your time and sharing some of your techniques, It makes allot of sense to down size and slow down. I have slowed down. But as like you it’s hard to put away baits you have used successfully for years. [:/]
The area’s you have talked about are some of my favorite spots to hit as I have had good days there myself.
cool , what got deleted was only humor, you would of liked it. my whole point of this was things at willard have changed but is still good fishing.[;)]
Just a quick question, for ya what is the average froth rate of the Wipers one they are in Willard? Just kind of curios to see what your research show on how fast they actually grow.
Yeah your right the best is yet to come, I will be waiting for that PM, But if you don’t I’m sure many other of my contacts will[;)] there is an inner circle when it comes to willard and the wipers.
