Willard Bay Deserted 10-4-23

[wiperhunter2]

Buddy and I have been hitting WB the past 2 Wednesdays, so thought we'd try again today..his boat..launched out of the So. marina, thinking we might pick up a perch or 2..Nada..no perch, no cats, no nothin...we crossed the openness toward the North side, finally I got a real hit (my bottom bouncer again, w/nite crawler harness)..holy smokes! a 7" catfish..smallest I've ever reeled in here..I had a few other taps and my buddy was having no go on 2 rods of crankbaits, so he finally asked to use 1 of my extra bottom bouncers..being the nice guy I am, or dumb guy I am, I also gave him my best chartreus/yellow crawler harness .. within 5 mins a fish hit it so hard that it busted up the lure and lost the fish..but I think I had a convert..again, being the nice guy I am, really dumb guy I am, I took it all apart, re-strung it, re-hooked it, re-beaded it, etc. and gave it to him again..he was pretty happy..4 more hits for him = 3 quality cats in the boat, less than 45 mins...no more for me, I was just the net man...but that was ok, as last time out I got the 3 (on my bottom bouncer/crawler rig) and he just had 1...so we had a good morning..surprisingly, this place was deserted..didn't see any other fishing boats on the water, just 2 jet boaters later in the A.M...water temp. 61*..I guess still too warm for the walleye?..I'll be making some more of those crawler harnesses....Guluk...

That begs the question Joe, why were you not using your best worm harness? Another question, what size bade do you use on your worm harnesses? Last questio, what was the depth of the water where you had your best success?

Hey Curt ... mine are size 3 colorado blades, wish I could find size 2 locally..I don't need huge quantities, so buy different colors, packs of 5 or 6, from Scheels...our best action has been approaching Lite Pole, along north shore line, but at least 1/2 mile away, 21 to 23 FOW....if I was in my boat, I believe I'd try TD's shallower areas first, and if not successful, then I'd head back toward the LP area...I'm not a total cat convert, was trying some other colors/combinations .. I knew the one I was saving had produced best in the past, I'm in my buddy's boat, he had nothing going, so figured why not give him the best chance? Sorta like letting the young guy have the first shots at an easy duck...

Well that makes sense but those cats sure give you a great fight this time of the year before the water cools too much but they can sure be tough on your gear. We check our lines before and after each fish we catch because those cats are known to nick your line as they roll, when pulling them in. We haven't tried fishing the North dike in months but it sounds like they are there too. At the speed you are going , do you have any idea if you were close to the bottom?

With a 2oz bottom bouncer, I'm usually dragging bottom, as observed by rod tip constantly 'ticking'...if my buddy's boat is going too fast (1.5 or +), and we're 22/23 FOW, then the rod tip is smooth, and not dragging like it should be..just can't get him to slow down...Ideally, I think 2oz BB is best for those 18 to 23 FOW depths (at the proper slower speed), and 1 to 1.5oz  BB for the shallower 12 to 17' depths... Works for me, walleyes and cats..

As long as you are catching fish that is the bottom line and the best part of trolling at that speed is that you cover more area. Not sure if you do this or not but another thing that can help is making circles around the area you are catching fish, it could increase your catch numbers.