Willard Tubing Trifecta 6-8-23 (With Video)

[TubeDude]

(LINK TO VIDEO}

So far this year Willard has treated me pretty poorly.  Haven't been able to rocket across the lake to the west side, where most of the action has seemed to be.  So have had to scratch out what I could...where I could.  Haven't been skunked but only 1-3 fish per trip ain't what I'm used to.

Rolled up to the south marina and got launched by 7 am.  Very light breeze and quite a few boats launching early.  Air temp 55...warming about 20 degrees by noon departure.  Water temp rose from 65 to almost 68 while I was on the water.  Love seeing the lake so full.


Took a bunch of "re-purposed" lures...some old crankbaits collected over the years and then repainted in my better Utah colors.  Also turned some of them into "hybrid" lures...small cranks with 2-hook crawler rigs added.  Plus, had some of my tried and true whirly flig crawler rigs.


As I left the marina I fired up the big motor and blasted off across the lake...heading for the productive west side.  Yeah, right.  Being limited in speed and range by my 40# thrust Minnkota electric I set my speed at about 1.5 mph and began trolling cranks as I SLOWLY cruised toward my chosen fishing area for the day.

Wow!  Only a few minutes into the crawl/troll one of my rods went bendo.  Not a wiper or walleye, but a nice porky perch to start the day.  With such an early start I was optimistic...and began seeing more fish on sonar than on previous trips.

On my way to my chosen area, I was interrupted again.  This time it was a nice walleye...and on one of my new experimental "hybrid" cranks...with a snap on crawler setup attached.


Once I got out to my "zone" I was seeing a few fish and getting more bites.  A lot of the bites were the typical "rattle rattle" of pesky perch...but a couple more paid the ultimate price by going in my basket.  And I got another walleye too.


Action dropped off about 10ish and I opted to cruise into shallower water to see if there might be something there.  There was.  My last fish was a feisty kitty...on the same whirly flig crawler rig (fire tiger) that had caught my last walleye.


Hit the ramp just before noon...with 6 fish.  Best so far this year.  Hoping it gets better for everyone.

[doitall5000]

(VIDEO TO BE ADDED)

So far this year Willard has treated me pretty poorly.  Haven't been able to rocket across the lake to the west side, where most of the action has seemed to be.  So have had to scratch out what I could...where I could.  Haven't been skunked but only 1-3 fish per trip ain't what I'm used to.

Rolled up to the south marina and got launched by 7 am.  Very light breeze and quite a few boats launching early.  Air temp 55...warming about 20 degrees by noon departure.  Water temp rose from 65 to almost 68 while I was on the water.  Love seeing the lake so full.


Took a bunch of "re-purposed" lures...some old crankbaits collected over the years and then repainted in my better Utah colors.  Also turned some of them into "hybrid" lures...small cranks with 2-hook crawler rigs added.  Plus, had some of my tried and true whirly flig crawler rigs.


As I left the marina I fired up the big motor and blasted off across the lake...heading for the productive west side.  Yeah, right.  Being limited in speed and range by my 40# thrust Minnkota electric I set my speed at about 1.5 mph and began trolling cranks as I SLOWLY cruised toward my chosen fishing area for the day.

Wow!  Only a few minutes into the crawl/troll one of my rods went bendo.  Not a wiper or walleye, but a nice porky perch to start the day.  With such an early start I was optimistic...and began seeing more fish on sonar than on previous trips.

On my way to my chosen area, I was interrupted again.  This time it was a nice walleye...and on one of my new experimental "hybrid" cranks...with a snap on crawler setup attached.


Once I got out to my "zone" I was seeing a few fish and getting more bites.  A lot of the bites were the typical "rattle rattle" of pesky perch...but a couple more paid the ultimate price by going in my basket.  And I got another walleye too.


Action dropped off about 10ish and I opted to cruise into shallower water to see if there might be something there.  There was.  My last fish was a feisty kitty...on the same whirly flig crawler rig (fire tiger) that had caught my last walleye.


Hit the ramp just before noon...with 6 fish.  Best so far this year.  Hoping it gets better for everyone.

My Garmin was full of fish on the west dike. Did you have lots of fish where you fished.  I'm wondering where we're all the fish hiding two weeks ago. I have some new trolling gear made from some old flat fish with a 5 inch line and worm I want to try,  much like your new hybrid rigs. May go back soon again.

[TubeDude]

My Garmin was full of fish on the west dike. Did you have lots of fish where you fished.  I'm wondering where we're all the fish hiding two weeks ago. I have some new trolling gear made from some old flat fish with a 5 inch line and worm I want to try,  much like your new hybrid rigs. May go back soon again.

Actually, I was seeing very few fish...only one here and there.  But most of the fish I caught did not show up first on the sonar screen.  Even with the quiet of the float tube I think fish move off when I go over...just as they do with boats.  But they can be attracted back to the lures.  However, the one walleye I caught came from almost right below my tube on a deep diver crank that I had just dropped down.  As we have discussed before, Willard is a big lake...with even more water this year.  You can hide a lot of fish in small areas and if you don't find those areas you don't find fish. 

About the "hybrid" lures.  I have been making several different kinds but still have to test a lot of them.  However, the principle of modifying one lure with another...or by adding bait hooks...is a proven principle.  Anyone who fishes flashers and squids for kokanee is using a form of hybrid lure.  And many anglers fish tandem rigs...with two lures the same or different.  Sometimes multiples attract more attention.  There is actually a couple of videos on YouTube showing how to rig and fish flatfish with crawler rigs for walleye.  Here are pics of some of the hybrid lures I have been making.  In my experiments so far I have found that putting the crawler rig on the rear of the lure kills the action.  But rigging on the middle of the body has little effect on the action.  So if your flatfish or other lure has a lot of wiggle it will continue to do so even while trailing a worm behind.
   

[doitall5000]

I haven't tried these yet don't know how slow or what speed would be best

[TubeDude]

I haven't tried these yet don't know how slow or what speed would be best

Best suggestion I can offer is to put a bait on one and then run it beside your boat.  Change the speed up and down to see how the lure wiggles at different speeds.   Some lures are designed to work best at slow speeds.  Others at faster speeds.  And a lot of lures will plane off to the side or spin if you go too fast for them.  Helps to check them out boatside and then decide how you wanna run them.

But I also like to speed up or slow down occasionally while trolling, to get a follower to commit.  It works sometimes.

(LINK TO FLATFISH VIDEO)

[MrShane]

Those Perch are giving me the warm and fuzzies!
I vote for Shad in every Perch lake in Utah!!
Seriously though, quite the ‘coincidence’ that every lake in Utah that has Shad in it offers up excellent fishing.
Good job on the catching Pat.
FYI, caught my pb Willard Walleye 2 weeks ago on one of your fligs. Thank you!

[HuntNFishUT]

Enjoyed the video and the report. Willard has been stingy for me too. Might stop by there tomorrow on my way back from Mantua. The siren call of those tasty catfish keeps calling me back. Maybe I am a glutton for punishment - or maybe just a poor fisherman.

[2knots]

Well done Pat, good to see the basket filling up for you

[TubeDude]

Those Perch are giving me the warm and fuzzies!
I vote for Shad in every Perch lake in Utah!!
Seriously though, quite the ‘coincidence’ that every lake in Utah that has Shad in it offers up excellent fishing.
Good job on the catching Pat.
FYI, caught my pb Willard Walleye 2 weeks ago on one of your fligs. Thank you!

Welcome.

---

Well done Pat, good to see the basket filling up for you

Thanks.  Sounds like you have been doing pretty well too.  Hope it lasts a while.  But as soon as the baby shad get a little bigger I think we will find the lure fishing more difficult.  I saw some big bait balls just outside the south marina yesterday.

[Cowboypirate]

Pat? I have not got a chance to watch the video yet, so when I do it will likely answer the question - but is bug season in full force at the Bay?

[TubeDude]

Pat? I have not got a chance to watch the video yet, so when I do it will likely answer the question - but is bug season in full force at the Bay?

Yep.  But in my opinion no worse than in past years.  I have been out once a week for the past few weeks and there seems to be a big midge hatch early in the morning that can be bothersome.  But with a little breeze and with a mesh headnet for an hour or so it is tolerable...at least if the fish are cooperating.

Some of our BFTers are not knowledgeable entomologists and they refer to the midges as "nats" (gnats) or mosquitoes.  Not so.  Midges do not have biting mouth parts.  But they get in your eyes and ears...and mouth.  So you really can do without them.

On the subject of mosquitoes, I have only seen a couple around the ramps while prepping for launch.   And none out on the water.  Still, it is a good idea to bring some good repellent just in case they decide to gang up on ya.