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[#0000FF]Almost cancelled my planned trip to Willard this morning. Weather forecast was for 7-8 mph winds early and getting worse later. My wuss point is about 5-6 mph for my float tube and I usually bag it if the wind is going to be more than that. Glad I didn't.
Hit the north marina as the gate was opening at 6 am. Geared up and launched just after 6:30. Just getting light as I exited the mouth of the channel and began fishing. Air temp was 32 and water temp was 44. Only reached 45 by noonish.
Dragged a chub minnow on one rod and pitched tandem tube jigs on the other. Had my first inquiry on the minnow within 5 minutes. Turned into a nice 20 inch channel cat. Woulda preferred a walleye or a wiper but I got no pride. Basketville.
A few minutes later I got a whack on my jigs and had a good tussle from a porky perch. Bigger than a footlong. Looking good.
Continued to work S turns on either side of 8' of water...where I had caught my first two fish. Nada mas. Gradually moved out a little deeper and a little further north from the channel. Bang, bang. Another cat and then another perch...this perch coming on the bling beads rigged with a minnow.
No more perch for a long time but I did have a brief tussle with about a 20 inch gizzard shad that chomped my chartreuse jig and went airborne. Much fun...for about 10 seconds. Then I had a heavy chomp on that same jig...on the light rod... and watched line melt from the small spool. Finally stopped the run and worked the heavy fish back to the tube. Big whoop. About a 10# carp (toothless golden walleye).
Suddenly found myself in a slightly deeper spot...about 10.5 feet...as opposed to the 8 to 9 foot depths I had been working. That's where the kitty condo was. Started getting chomped on minnows as fast as they would settle to the bottom. Kept a few and released a few. I guesstimate I brought about 14 or 15 to net and eventually kept a limit of 8. I need to smoke up a batch before winter sets in.
Only planned to stay until about midday. That's all my old back and butt can tolerate. I put up the bait rod and dragged two jig rods back down the outside channel toward the ramp. When I got back into about 8 feet of water one of the jig rods got busy and I brought in my third porky perch of the day.
At 11 am it was glassy calm. As I started back in, Mama Nature got the message and began tuning up her wind machine. By 11:30 there was a strong south wind blowing...with waves building...and popcorn all over the lake by the time I hit the ramp. For once Mama Nature and I worked it out in my favor. And sometimes I like it when the weather forecast gets it wrong.
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some nice perch there TD[cool]
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Amazing. Whoda thunk or believed the recent perch run at Willard?
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Nice, looks like the perch wanna play there.
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[#0000FF]There have been perch in Willard for many years. After all, it is downstream from Pineview.
People catch perch all year in Willard...just onesies or twosies. They do not form big schools. But in the fall they usually come inside the harbors. I have had some multi perch days in the past when the water levels were high enough to appeal to the perch. They are also caught more frequently under the ice...and usually in the harbors. But some guys find some real dandies in the deep spots on the west side during the winter...some over 14 inches.
Definitely better sized ones than what we got at Pineview.
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Nice trip TD, glad you had a good time before the breeze. Why the anti kitty talk lately, got your fill for the year? Later J
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Tell me more about that shad? I didn't know they got so big. Also what do you do with it if you catch one? You can't be in possession of one are you supposed to catch and release or catch and kill? Sounded like a fun fight. Later J
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[quote SkunkedAgain]Nice trip TD, glad you had a good time before the breeze. Why the anti kitty talk lately, got your fill for the year? Later J[/quote]
[#0000FF]Definitely not "anti-kitty". Love 'em. Just diss 'em a little so they don't take me for granted. But it doesn't work any better than with my wife.[/#0000FF]
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[quote SkunkedAgain]Tell me more about that shad? I didn't know they got so big. Also what do you do with it if you catch one? You can't be in possession of one are you supposed to catch and release or catch and kill? Sounded like a fun fight. Later J[/quote]
[#0000FF]Some of those gizzard shad in Willard get big and bodacious. There were quite a few of them swirling on the surface this morning. Anglers have been known to mistake them for wipers and get all hyper. They feed on zooplankton and other small critters and usually ain't much for hitting lures or baits. But every once in a while one will smack a small jig.
As per the regs you cannot keep them. You really wouldn't wanna anyway. Unlike their larger cousins, the American shad, they aren't good eating and smell downright nasty. I used to catch a lot of the American shad when I lived in Sacramento. Fun, fun, fun and great smoked or slow baked a la canned sardines. The row skeins are a real delicacy too.
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Nice report and pics Pat and wow three big perch on the same trip to Willard, you must be living right[  ]. Have you ever caught that many big ones on the same trip to Willard?
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So with the shad on your list of catches, have you caught some of each species of fish that are in Willard? I had a six species day one trip and thought I must be getting close to catching most of everything that was there and I think I only had half or less of what is in there... Don't know of many that catch shad so that's a tough one off the list... Thanks for the info... J
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Had one of my most randow Willard trips - had caught a kitty and carp, then worked some weeds off the rocks pitching for Bass. I did hook up a couple smallies, but kept getting short taps on my big worm, - so nipped it down, and boom - found Bluegill and Perch. Not those nice fat chunky ones, but it was nice to see some of Willard's variety.
20in Shad? Crikey!
So TD, when your Perch are looking almost as big as some kitties, wow! Nice. So - do you like Wipers for table fare?
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[quote wiperhunter2]Nice report and pics Pat and wow three big perch on the same trip to Willard, you must be living right[ ]. Have you ever caught that many big ones on the same trip to Willard?[/quote]
[#0000FF] Big ones? Nope. One at a time on mega perch. But I have had multi perch days in the past...usually inside the harbors in late fall. However the fish were usually more like Pineview size with the occasional bigger one. Seems to be a good number of the biggies this year for some reason. No complaints.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I didn't actually bring that shad to net yesterday, but I have caught them in the past...both in the mouth and snagged. Biggest landed was about 12 inches.
The ecology of Willard has changed over the years. There are fish in there now that were not in past years. And some in the past that are not common now. About the only species in the lake that I have not personally caught is the tiger muskie. Haven't even hooked one that I know about.
Here is a list of the species I have caught...but not all in the same day: Walleye, Wiper, Channel Cat, Bullhead, Crappie, Bluegill, Green Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Gizzard Shad and Utah Sucker. Oh yeah, I have also caught a big "land sucker" (me) a few times.
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"So TD, when your Perch are looking almost as big as some kitties, wow! Nice. So - do you like Wipers for table fare?"
[#0000FF]Wipers are fine eating. But...like most species...it pays to know how to prepare them to take full advantage of their goodness. (like slicing out the red flesh along the lateral line) I have also noticed that their firmness and quality can vary due to the condition of the fish...affected by food supply, water conditions, false spawn cycle, etc.
But, like they say about "other things"...the worst I ever had was still great.
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I was trolling and got bluegill, green sunfish, crappie, smallie, walleye and channel cats. It was surprising to me to pick up panfish on a plug at the time, but since then its one of my favorite ways to fish. I love being able to pick up a mixed bag with the same set up.
Looks like winter came to Cache Valley overnight. But it's still nice from Brigham south. Report sounds like more snow tomorrow. So you fishing in the snow? I probably better catch up on neglected chores tomorrow. Later J
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Pat,
your Perch look like the new hybrid that the DWR has stocked in Willard.
They are called Percheyes.
As I understand it, Percheyes make great bait.[ ]
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[#0000FF]You need to get back on your meds...or get a new prescription. Boo! Hiss!
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Hey Pat,
That's quite a list, but you forgot your Perch to make it 14 species in the bag... I've heard some trout rumors as well, but that's probably like the Bear River where they are rare takes in the lower ends of the drainage... Anyway great day out and with the snow this morning, it was probably well timed.... Later J
PS... How do you tell the difference between the two carp, is that the scale size/pattern thing?
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Sounds like some pretty serious snow tomorrow too. Oh well, we need it. Out of curiosity, I checked the forecast for Tony Grove Lake, and they could get 30" or more out of the storms. I'm crossing my fingers for a good snow pack.
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