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[#0000FF]Caught a few perch by accident on my last trip to Willard so thought we might catch a few more if we used refined tackle and techniques. Yep. We did.
TubeBabe and I launched at the north marina just after 7 am. Air temp was 26 and water 38...6 degrees cooler than my last trip. But it calm and clear.
We both had perch on minnows and beads within the first few minutes outside the marina entrance. Missed some other bites. Then I picked up a nice walleye while bouncing a small chartreuse perch jig tipped with worm. Okay... switched to some walleye type plastics and started catching perch. Turnabouts fairplay...or whatever.
Action was never fast but we did get enough bites to keep us conscious in spite of the hypothermia. TubeBabe aka "the kitty queen" scored a couple of channel cats and a couple of nice keeper perch. I ended up with about 7 perch from 10-13 inches. Oh yeah, the 19 inch walleye too.
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darn, I want to go to Willard, but I keep thinking that Willard is going to slow down for a bit, but then I keep seeing good fishing reports for there.
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Very nice TD, looks like I missed a good day. I bet that will make a great feast. So do you serve fish along side of the turkey for your day of Thanksgiving? It looks like you got a feast fit for the king. Good job. Wish I could have been there but maybe another time. Later J
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From the looks of those, they are not missing many meals !!! Good looking mess of fried fish !!! Are we haveing fish instead of Turkey on Thursday ??
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Those are some nice perch and that walleye excites me! Never gotten a walleye at Willard so might have to try that area come ice on.. Good report sir!
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[#0000FF]Having T-Day with one of our sons and his family. No fish. Some will grace our table tomorrow and some will find a good home with my sis in law.
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[quote Therapist]From the looks of those, they are not missing many meals !!! Good looking mess of fried fish !!! Are we haveing fish instead of Turkey on Thursday ??[/quote]
[#0000FF]All the ones we brought home were gravid females. Some had partially digested (unrecognizable) small fish parts in their tummies and all had visceral fat along with the developing egg masses.
No fish on Thursday...but I am properly thankful for being able to catch them today.
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Do your kids take after their parents in fishing interest? My daughter used to until she hit twelve and seemed to lose all interest. Too bad she was a lot better at it than her dad. Well glad you got a nice day out. Later J
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I think someone forgot too call me over for some perch tacos [laugh].
Nice job on the jumbo perch. For me this summer/ fall was a big disappointment for perch. Last time I caught perch were at pineview during the spawn and shall be back up there next spring.
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Wow, nice haul. I think that is the most perch I have ever seen caught at one time a Willard and that is one fat eye, what did it have in it's stomach.
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It had more perch in its belly XD.
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[quote SkunkedAgain]Do your kids take after their parents in fishing interest? My daughter used to until she hit twelve and seemed to lose all interest. Too bad she was a lot better at it than her dad. Well glad you got a nice day out. Later J[/quote]
[#0000FF]When TubeBabe and I got married I was the single father of three and she brought two more younguns to the fambly. All the kids from our combined tribe had been brought up to love fishing. But as they matured and entered the adult world of reality...marriage, bills, kids, health problems, etc...they have mostly let fishing fall by the wayside.
About the only exception is my son Steve (TubeN2 on BFT). He and my grandson, in California, still love fishing but no longer get to go as much as they used to. LIFE happens.
I used to take the kids on both group trips and on individual "daddy-kid" trips. Those are still big topics of conversation at family get-togethers. And I have put a lot of them into short stories that the kids and grandkids treasure. Here's one.
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[quote wiperhunter2]Wow, nice haul. I think that is the most perch I have ever seen caught at one time a Willard and that is one fat eye, what did it have in it's stomach.[/quote]
[#0000FF]That is the most I have caught at one time too...but it is the first time I have purposely targeted perch. I catch a few almost every year...onesies and twosies. And I know a couple of guys that have got into multiples through the ice.
There does not seem to be a huge population of perch in Willard and they are like the perch in Utah Lake. Because of the turbidity and other factors they do not school up like perch in deeper and cleaner waters. They roam around in singles and doubles and catching them is a random thing.
That was what I took into account yesterday. I used similar lures and tactics that I also use on Deer Creek and other lakes when prospecting for perch. Mostly either dragging a bait and/or vertically bottom bouncing a tandem jig rig while moving slowly and watching the sonar.
There were areas where I got more bites...closer together...and there were large areas where there were apparently no fish at all. It was as much luck as skill in finding them and getting them to bite. And being that this is Thanksgiving week I was properly thankful for every one I got.
The walleye was like most of the perch...developing eggs in the tummy and unrecognizable fish parts in the stomach. Also plenty of visceral fat which tells me they have been eating well.
Actually, I feel bad for removing that fish from the potential haul of the happy harvesters at the inlet next spring. (unpaid political announcement)
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Pat, well done!!!
That is a nice little take of the striped devils.
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Of course! [blush] The one day I decide to try out Bountiful Pond (and got nothing). Nice days work (guess u can't really call it that) TubeDude. Looks like I should increase my jig inventory, have never used those much. One question......how in the heck do u stay warm? Do the neoprene waders help? I only have the Hodges breathable. We need to "hookup" one day. I am only 10 minutes from Willard. I thought about going to Pineview today, not sure whether it's starting to ice up or not, but I think I'll just shoot back out to Willard. I was fishing that same point in the background of one of your pics of TB (from shore of though). I just don't like cold, and I would suspect being "in the water" is pretty chilly.
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[#0000FF]Thanks. Not as good as a "good day" at Starvy, but I'll settle for it. A shorter ride too.
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[#0000FF]I replied to your info request post about the waders. But my personal preference for any water colder than 55 degrees is 3mm neoprene. You can add layers under breathables but the neoprene provides the same insulation as at least one layer of fleece underneath.
In the 38 degree water of Willard yesterday, I had a bottom layer of UnderArmor, then a pair of sweat pants, topped off with a pair of fleece pants. I barely felt the chill. On my feet I had two pair of heavy wool socks. Could have used one more layer. My toes got cool a couple of times. But I was able to warm them by concentrated flutter kicking to increase circulation. Some guys opt for too many layers and cause constriction. That defeats the warming process by not allowing the blood flow to warm the feet naturally. And having too tight footwear and fins can make you have to get out of the water and do the "tuber's stomp" to restore life to numb tootsies.
We caught our first fish within casting distance of "your" fave spot yesterday. And TubeBabe caught both of her kitties in that area too. But the perch moved out deeper when the sun got higher. I could not buy a bite in water less than 9 feet deep after mid morning. And my last few fish all came from a deep trough I found about 200 to 300 yards out...with up to 11.5 feet of depth. That would be a long cast.
For shore fishing, you may also want to consider getting a pair of insulated "boot foot" waders. They have neoprene uppers and insulated rubber boots on the bottom. They are made for duck hunters and silly folks like steelheaders who stand for hours in the cold waters of winter where these fish run. They are surprisingly affordable and are good choices for ice fishing too...especially if you have to wade through slush.
You would be welcome to visit some time and I'll be happy to show you a range of stuff I use during the year. Hard to beat bait but sometimes being able to fish the right jig can add fish to your day's catch. Fun too...and good exercise to help keep you warm.
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Hey Thanks for the story Pat, sounded like a fun day. Also appreciate the details on how you fished the lures. Later J
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Nice sized perch. Glad ya found a few. The walleye bonus aint bad either. Thanks for sharing the pics
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