NBC Day at Willard 4-20-22

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Smelled skunk at Utah Lake on Monday.  Wednesday forecast for Willard looked doable.  So I did it.  Launched at the south marina just after 6:30 am.  38 degrees air temp and 48 degree water temps…warming to 50 by noon departure.  But with the overcast, previous night’s big wind and a steady breeze in the morning water temps fluctuated up and down…with a low seen of 46.28. No other cars in the parking area when I launched but there were 5 boat trailers when I came in.
 
Started out where I had some luck on my last trip…dragging fligs in water between 5-6 feet deep.  Nothing on TV and nothing on the end of my line for an hour.  Moved gradually out to deeper water…from 10 to 12 feet.  Nada, zip, zilch.  Started working my way back to shallower and ZAP…first kitty of the day on a new tandem flig rig I was trying.  It had a blue back silver flig and minnow up top and an orange tiger flig and minnow on the bottom.  The first fish voted for the orange tiger.
  After another half hour of zingless string I began to suspect it might be another one of “those days”.  Then I found “Kitty City”.  At about 9 fow I got bit…on the pink tiger single flig rig.  I was just getting into the battle when the rod with the tandem rig started bouncing.  I set the hook on that rod with one hand while holding the rod with the first fish in the other hand.  Then I put rod #2 back in the holder while I battled the first fish into the net…depositing it on my apron.  That allowed me to devote full attention to the second fish…battling it in to the net along with the first fish.  A “double dip”.  The second fish took the top flig of the tandem rig…the blue back silver.  Three fish on three different fligs.
  
I had brought along my spiral wrap casting rod and had it rigged with a chartreuse whirly flig.  I pinned on a small minnow and chucked it out to whirl and flutter while I was tidying up and rebaiting the other two rods.  That third rod had barely settled in the rod holder when it went bendo.  A third fish within about 10 minutes.  Looked good with that purty little whirly flig in its kisser.  That was at least one fish on four different lures.
 
I had fairly constant action for about 2 hours.  The sun had finally crawled out from behind the clouds and the water was beginning to warm a degree or so.  Most bites came around the 8-9 foot depth.  But my last fish…after over a half hour without a sniff…climbed on in water just a little over 4’ deep.   That was just a couple of minutes before my self-imposed quitting time of 11:45.  Removed the flig from his lips and sent him back to join all the others I had released.  No keeping on this trip.  But I betcha if a walleye had come to play it would have gone home with me.
 
Water was cold and colored from the big blow of the night before.  I usually like to plan my trips for at least two days after a warm and calm spell…to let the fish stabilize.  I wouldn’t have gone fishing yet this year if I stuck with that.  Always have to jump in between storms.  Maybe we will get spring by August.