Willard Evening 4/8

[TubeDude]

I just parked next to the bathrooms at the top of the ramp.  I dropped off the north side of the ramp area about 100 yards east of the buoy in the middle of the channel. Lots of boat traffic in and out. A couple of boats were fishing close to the buoy along with a kayak. I did not see any other fish caught, but that doesn't mean they didn't, just didn't see any.

Plus the baffles area looked like combat fishing at its finest.  Must have been at least 30 vehicles in the parking lot next to entrance road to the marina.

In years past I fished the channel quite a bit from about late February to early April.  When the water is coming in at a good clip it really draws in both the walleyes and the cats.  Never could stomach fishing the baffles.  I fish for enjoyment...not endurance.  And the combination of snagging mayhem and "unsophisticated" angler activities was really a downer. 

But I have had some pretty good days fishing up and down the channel when there is abundant water.  The dredged deeper channel only extends up to about the point you said you were fishing.  After that it shallows up until it reaches the "scour hole" below the baffles.  But when the fish are in the channel it can be good almost anywhere you can find a spot to set up...since the fish move up and down the channel.

In my float tube I fish mostly from the buoys out past the channel entrance.  There is an area right around the buoys that almost always holds fish...as evidenced by the boat traffic.  And it is also pretty good for about 25 yards upstream from the buoys...although fishing from the bank can be problematic because of all the shoreline brush and stickups.

That channel has seen me launching my float tube as early as mid February in years with early thaws and water inflow from the baffles.  On one memorable trip...during the years when they locked the gates way out at the front entrance...I had to tow my tube across the snow to the marina area...then go up and over the dike to launch through the snow...since the ramp was still iced.  But the kitties were already there...and hungry.  I caught fish all the way out from the buoy out into the lake.  I went through 2 bags of minnows...probably catching over 30 chilly kitties and keeping a limit of 8 nice eaters.  And I made several more trips there with similar results before the main lake really opened up.