06-24-2023, 02:51 PM
Methinks there are a couple of factors that are contributing to the sudden downturn in angler success on Willard. First, the weather. Fronts moving through...with changes in wind and temperature. Water temps last Thursday were lower than the week before. A minor drop in temps during the spring warmup can put fishing on hold. Just ask the bass tournament guys.
Second is the food chain. Those "bait balls" we see on our sonar are not ALL shad. Several other species have spawned and their young are approaching edibility size. All the predators will dine on young perch, walleye, crappies and especially baby carp. Those should be reaching between 1 and 2 inches in length.
Well fed fish are not as aggressive or competitive. It often takes something to create a "reaction bite". This can be something smaller...or larger...with more or less action...of different color...fished at different depths, etc. One thing a lot of Willardites have discovered is that downsizing lures to something closer to current fry size will get more bites. I especially like the little 2" Rattlin Raps in holographic shad colors. But I also catch a few fish on white Gulp minnows...and even on 2" tube jigs.
A couple of predictions. Right after this next batch of windy days...and if the water warms back up to close to 70 degrees...fishing will improve. Second, I think this year we will continue to catch perch all through the summer. Seems to be a big population now and if you can find them you should be able to catch them. I have some ideas I wanna try out to get a handle on summer perchin' in Willard. But then there are always the everlovin' kitties.
Second is the food chain. Those "bait balls" we see on our sonar are not ALL shad. Several other species have spawned and their young are approaching edibility size. All the predators will dine on young perch, walleye, crappies and especially baby carp. Those should be reaching between 1 and 2 inches in length.
Well fed fish are not as aggressive or competitive. It often takes something to create a "reaction bite". This can be something smaller...or larger...with more or less action...of different color...fished at different depths, etc. One thing a lot of Willardites have discovered is that downsizing lures to something closer to current fry size will get more bites. I especially like the little 2" Rattlin Raps in holographic shad colors. But I also catch a few fish on white Gulp minnows...and even on 2" tube jigs.
A couple of predictions. Right after this next batch of windy days...and if the water warms back up to close to 70 degrees...fishing will improve. Second, I think this year we will continue to catch perch all through the summer. Seems to be a big population now and if you can find them you should be able to catch them. I have some ideas I wanna try out to get a handle on summer perchin' in Willard. But then there are always the everlovin' kitties.