Boiling Wipers at Willard Bay

Fishing Time: 6:30 to 11:00 AM

Weather:  Hot, calm, clear, T-100

Moon Phase: 50% Moon

Location: Willard Bay

Best Bait: chartreuse/pink/silver crankbaits

Who Went: Bobber John, Dunc

The scorching summer temperatures are in full effect and this year has been well above average on the heat scale.  With temperatures forecasted to reach 100 degrees, we knew we had to get on the lake as early as possible to beat the heat.  The gates at Willard Bay open at 6 AM and a few minutes after Bobber John launched his boat into calm conditions while I parked his Jeep in the lonesome parking lot.

We motored over to the northeast corner of the reservoir and immediately noticed some surface action.  I told Bobber I thought it could possibly be wipers boiling, but was unsure.  We motored over to check it out and sure enough, it was a group of wipers chasing shad on the surface.  We hurried to tie on the first crankbait we found in our tackle box and quickly began casting and hooking up with some hard fighting, good sized wipers.  One boil would submerge and another would pop up a hundred feet away.  We chased these boils for close to an hour and caught quite a few wipers before it all died off and the surface went calm for good.  It was a blast while it lasted. 

We transitioned into trolling but unfortunately were unsuccessful.  After 2 hours of trolling with no hits, no wind, and a hot sun beating down on us, we called it quits for the day and headed to the fish cleaning station to fillet some wipers and head for home.  Wipers are so fun to catch, but trolling Willard can be aggravating, boring, bug infested, and brutally hot.  Luckily, we were able to find some wiper boils early to make the trip a success.