Fishing Forum

Headed out to Willard with my 7 wt, and my pontoon this morning to try and check some fish off of my "to catch" list. I got there around 6:30, about the time that it started to rain, and didn't stop till I left. I wasn't expecting much as it was an exploration voyage, but managed to check two new fish off the list. I had my first hookup about 10 minutes in and upon getting it in, discovered that I had caught my first catfish on the fly. A little guy, but hey, he counts. I'm not too great with my warm water species identification, but I think it's a channel cat. You can tell my hands were already pretty cold by the blurry picture at that point.

I hooked up 3 or 4 more times after that and lost every single one, until I was almost at my freezing point. I felt a strong yank, then a pull and then the drag on my reel got a good workout. My first wiper, and no one was kidding when they say that they fight hard. A really fun fish to catch. I kept fishing after that for about thirty minutes, but then the rain, wind, and leak in the left leg of my waders got to me and I rowed to shore to call it a day around 10. All in all a good day.

One question I have though, is there anywhere that you can launch a pontoon boat for free on that lake? It was a lot of fun, but the $10 day pass fee (almost half the cost of my fishing license itself) is pretty steep to buy every time I want to go. I don't need a boat launch, just somewhere I can lift my boat to the water.
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Great job on the wiper and catfish on the fly rod!

I don't know where there would be a cheaper place at Willard to launch your pontoon. I think there is a couple places you could carry it up and over the dike. I ended up last year just buying a season state park pass. I have more than payed for it with several trips to Willard, Easton Canyon, Rockport and Jordanelle.

Mark
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Nice kitty on the fly and wiper too. The state parks pass is well worth the money if you hit the state parks a lot.
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[quote F15Hwhisperer]
One question I have though, is there anywhere that you can launch a pontoon boat for free on that lake? It was a lot of fun, but the $10 day pass fee (almost half the cost of my fishing license itself) is pretty steep to buy every time I want to go. I don't need a boat launch, just somewhere I can lift my boat to the water.[/quote]


If you don't mind carrying your toon up over the dike there a dirt road SE of the South Marina that leads toward the back of the reservoir. It leads to that little beach section you see on the lake across from the South Marina Launch ramp.
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I buy the State Park Pass every year.
Well worth the money to be able to access so many good fishing waters.
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