First time fishing Willard

[Redrebel]

I was finally able to make my first trip to Willard yesterday. After having a great day up at deer Creek on Saturday, The walleye bite was slow but trout was good so I decided to go for the Willard Walleye. I launched just after 6 AM and for a young dude with a broken body that is the best boat ramp and easiest to walk around!
I fished mostly the highlighted area trolling different crankbait/bottom bouncer just so I can get an idea of the area. Only brought one fish to the boat and actually didn’t land it didn’t even get to see it but it was the strongest fish I’ve ever had on that rod and bent the hook. (I promise it wasn’t a snag. the gnarly head shakes were indicative of a true fish on the line )My guess was a decent to good size catfish. Any tips on other areas to target would be appreciated. My next trip if the weather is good enough I’d like to try a slow death presentation. Any good spots for that would be appreciated. 

If the fish you caught was making strong drag pulling runs, it could have been a wiper, lots of good wipers and cats in the area you were fishing. For walleye try going to the opposite end of the lake, to the West.  Did you launch from the North or South marina?

I Launched from the north marina. That’s the area I’m familiar with. I’ve been up there with a family with paddle boards and kayaks. Not sure if the south marina is any easier or difficult to launch. The fish obviously made a mental impact on me that I stayed in that area for five hours until my batteries said no more.

If you are launching from the North then you could also try along the North dike to the Light pole on the West dike. How fast were you trolling the cranks and bouncing?

First off, thank you for all the tips! Willard is pretty small and my boat can get around fairly quick so getting to different spots isn’t an issue. I will try trolling around the north Dyke next time. I was pulling my crank baits between 1.8 and 2.0 mph. I normally pull them around 1.6 with good success but lately I have been trying slightly faster speeds. Most importantly I was getting the right rod tip action necessary for the bouncer to work off the bottom. When when I troll bottom bouncers I do lots of little s turns as well so speed could vary.