Willard Questions

[4thekids]

Going to hit Willard toward the end of the month and I know lots of you fish it often. I have never fished it from a boat so I was looking for some info.

First, what does the bottom consist of, rock, mud or a combination of both? If I troll to deep will the bottom claim my lures?

Second, would lures be more effective than crawler harnesses? Looking for anything that will bite, not necessarily targeting Walleye or Wiper.

Third, South or North marina? We will be in a rented 16' aluminum with I believe a 25 horse outboard.

Fourth, would it be worth my time and money to get a topo map of the lake since I probably will use it one time and then store it in a box with all my other "must have had a use for" items?

Any other info anyone would like to add would be greatly appreciated. My parents will be here from Wi for my oldest daughter's high school graduation and it's my turn to take my dad out fishing to repay him for taking me all these years. I would like to get him on some fish.

Thanks for any info you can provide
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[fish_or_die]

first of all, there are many experts on willard in this group and I don't claim to be one of them. But as i have been trying to figure the lake out the last year i've learned a couple things about it.
Most people seem to catch more wipers and walleye on cranks in shad colors, trolled slowly for walleye and fast for wipers once the water temps are up. I also seem to do okay on white and chartreuse curly tails grubs on a jig head.
Don't waste your money on a topo map for Willard, the lake goes from pretty shallow to medium shallow and back again, never gets deeper than 30'ish and depending on the year is mostly 20' and under. I suppose north or south marina is a personal preference, the lake really is just a big bowl with slight variations in it.
If you want more info look in the willard archives on the site, you'll find more than enough info to get you into a couple fish. Hope that helps!
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[4thekids]

Thanks. I have been reading every Willard report that has been posted for the past month or so and pretty much have an idea of how to arroach it. I guess I was just looking for some assurance. Thanks again.
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[Kent]

I suggest you spend some time reading prior reports posted about the same time of year. There is a wealth of information contained in these posts:

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?forum=86"]Link:[/url]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Here are a couple of things that might help.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Hope Mama Nature is nice for your trips and that you are able to find a few willing "playmates".[/#0000ff]
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[wiperhunter2]

By the end of the month, the catching should be improving but it will likely be a week longer, depending on the weather, before the really good catching begins.
"[#0000ff]what does the bottom consist of, rock, mud or a combination of both?"[/#0000ff] Yes, it is a combination of both but in most cases you will not loose too many lures depending on where you fish. The East side it the worst because of all the stickups like willows but there are some submerged christmas trees with cables around them near the light pole. Other that that, trolling at Willard is fairly snag free.
[#0000ff]Second, would lures be more effective than crawler harnesses?[/#0000ff] Whatever you prefer will be find, I do best trolling lures. When the bite is on, you can catch them with both methods.
[#0000ff]Third, South or North marina?[/#0000ff]
Again it is your choice, I like the South marina because generally there are less people and it is closer to the area I like to fish.
[#0000ff]Fourth, would it be worth my time and money to get a topo map[/#0000ff].
As suggested previously, don't waste your money. I see TubeDude has already replied with one of his great maps, that should be all you need.
Good luck, hopefully in the next two weeks we will get some warmer weather and that will change everything[cool].
WH2
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