Willard.......wonderful???..NOT

[95f1camaro]

So I feel I need to share my experience with Willard since it seems as though many find the place wonderful. I kept reading all these wonderful posts so I finally loaded up the boat and headed to Willard for the first time last week. The first thing that shocked me when I arrived was a $15 launch fee...Ouch! As I'm driving through the campground I'm thinking to myself "this place looks really nice and I should come camping here sometime." I launched my boat and as I was leaving the bay to head out into the lake, a man calls out to me "Can you help tow me in?" I saw two guys to the left in a small boat so I thought to myself "sure." I started going over toward them and went right into the rocks and tore up my prop and broke the skag. I told the guys thanks for letting me know they were sitting right on top of a rock pile in a foot of water. They didn't say a word. We finally got hooked up and I started towing him into the marina. My wife claims the man called out that he was at the south marina as I was towing him in but I never heard him say anything. I got him back to the ramp and never even received a "thank you." What a jack a$$ that really started my mood off poorly. I wish now that I would have towed him to a remote corner of the lake to be eaten by bugs. I finally got out on the lake by the island (where I was informed to go) and stopped the boat to rig my poles. Immediately I was covered in bugs and breething them down my lungs. My wife was a trooper and tried to remain positive but they were awful. We trolled around for 3 hours without a bite and decided this lake was not for me. I tried bottom bouncers, and a couple Rapalas that were recommended to me. Needless to say, I won't go back. We left and went to Pineview for a relaxing afternoon.
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[mtncat1]

sorry it just goes to the adage that no good deed goes un punished
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[PACKFAN]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a rough time on your initial outing at Willard. This time of year you hope for a little breeze when you are out there to keep the bugs down. Both the walleye and wiper are biting pretty good this year, if you are interested in another attempt shoot me a PM and I'll try to help you out. We have so many walleye in the lake that we really need to cut their numbers down so we need all the fisherman out there that the lake can handle to reduce the population. I'm not quite sure if I understood you right or not about towing the two Nimrods in, did you tow them into the North Marina and they wanted to go to the South Marina? If so I think that is funny as hell, have a great day and maybe we can help you set up a better trip next time if you go back.[fishin]
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[Tin-Can]

Don't give up on Willard based on one trip. I was lucky enough 10 years ago that someone took pity on me and gave me some valuable pointers. And not just about how and where to catch fish. (that fact changes sometimes by the day, or even the hour) But I was told were to avoid the few sub surface hazards there are (when it's shallow, like now).
The guys that just sat and watched you run aground aren't the rule of most fishermen on Willard. Most of them have been there enough times that they will know a boat is new to the water, and if they see you starting to jeopardize your hull plates or prop most of them will yell at ya.
I have personnaly towed at least 3 boats each year since 2004 off of Willard for every reason from just plain forgot to get gas, to (and this is the one I really hate) a boat driver that has more boat than brains.
As to the bugs, well maybe that's something alot of the old guys on that pond have gotten used to, but I really do understand your point, and your wife's too. I have 4 or 5 green mesh head nets purchased many years ago at WalMart. They do a effective job of keeping the bugs out of your face, ears, eyes, nose, but if it's a calm day in July - Sept, they can be quite hot. I've even stopped fishing a time or two, brought in my lines, and throttled up as fast as I could go to blow the bugs out of the boat and get a bit of relief from the head net heat.
But ya know, most things in life that are worth doing or worth having, don't come free. The fishing on WB this year so far has been the best I have seen it in the 10 years I've fished it. And believe me, even the guys on this site I would call the old hand pros, get slapped in the face with a big old bug infested skunk now and again.[pirate]
If you see me out there any time, or anywhere else, stop over and say "Hey" be glad to meet ya and help ya out what little bit I can.
Being as I'm at work, I don't have any photos to post for ya to see me, but I'm always in a little 14' Lund, usually wearing a floppy wide brib hat, and I have BFT decals on bow (both sides) and stern (left side)
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[Kent]

I don't know how many times I have sworn off fishing Willard. I have been skunked on that pond more times than on all other places I have fished combined. I once quit fishing it for 4 or 5 years. I fished it only once last year and we got skunked. I have fished it once this year and had a great day and will be back out there on Saturday. I keep going back because catching those wipers is such a blast (compared to catching most other local fish).

I exchanged PMs with a BFT member just a few days ago and unsolicited I provided this advice (in addition to answering his questions):

"Willard is extremely buggy and some people (particularly women) are turned off by all of the flies and mosquitoes."

If the flying bugs don't get you while it is light the mosquitoes will absolutely eat you alive just as soon as that sun goes down.
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[fishgiver]

The $15.00 is only for the weekends as I was told. They raise it for weekends for whatever reason.
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[Old_Coot]

NO, no, no ... don't throw the Willard towel in just yet!

Take Packfan up on any offer he may give you. [#bf0000] GO WITH SOMEONE[/#bf0000] WHO KNOWS HOW TO FISH THAT LAKE! I took two friends out today and had a blast. Only caught 5 wipers (unlike the 20's that were reported over the last several weeks), but did manage 10 walleye. Once you get familiar with that lake, it really is quite easy!
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