See all of our walleye fishing articles.

Overview: Willard offers walleye, wipers and channel cats, plus some crappie and smallmouth bass. It has more big walleye than any other water in the state. But the big ones are hard to catch. The next state record walleye will probably come from Willard, and it could happen this year.

• Location: 50 miles north of Salt Lake City, along I-15, near the town of Willard.
• GPS Coordinates (UTM):
• North Marina: 0411785 E., 4584816 N.
• South Marina: 0409905 E., 4578840 N.
• Outlet: 0411309 E., 4585968 N.
• Light Pole: 0405340 E., 4581365 N.
• Favorite Spots For Walleye:

During the spawn - which should run through April this year - the north and west dikes are productive. The light pole, located on the north dike west of the North Marina, is a favorite spot. Fishing is good along the dike for a couple hundred yards on either side of the pole. The dike area near the outlet, north of the North Marina, is also productive. But fish are caught all along the north and west dikes.

The easiest way to get to the light pole is by boat. Many people hike or bike to it, maneuvering in along the dike in from either direction.

The South Marina channel is also a popular place to fish for walleye and catfish.

After the spawn look for walleye in the deeper water out in the bay in the area around the light pole and near structure just out from both the north and south marinas. Walleye range freely, and can be found anywhere. But the dike provide consistent fishing through the year because they provide most of the structure in the reservoir and serve as spawning areas for the walleye, catfish, shad and other fish species. During the later spring and summer you can often catch walleye, catfish, wipers, crappie and sometimes smallmouth bass by working a single-tailed grub along the dikes.

Timing:

Walleye come into the dikes to spawn in the late evening, and stay in the area all night. The most productive time to fish is first light and from sunset until dark.

Gizzard shad provide forage for all of the game fish in the reservoir. The shad are prolific, with several spawns a year. The easiest fishing occurs during April and May, before fry from the first shad spawn become big enough to attract the attention of the predator fish.

Big channel catfish spawn along the dikes in June. 18-pound catfish have been caught in the Bay, and there are bigger ones just waiting.

• Tuesday, March 25
• Water Temperature: 49 degrees
• Weather: Warm, cloudy, breezy, with an intense thunderstorm in the early evening.
• Walleye were staging, holding in deeper water out from the dikes. Few fish were coming into the rocks. We expect the spawn will be going strong by first week of April, and continue through the month.
• Facilities:
• Both the marinas offer full facilities: concrete boat ramps suitable for large boats, restrooms, picnic and camping areas.