Fishing Willow Reservoir in Oneida County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Willow Reservoir is one of the Oneida County listings for Wisconsin. This is pine and birch country. This is big water, about 7.6 sq miles, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. The shoreline runs to about 60 miles, far more than one trip can cover. Nothing else we list in Oneida County covers more water. Lac du Flambeau lies 17 miles from the water. Tomahawk follows at 19 miles, then Rhinelander at 23 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Willow Reservoir

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Standing timber shows when the level drops, and fish sit against it. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Survey and observation records for Oneida County include brown trout, walleye and largemouth bass. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. At Willow Reservoir the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 66°F and January at 9°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid April. Ice clears near mid April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Plan around that when you fish Willow Reservoir.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. You can camp half a mile off, which suits an early start. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Skunk Lake at 2.6 miles is the sensible second choice. Check the position on Willow Reservoir before loading the car.