Willow Reservoir 6A

Willow Creek Reservoir is 70-acre flood control reservoir built by the City of Rochester and the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1990's. It is a popular destination for anglers in the Rochester area, especially for ice fishing. An accessible pier is also popular especially in the spring and early summer. Mid-summer aquatic vegetation growth creates difficult angling from shore and the pier. The City of Rochester has expressed interest in managing aquatic vegetation near the fishing pier. Excess nutrients from the watershed run into Willow Reservoir and causes blue-green algae outbreaks occur in the summer. Electrofishing was conducted on May 10th, 2023, to assess Largemouth Bass and panfish populations on Willow Creek Reservoir. Electrofishing was conducted on May 10th, 2023 to assess Largemouth Bass and panfish populations on Willow Creek Reservoir. Catch rates were moderately high for Largemouth Bass (66.4 fish/hr), Black Crappie (86.4 fish/hr), and Bluegill (188.2 fish/hr) for Bluegill. The mean length for Largemouth Bass was 14.6 inches and the largest was 21.3 inches. Black Crappie had a catch rate of 86.4 fish/hour with a mean length was 7.9 inches and the largest was 8.4 inches. Bluegill mean length was 6.0 inches with the largest at 7.8 inches. White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead were also sampled, but in relatively low numbers. While Largemouth Bass and Bluegill are generally the most abundant gamefish in Willow Creek Reservoir. Black Crappie may also provide angling opportunities in years following good recruitment. Special fishing regulations are in effect on this reservoir: Sunfish, Crappie, Yellow Perch: combined possession limit is 10, with no more than 5 Crappie. Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike: possession limit is 1 of each.

Willow Creek Reservoir is a popular destination for anglers in the Rochester area, especially for ice fishing. An accessible pier is also popular in the spring and early summer. Mid-summer aquatic vegetation growth creates difficult angling from shore and the pier. The city of Rochester has expressed interest in managing aquatic vegetation near the fishing pier. Electrofishing was conducted on April 23, 2019 to assess Largemouth Bass and panfish populations on Willow Creek Reservoir. Catch rates were moderately high for Largemouth Bass (109.2/hr) and very high (409.3/hr) for Bluegill. The median length for Largemouth Bass was 9.6 inches and the largest was 19 inches. Bluegill median length was 5.8 inches with the largest at 7.8 inches. The Yellow Perch median length was 5.7 inches the largest was 6.2 inches. Green Sunfish, hybrid sunfish, Yellow Perch, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead were also sampled, but in relatively low numbers. No Black Crappie were sampled in the 2019 assessment. While Largemouth Bass and Bluegill are generally the most abundant gamefish in Willow Creek Reservoir, Black Crappie also can provide fishing opportunity in some years. Special fishing regulations are in effect on this reservoir: Sunfish, crappie, yellow perch: combined possession limit is 10, with no more than 5 crappie. Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike: possession limit is 1 of each.

A trap netting survey on Willow Reservoir 6A was conducted on May 4th and May 5th of 2017 to assess gamefish populations in Willow Reservoir. The catch rates were 14.5 Black Crappie, 30.75 Bluegill, and .25 Largemouth Bass per net. A total of 12 White Sucker were also captured. There were a total of four nets set. The average length for Black Crappie was 8.9 inches with a max length of 11.9 inches. The average length for Bluegill was 6.6 inches and a maximum length of 9.5 inches. The one Largemouth Bass sampled had a length of 16.0 inches. Willow Reservoir is a popular fishing location for shore and pier angling, as well as non-motorized boating. It does receive a mentionable amount of ice fishing pressure in the winter months but no creel survey has been done to measure effort.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Green Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch, and Bluegill in Willow Reservoir 6A. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Willow Reservoir 6A. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Willow Reservoir 6A has a maximum depth of 22 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Willow Reservoir 6A is from 2023.

No invasive species are on record for Willow Reservoir 6A in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.