Red Willow Reservoir(Hugh Butler Lake)

Red Willow Reservoir (Hugh Butler Lake) lies 10 miles north of McCook, Nebraska adjacent to Highway 83, in Frontier County. The lake has 1,630 surface acres of water with 35 miles of shoreline. Red Willow Reservoir has been one of the hottest lakes in Nebraska in the past few years. Bass fishing in this lake is extraordinary.

The Nebraska State Game and Parks Commission lists this lake as having good fishable populations of Channel Catfish, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Wiper, and White Bass.

Facilities adjacent to the lake include boat ramps, primitive and modern camping, dump stations, picnic facilities, swimming beaches, shower facilities, fresh water, and concessions.

Near the concession and Kiwanis Point, there are two boat ramps, mooring docks, a designated swimming beach, and modern restrooms. A third boat ramp is located south of the dam. The area concession is located on the Spring Creek access road and offers a restaurant, camping supplies, groceries, gas, bait, tackle, boat rentals, and has fishing, hunting and park entry permits available.

Red Willow Reservoir, also known, as Hugh Butler Reservoir, has top of the line camping. Willow View Campground offers electrical camp sites with a panoramic view of the lake. The campground has a showerhouse, with modern restrooms. Each pad is equipped with a waist-high barbecue grill, and a sanitary trailer dump station is handy to the exit. Numerous other recreation sites are spotted strategically around the lake and offer tidy, but more primitive facilities. Areas like Bluegill, Bobwhite, Indian Point, and Pike's Point have camping, parking lots, some picnic shelters, water wells, grills, and vault toilets. Other picnic shelters and grills can be found in out-of-the-way locations for those who want a bit of privacy.

Dedicated bass fishermen are well-acquainted with its brushy shores (35 miles of them), submerged trees, and underwater structures. Tree-filled bays, dam tailwaters.

Largemouth Bass and Crappie can be taken year round with crankbaits, rubber worms, and jigs. Striped Bass and Wiper are often taken by trolling with minnows, crankbaits, and spoons. The lake has also produced good catches of Northern Pike and Black Crappie. Red Willow is one of the largest producers of master anglers in the state, and holds several state records.

Channel and flathead catfish, crappie, largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, white bass, wiper, northern pike, carp caught here.

Northern pike - 30" minimum length limit.