Cranberry Lake Fishing Guide, Vilas County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Cranberry Lake lies in Vilas County, Wisconsin. Elevation runs to 1,670 feet. The water measures roughly 3 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. On size it sits at the modest end of our Vilas County list. Lac du Flambeau sits 24 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Wakefield is 24 miles away, with Eagle River at 27 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Cranberry Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Fish documented in Vilas County include bluegill, yellow perch and walleye. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Work Cranberry Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 65°F and January near 9°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. That shapes the year on Cranberry Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Nansen Lake is 0.7 miles off. Treat Cranberry Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.