Range Lake in Vilas County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find Range Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin. Height above sea level is 1,680 feet. It covers about 19 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Most waters listed here for Vilas County are larger. Supplies mean a trip to Wakefield, 22 miles off. It is 143 miles to Green Bay, the nearest city. The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Range Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Vilas County records list bluegill, yellow perch, walleye and largemouth bass among the fish reported. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Fish Range Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 65°F, the coldest about 10°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about late November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Anyone fishing Range Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. There is a ramp at Dawn Lake Boat Launch, half a mile out. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Dawn Lake, 0.4 miles away. Nothing here settles the position at Range Lake for certain.