Fishing Twist Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Twist Lake sits in Vilas County, out in Wisconsin. It sits in mixed forest. Surface area runs to about 15 acres — small enough to read in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our Vilas County list. Eagle River at 18 miles is the nearest place to stop. Then Iron River, 27 miles, and Stambaugh, Iron River, 28 miles. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Twist Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. County-wide records name bluegill, yellow perch, walleye, largemouth bass and rock bass. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On Twist Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 65°F; by January the average is down near 9°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Twist Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Moon Lake Boat Launch is the mapped launch, some half a mile from here. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Failing this one, try Moon Lake, 0.4 miles away. Nothing here settles the position at Twist Lake for certain.