Fishing Bass Lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Bass Lake sits in Bayfield County, out in Wisconsin. Elevation runs to 1,335 feet. It covers about 16 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Supplies mean a trip to Hayward, 19 miles off. Then Little Round Lake, 20 miles, and Lake Nebagamon, 28 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Bass Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Fish documented in Bayfield County include rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch, rainbow trout and white sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Bass Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 8°F in January and 66°F in July. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near late November in autumn. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Time your trip to Bass Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. A carry of half a mile from the nearest parking is the price of fishing here. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Should this one be busy, Motyka Lake is 1.1 miles off. For Bass Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.