Fishing at Big Crooked Lake, Vilas County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Big Crooked Lake stands in Vilas County, Wisconsin. The setting is rolling bush. This is sizeable water at about 663 acres, and a boat opens up most of it. The margin runs to about 4.3 miles in total. It ranks high for size among our Vilas County listings. Start from Lac du Flambeau, 16 miles down the road. Then Eagle River, 26 miles, and Wakefield, 26 miles. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Big Crooked Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Vilas County records list bluegill, yellow perch, walleye and largemouth bass among the fish reported. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. On Big Crooked Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 9°F in January to roughly 65°F in July. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near late November in autumn. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. That shapes the year on Big Crooked Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Boulder Lake sits 1.2 miles off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Big Crooked Lake for certain.