Fishing Big Dardis Lake in Price County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Within Price County, Wisconsin, you have Big Dardis Lake. This is lake country bush ground. It runs to roughly 140 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The edge runs 2.4 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Some 4.2 miles away sits Phillips, the nearest settlement. Park Falls is 15 miles away, with Lac du Flambeau at 27 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Big Dardis Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Survey and observation records for Price County include yellow perch, walleye, northern pike and bluegill. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. The near bank of Big Dardis Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 67°F in July and bottoms out near 10°F in January. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid April until roughly late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Time your trip to Big Dardis Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Solberg Lake at 2.2 miles is the sensible second choice. The position on Big Dardis Lake is worth confirming on the day.