Fishing at Blue Lake, Oneida County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Blue Lake stands in Oneida County, Wisconsin. Elevation runs to 1,578 feet. This is sizeable water at about 436 acres, and a boat opens up most of it. You are looking at roughly 5.8 miles of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. On our Oneida County list it sits near the top for size. For a base, Lac du Flambeau sits 11 miles out. Rhinelander is 22 miles and Eagle River 25 miles. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Blue Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Open biodiversity records for Oneida County list brown trout, walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Blue Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 66°F and January near 9°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at Blue Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Bobcat Lake, 0.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Blue Lake for certain.