Fishing Bob Lake in Chippewa County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Bob Lake is a Chippewa County water, in Wisconsin. Height above sea level is 1,073 feet. With some 99 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The full circuit measures close to 1.5 miles on foot. Cornell sits 8.3 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Further out sit Bloomer (9.3 miles) and Chippewa Falls (16 miles). No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Bob Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Chippewa County: rainbow trout, brown trout and bluegill. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Fish Bob Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 69°F at the top of summer and 11°F at the bottom of winter. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early April. Open water usually runs from early April until about late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. The season on Bob Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping shows a ramp about half a mile from the shore. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. For a change of water, Oliver Lakes is 0.9 miles distant. Where Bob Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.