Borden Lake in Vilas County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Borden Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin. The surface lies 1,670 feet up. Small at around 12 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. On size it sits at the modest end of our Vilas County list. The closest town, Lac du Flambeau, is 18 miles away. Green Bay sits 141 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Borden Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Vilas County cover bluegill, yellow perch, walleye, largemouth bass and rock bass. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Work Borden Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 65°F and January at 9°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough late April. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near late November in autumn. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Plan around that when you fish Borden Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Hells Kitchen Lake, 0.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing on Borden Lake should be assumed from this page alone.