Butterfly Lake in Marinette County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Butterfly Lake in the Marinette County part of Wisconsin. It stands 869 feet above sea level. At roughly 16 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Supplies mean a trip to Niagara, 26 miles off. Peshtigo follows at 27 miles, then Kingsford at 28 miles. Close neighbours run: Jug Lake some 0.5 miles off, Spies Lake (0.6 miles), Long Lake some 2.7 miles off, Morgan Lake (2.8 miles) and Silver Lake some 2.9 miles off. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Butterfly Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name brown trout, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, bluegill and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Butterfly Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 68°F in July and bottoms out near 13°F in January. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. The season between ice runs from about mid April to early December. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Butterfly Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Jug Lake, 0.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm before you fish Butterfly Lake.