Fishing Cisco Lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Cisco Lake lies in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The water sits 1,234 feet up. With some 96 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Roughly 2.6 miles of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. Few waters listed in Bayfield County are bigger. The nearest town is Ashland, 24 miles away. It is 132 miles to Saint Paul, the nearest city. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Cisco Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Records held for Bayfield County cover rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch and rainbow trout. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Read Cisco Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 66°F and January near 9°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. Climate averages put the opening at about mid April and the closing near late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Cisco Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Overby Lake is 0.4 miles off. Confirm before you fish Cisco Lake.