Fishing at Clark Lake, Forest County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Clark Lake belongs to Forest County, Wisconsin. It lies 1,591 feet above sea level. This is a pocket water of some 20 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. For supplies, Crandon is 8.6 miles out. The nearest city of size is Green Bay, 76 miles away. The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Clark Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Forest County: brown trout, largemouth bass, yellow perch, northern pike and bluegill. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Clark Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 65°F, while January sits near 10°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Anyone fishing Clark Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Should this one be busy, Kimberly Lake is 0.2 miles off. Where Clark Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.