Fishing at Clear Lake, Oneida County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  You will find Clear Lake in Oneida County, Wisconsin. It sits in mixed forest country. It covers about 22 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Rhinelander sits 5.3 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Green Bay is the closest city, 106 miles away. Within a short drive: Box Lake after 0.2 miles, Bass Lake at about 0.3 miles, Doyle Lake after 0.6 miles, Sylvan Lake at about 1 mile and Pine Lake after 1.1 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Clear Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Oneida County cover brown trout, walleye, largemouth bass and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Clear Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 66°F at the top of summer and 10°F at the bottom of winter. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough mid April. Averages suggest open water from about mid April through to roughly late November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. At Clear Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Reserve land runs up to the bank here, so read the notices. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Box Lake is 0.2 miles distant. Treat access at Clear Lake as something to verify.