Coffee Lake in Bayfield County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Bayfield County, Wisconsin, is where Coffee Lake sits. This is rolling bush ground. Roughly 48 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Start from Ashland, 22 miles down the road. Beyond it, Washburn at 27 miles and Little Round Lake at 30 miles. Nearest other option: Tea Lake within 1.6 miles, Beaver Lake at 2.2 miles, Seitz Lake within 3.8 miles, Gilbert Lake at 4.1 miles and Marengo Lake within 4.2 miles. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Coffee Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Bayfield County: rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch, rainbow trout and white sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Work Coffee Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 66°F; by January the average is down near 9°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. On average, mid April opens the water and late November closes it again. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. The season on Coffee Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Tea Lake, 1.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position on Coffee Lake before loading the car.