Cranberry Lake Fishing near Ashland, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Wisconsin holds Cranberry Lake, in Bayfield County. It sits in rolling bush country. At 4 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Our Bayfield County list holds plenty of bigger water. Ashland sits 21 miles from the bank. Further out sit Lake Nebagamon (23 miles) and Washburn (24 miles). The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Cranberry Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Public occurrence data for Bayfield County names rainbow smelt, brown trout and yellow perch. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Cranberry Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 66°F and January near 9°F on the long-run figures. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. On Cranberry Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Mapping shows a campsite some half a mile from the water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Line Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Cranberry Lake in what we hold.