Cranberry Lake Fishing near Rhinelander, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Cranberry Lake sits within Oneida County in Wisconsin. It sits at 1,604 feet above sea level. It covers about 6 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Oneida County list. Start from Rhinelander, 9.9 miles down the road. Green Bay sits 112 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Cranberry Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Oneida County records list brown trout, walleye and largemouth bass among the fish reported. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. At Cranberry Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 66°F in July and bottom out at 10°F in January. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Cranberry Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Turtle Lake sits 0.3 miles off and takes the overflow. For Cranberry Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.