Fishing at Deer Lake, Forest County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  This water sits in Forest County, Wisconsin. The surface lies 1,319 feet up. Surface area is around 57 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. About 1.2 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Nearest town is Crandon, 22 miles off. For a city, Green Bay is 68 miles off. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Deer Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Public occurrence data for Forest County names brown trout, largemouth bass, yellow perch, northern pike and bluegill. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Anyone new to Deer Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 66°F in July and bottom out at 11°F in January. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. On Deer Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Failing this one, try Deer Lake Flowage, 1 mile away. Check the position on Deer Lake before loading the car.