Fishing Fence Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Out in Vilas County, Wisconsin, sits Fence Lake. Around the bank it is pine and birch. Surface area runs to some 5.4 sq miles, so a boat and a plan are both worth having. The shoreline runs about 12 miles, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. On our Vilas County list it sits near the top for size. Some 2.9 miles away sits Lac du Flambeau, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Green Bay, 133 miles distant. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Fence Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Vilas County list bluegill, yellow perch, walleye, largemouth bass and rock bass. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Fence Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 66°F and January near 9°F on the long-run figures. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Fence Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Marlands Lake, 1.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Fence Lake as something to verify.