Gilbert Lake, Wisconsin: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  This water sits in Ashland County, Wisconsin. It sits in pine and birch country. At roughly 4 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. It is a small entry by Ashland County standards. Ashland sits 20 miles from here and is the nearest stop. The nearest city of size is Saint Paul, 143 miles away. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Gilbert Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Ashland County include rainbow smelt, yellow perch, white sucker and johnny darter. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. At Gilbert Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 9°F in January and 66°F in July. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. In an average year the thaw lands around mid April and the freeze near late November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. It holds true on Gilbert Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Seitz Lake is 1.3 miles off. None of that is settled for Gilbert Lake in what we hold.