Gilkey Lake Fishing Guide, Oconto County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Set in Oconto County, Wisconsin, this is Gilkey Lake. This is lake country bush country. It covers about 22 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Gillett lies 25 miles from the water. Further out sit Legend Lake (26 miles) and Oconto Falls (28 miles). Not far off: Bass Lake out at 0.4 miles, Crooked Lake about 0.5 miles, Flower Lake out at 1.1 miles, Grindle Lake about 1.6 miles and Nelligan Lake out at 1.6 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Gilkey Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Oconto County: brown trout, largemouth bass and bluegill. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Gilkey Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 68°F, with January the cold end at about 13°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. From about mid April to around early December, expect open water on the long-run figures. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Time your trip to Gilkey Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. A slipway is marked about half a mile from here. The closest car park is half a mile away, so pack accordingly. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Bass Lake is 0.4 miles off. For Gilkey Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.