Grindle Lake, Wisconsin: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Oconto County, Wisconsin, is where Grindle Lake sits. The bank gives way to rolling bush. With some 40 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The full circuit measures close to 1.0 miles on foot. Nearest place of any size is Gillett, 24 miles away. Further out sit Legend Lake (25 miles) and Oconto Falls (27 miles). No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Grindle Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Oconto County records list brown trout, largemouth bass, bluegill and yellow perch among the fish reported. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. At Grindle Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 13°F to 68°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Winter locks it down, and mid April brings it back. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about early December in an average year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. That is the shape of the year on Grindle Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A launch point is recorded some half a mile off. There are picnic tables recorded roughly half a mile off. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Waupee Flowage is 0.3 miles distant. Check the position at Grindle Lake before loading the car.