Fishing Hildebrand Lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Wisconsin holds Hildebrand Lake, in Bayfield County. Elevation runs to 1,427 feet. It covers about 15 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. The nearest town is Little Round Lake, 17 miles away. Then Hayward, 18 miles, and Ashland, 33 miles. Not far off: Frels Lake near enough 0.2 miles, Birch Lake a shade over 0.3 miles, Trail Lake near enough 0.4 miles, McClaine Lake a shade over 0.5 miles and Emerson Lake near enough 0.9 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Hildebrand Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Survey and observation records for Bayfield County include rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch and rainbow trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Work Hildebrand Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 8°F in January to roughly 66°F in July. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about late November in an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. The season on Hildebrand Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Frels Lake, 0.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm before you fish Hildebrand Lake.