Hope Lake, Wisconsin: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Bayfield County entry here is Hope Lake, in Wisconsin. The setting is lake country bush on every side. This is a pocket water of some 7 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Most waters listed here for Bayfield County are larger. Little Round Lake is the closest place, 20 miles off. It is 129 miles to Saint Paul, the nearest city. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Hope Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Species logged across Bayfield County include rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch and rainbow trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Hope Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 66°F on average, January about 9°F. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about late November in an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. At Hope Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Grant Lake sits 0.2 miles off and takes the overflow. Ask locally about Hope Lake if anything is unclear.