Lake Horseshoe in Bayfield County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Lake Horseshoe in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. It sits at 1,411 feet above sea level. Small at around 5 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Our Bayfield County list holds plenty of bigger water. For supplies, Hayward is 20 miles out. Saint Paul is the closest city, 127 miles away. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Lake Horseshoe

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch, rainbow trout and white sucker. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. At Lake Horseshoe the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 8°F in January up to 66°F in July. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about late November in an average year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. That shapes the year on Lake Horseshoe.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Lake Half Moon at 0.4 miles is the nearest alternative. Treat Lake Horseshoe as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.