Lake Seventeen Fishing in Vilas County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Lake Seventeen sits in Vilas County, out in Wisconsin. Land around it is rolling bush. Roughly 61 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. About 1.3 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. It is high ground by Wisconsin standards. Eagle River lies 3.7 miles from the water. Rhinelander is 17 miles away, with Nashville at 27 miles. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Lake Seventeen

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Vilas County cover bluegill, yellow perch, walleye and largemouth bass. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. At Lake Seventeen light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 9°F in January and 65°F in July. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Open water usually runs from mid April until about late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. That is the shape of the year on Lake Seventeen.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. The water sits inside or beside a nature reserve, so expect extra rules. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. If the gate is shut, Mud Minnow Lake at 1 mile is the nearest alternative. Confirm before you fish Lake Seventeen.