Little Ripley Lake, Wisconsin: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Little Ripley Lake is one of the Washburn County listings for Wisconsin. What surrounds it is rolling bush. At about 39 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The edge runs 1.5 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. The nearest town is Shell Lake, 3.4 miles away. The nearest city of size is Saint Paul, 80 miles away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Little Ripley Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Washburn County: largemouth bass, bluegill, northern pike, yellow perch and walleye. The county list is broader than any single water. On Little Ripley Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 9°F to 69°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The lid tends to go about mid April and return around late November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Little Ripley Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Chain Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Little Ripley Lake are worth checking on the day.