Lost Lake Fishing near Rhinelander, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Set in Oneida County, Lost Lake is a Wisconsin water. It sits at 1,545 feet above sea level. Roughly 34 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The whole outline is near 1.0 miles, and most of it is walkable. The nearest town is Rhinelander, 17 miles away. The big place round here is Green Bay, 119 miles distant. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lost Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Fish documented in Oneida County include brown trout, walleye and largemouth bass. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Treat Lost Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 66°F and January near 9°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Once it clears, about mid April, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate averages put the opening at about mid April and the closing near late November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. The season on Lost Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. South Blue Lake at 0.9 miles is the sensible second choice. Where Lost Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.