Lutz Lake near Iola: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Waupaca County, Wisconsin, is where Lutz Lake sits. The surface lies 971 feet up. It covers about 16 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Iola lies 3.9 miles from the water. For a city, Green Bay is 53 miles off. Others within reach: Goodhal Lake after 0.6 miles, Gregerson Lake (0.7 miles), Round Lake after 1.6 miles, Long Lake (1.9 miles) and Hatch Lake after 2.2 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lutz Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for Waupaca County list brown trout, flathead catfish, rainbow trout and common carp. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. At Lutz Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 14°F in January to roughly 70°F in July. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early April until roughly early December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. That is the shape of the year on Lutz Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Goodhal Lake, 0.6 miles away. None of that is settled for Lutz Lake in what we hold.