McClaine Lake near Little Round Lake: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  McClaine Lake belongs to Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The surface lies 1,427 feet up. Little Round Lake sits 16 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Hayward is 18 miles away, with Ashland at 33 miles. Also worth knowing: Hildebrand Lake 0.5 miles away, Camp Four Lake just 0.5 miles, Birch Lake 0.6 miles away, Trail Lake just 0.6 miles and Frels Lake 0.6 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on McClaine Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Bayfield County include rainbow smelt, brown trout and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. McClaine Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 66°F; the cold one sits at 8°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. The season on McClaine Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Hildebrand Lake at 0.5 miles is the sensible second choice. The position on McClaine Lake is worth confirming on the day.