McLaren Lake Fishing Guide, Ashland County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  McLaren Lake lies in Ashland County, in Wisconsin. The bank is 1,430 feet above sea level. It measures about 67 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The nearest town is Little Round Lake, 25 miles away. It is 134 miles to Saint Paul, the nearest city. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on McLaren Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Species logged across Ashland County include rainbow smelt, yellow perch, white sucker and johnny darter. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On McLaren Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 66°F; by January the average is down near 9°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. The season on McLaren Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. There is a mapped slipway roughly 0.9 miles away. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Pole Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. For McLaren Lake in particular, ask before you travel.