Mitchell Lake Fishing near Rice Lake, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Set in Barron County, Wisconsin, this is Mitchell Lake. The bank is 1,224 feet above sea level. With some 30 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. With about 1.0 miles of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Rice Lake lies 9.2 miles from the water. The nearest city of size is Saint Paul, 77 miles away. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Mitchell Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Reported across Barron County: brown trout, largemouth bass and northern pike. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. At Mitchell Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 69°F and January at 9°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. The season between ice runs from about mid April to late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Mitchell Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. You can camp half a mile off, which suits an early start. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Round Lake, 0.4 miles out. Treat Mitchell Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.