Fishing at Mud Lake, Barron County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  This water sits in Barron County, Wisconsin. It stands 1,030 feet above sea level. It measures some 355 acres, and wind has room to build across it. Some 5.1 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. It is among the larger waters listed here for Barron County. The town to know is Chetek, 3.4 miles out. After that come Cameron at 5.3 miles and Barron at 9.8 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Records held for Barron County cover brown trout, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye and bluegill. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. The shape of Mud Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 69°F in July and bottoms out near 10°F in January. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Anyone fishing Mud Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Prairie Lake, 1.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Mud Lake in what we hold.